snakes in the garden [Ana]

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

28 April 2029

Cas never rushed to act on information. There were very few things in this world that could force him to act before he was ready, and he’d encountered the majority of them while he was Cursebreaking (because sadly, neither grave robbers nor protective enchantments liked to wait). But ever since, he’d always been overly cautious when it came to handling new information. He preferred to weigh all his options and make a plan first. His methods got complaints (mostly from Damian, who had apparently been born without the little voice in his head that warned him off from doing stupid things), but they also got results. Cas had steered the family through the Purifiers fiasco, hadn’t he? While other pureblood families had crashed and burned, the Karkaroffs had emerged almost unscathed. Stronger, even.

So when he got the letter from Alek, he hadn’t rushed. Cas had read through it a number of times, pacing throughout his office at Borgin and Burke’s while he walked through all the implications in his head. He’d formed some initial conclusions, but that was all. There were too many unknown factors that could still influence the course of the next few months, and Cas couldn’t see farther than the next few steps down the path. It started with telling the rest of his siblings – because he was fairly certain that neither Ana nor Damian had the patience to stay in regular contact with Alek and his never-ending list of complaints. The choice of who to tell first was easy…if only because Ana had always been more reliable and because Damian had a special relationship with their mother that Cas had never understood. Whoever had decided that one should honor, respect and love their parents had never met the Karkaroff matriarch.

“Before you open the champagne, try and look a little sad at what I’m about to tell you,” Cas drawled, eyeing his sister (because he'd known her since the minute she was born and there weren't many things she could do to surprise him anymore). He’d decided to visit Ana at her place instead of waiting for her to stop by his flat or Borgin and Burke’s in her own time. He was seated on the armchair adjacent to Ana’s couch, Alek’s letter neatly folded while he turned it over in his hands. His movements were a little restless, but Cas eventually forced himself to stop and instead began to use the letter to idly tap an uneven rhythm on the arm of the chair. “Alek’s written me that Mother had a stroke some time ago. She refused to be treated in the hospital, so a doctor’s been visiting her at the estate. She seems to be alright, although not completely back to normal…” Whatever that meant for a Karkaroff, at least. Cas was unnerved at the news. Not because he was particularly attached to their mother…but she was the last surviving parent and her death would have consequences for the family. As the eldest, Cas did have some interests in how that should play out. He waited for Ana to process the news and all its implications.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

forgiveness is the ultimate sacrifice

eloquence belongs to the conqueror

April 28, 2029
Casimir Elias Karkaroff

Nothing seemed to match in the post-Purifier world Ana had helped usher in. Like any good pureblood child, she shoved aside any unwanted memories or regrets into some neat corner of her mind while throwing herself into her work. At least with her career, Ana found not only success but fulfillment. The occasional travel was also nice, as the ministry offices easily grew stale over time. Her oldest brother still ran the family from the shadows, Ana only letting her hand graze the parts that were above board and remaining willfully ignorant of the rest. Still, she wondered when the day would arrive and when the crossroads would appear, forcing her to choose between the law and her family.

Even someone as righteous as Damian no doubt wondered the same fact, although journalism allowed one far more flexibility than international law enforcement. Cas had arrived at Ana’s flat with little warning, which was the first sign of something different. But Ana indulged her eldest brother and invited him inside. At least he did her the favor of avoiding needless small talk, not that he had arrived at the point just yet. ”I’ll do my best.” She responded flatly, eyeing every idle movement of his body—the uncharacteristic hesitation and twitching. Ana knew the interrogation would have ended quickly if this was a suspect in her interrogation room.

Their mother? A woman Ana had not bothered to think about often and purposefully. Her eyes left Cas as she thought about what this might mean. It was all very simple in her mind, but Cas would always tell her it was anything but. ”How long have you known?” This could not have been new information. She paused again before speaking again. ”I don’t understand why you’re bothering to tell me she still isn’t dead.” Ana added less flatly and even a little annoyed. While partly responsible for Ana’s existence, the woman was someone Ana hated wholly. There wasn’t a need for champagne until she was dead and cold.

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[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Cas wasn’t particularly fazed by the interrogatory tone in Ana’s question. A long time ago, he’d nudged her towards a Ministry career because he’d known that having a Karkaroff there would pay dividends in the long term. But the truth was, she’d already been well-suited for Law Enforcement a long time before that. If Damian had been born with a drive to needle and wheedle all the secrets he wanted to know (along with a dollop of charisma that made working in journalism a perfect fit), then the same was true for Ana and her line of work. It was a byproduct of having three older brothers, he supposed. Or learning to fight back against their mother’s endless demands and the special antagonism she seemed to reserve for her only daughter.

Whatever it was, Cas knew that Law Enforcement had been the right choice for her. So long as it never occurred to Ana to turn it against her family. “You had the same opportunity to learn the news as I did,” Cas responded offhandedly, sidestepping her question and answering what he wanted to answer instead. That was a method he’d learned a long time ago. Cas pretended not to hear the questions he didn’t like and answered with the information he wanted the other side to know. He brandished the letter at her as if to show what he meant, but he had no intention of letting his sister read all of it. Besides, he figured Ana wouldn’t want to. Alek seemed a little pathetic compared to the rest of his siblings, and neither Ana nor Damian had much patience for him. Alek, on his part, didn’t seem to like writing them either. He didn’t seem to like the way Ana gleefully waited for their mother to die (but he’d always been sensitive like that). Cas himself didn’t particularly care.

Her second observation was much better, and Cas nodded slightly to acknowledge it. “She hasn’t written her will yet.” That bombshell had hit him much harder than learning she’d had a stroke. Whether she lived or died – that was just a matter of nature. But where the estate would go…Cas found himself anxious at the thought. Damian had always been their mother’s favorite, and Cas could all too easily imagine the nightmarish scenario of Damian controlling the money and trying to boss him around. Alek might feel he deserved a bigger cut too – being the one who’d stayed at home to manage her, and having the only Karkaroff grandchild (unless Damian had been keeping secrets). Hence Cas nervously fidgeting and tapping the letter against the arm of the chair as he tried to think. “She’s not quite back to normal. That leaves a small window of time to take care of the issue before something happens.” He left that vague because he didn’t know whether something meant another stroke or the drafting of a will that didn’t leave things the way he wanted. He and Ana had worked together before to arrange things neatly in a way that benefited them all. Cas thought it might be time to do so again.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

forgiveness is the ultimate sacrifice

eloquence belongs to the conqueror

April 28, 2029
Casimir Elias Karkaroff

And here Ana thought her brother was going to drop the equivalent of ‘the Purifiers are in Hogwarts’ in terms of information with how he had approached the entire situation. She felt her body relax a tiny bit, though since they were speaking about their mother Ana found it impossible to completely relax. It didn’t stop her eyes from narrowing at him with his response. He was right, of course, not that Ana would tell him. But she’d always found letters from her brother mundane and needlessly wordy. She wanted him to get to the point, but she had to suffer through paragraphs.

”I see.” Ana responded. Well, that made sense then. Her mind immediately went to Damian, the youngest brother but the closest to their mother. ”I was concerned you were getting sentimental.” Her tone was flat. It was just business, just like it always was. ”Damian doesn’t know, does he?” Chances were he’d find the first portkey home. Merlin forbid he didn’t get a chance to see his beloved mother. But Ana thought through Cas’s words. Something. That could be anything, even the champagne-worthy things. There was a sensible pause, both of their minds processing the puzzle before them. ”Drink?” Ana offered, standing up from her chair.

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[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

At least Ana seemed to be the tiniest bit unnerved now, even if it was likely only because of the reminder that their mother was still alive. It didn’t quite match Cas’s tense demeanor, but then again – he’d always taken an interest in the family’s affairs and he’d been running things for years. He wasn’t one to give up control easily, and his role as the head of the family came with an automatic assumption that his siblings would do as they were told. He scoffed slightly at Ana’s flat observation. In a normal family, it might’ve been taken as a criticism – shouldn’t sons care for, and even love, their mothers? But in their family, with the complicated relationship between the old generation and the new one…no, it was just an observation. Just a reminder not to get sentimental.

“Of course he doesn’t,” Cas responded, shaking his head at the thought. Damian was impulsive, but he wasn’t stupid. He also actually seemed to love their mother, making him the only sibling who felt that way. All those factors added up to the inevitable conclusion that he would go home immediately. Try and convince their mother to do things his way. Cas needed time to put a plan in motion before he let Damian’s maneuverings begin, but he didn’t have a plan yet. It was unusually sloppy work on his part. “Yes,” he said automatically as Ana offered a drink. He narrowed his eyes at her as she walked away, wondering if she’d choose champagne just to spite him. But his mind was quickly pulled back into his thoughts. “We’ll need an independent assessment of her mental condition,” he mused out-loud, “It might be possible to take action even before her death.” Take control, he meant, but he thought Ana might just lose herself in the fantasy of wearing white to their mother’s funeral.

anastasia marie karkaroff