Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

68 - Time of Devastation

musical mood: cough syrup - glee cast (it's the better version guys I swear)

"You are too young to be the child that woman was pregnant with when we last saw Bartemius." Eloise said, as the house elf called Lucky passed two cups of tea to Cass and Connor. She had shifted her language to English the moment it became evident to her that Connor did not speak French, though she had a thick accent that Cass imagined Connor would have difficulty understanding.

Cass nodded, taking a sip from her drink, unsure how to respond to that. "My mother's name is Diana. Was Diana."

Eloise scrunched her nose, and a pool of defensiveness built up in Cass. She hadn't known her mother, of course, but the way Eloise and Marius had treated her father and the woman he loved over something as pathetically irrelevant as blood status...it was disgusting. She only hoped Eloise didn't realise that Connor was a muggle. He wasn't doing very well in concealing his lack of magic, unfortunately, as he was staring at Lucky with wide, horrified eyes, though he said nothing about it.

"And...Diana, where is she now?"

"She's dead."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She pressed her lips together.

"Where is Marius?" Cass pressed, referring to her father's father. Her grandfather, who was notably absent.

"He's...ill." Was all she said, and clearly didn't want to elaborate on the subject.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Cass repeated what Eloise had said, the same cold tone in her voice.

Her grandmother shook her head. "There is no need to be." She glanced around, brown eyes flickering behind her for a moment, before she continued to speak, her voice lowered. "And...my son. How is he?"

"Dead."

"No." She whispered, her wrinkly skin going even paler than it already had been. Cass blinked - why would Eloise care? She had exiled him from her life years ago, why pretend she cared now that he was dead? If she had loved him still, she would've reached out in the years he was alive.

Connor shifted in his seat, his cup of tea untouched.

Cass took another sip of hers, frowning at the odd taste. The French apparently liked their tea funky, she supposed. Not that she would say anything on the subject.

"I'm sorry." Was all she said as the liquid poured down her throat. "He died a little over a year ago. That's why I'm here - why we're here. We...need a place to stay."

"You do not have new guardians?"

"They're shit." Connor said - the first thing he had uttered since he'd entered the massive home that Eloise resided in. "Mine are, anyways. My mum kicked me out, and my sister and her husband always fight. They hit each other and everything. I can't imagine Cass's living situation is much better."

"Catherine kicked you out?" Cass turned to stare at Connor, who shrugged. She didn't want to comment on her own guardian, Moody, who she actually quite liked, though it had taken ages to warm up to him. It was a shame, that they'd never see each other again. She suddenly felt a stab of guilt in her stomach, an aching pain that didn't simmer as the seconds went by, but instead only increased.

"Why do you think I moved to Islington? I defended Saoirse and Brian, and bam, I was booted out. Oh, by the way, Brian was kicked out too. Apparently he has a boyfriend out in Fort Williams, and mum hates gays."

Cass remembered when Brian had taken her to Fort Williams when she had run away the first time, and the longing look in his eye when he spoke of the mate he had been meeting. Perhaps that was the boyfriend.