Don't Forget to Remember Me | Padma

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Luke sat in the lobby outside of the office of the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. What a title. The receptionist was nice enough and Luke was mostly just glad to be here finally. It had taken him 3 weeks to get a meeting with Padma Patil-Thomas. Parvati MacMillian referred him to her sister on his very first night in London and here he was, 3 weeks later sitting on the beige colors couch near the window with a vase of flowers on the side table next to him. The white walls were blinding and his stomach turned. He knew that inside that office he'd be able to find everything out about his biological family. He'd be able to learn where his parents were and what the names of his siblings were. He was so nervous and excited and didn't know which one of those feelings was making him feel sick, but at least one of them was. 

It was so much pressure. He had lived his entire life thinking that he was a part of the Maebury family. And while his parents still insisted that he was a part of their family and nothing would change that, Luke felt the overwhelming desire to know where he came from. To know the people that birthed him and the siblings that shared his blood. So, the man sat, waiting, fiddling his thumbs until finally, the door to the office opened and he stood up. 

@padma

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"Tempus," Padma murmured as she looked at her appointment book. She had a meeting scheduled with a Lucas Maebury (America). Parvati had refered him, and now that the Triwizard Tournament was finished she had the time to have what her sister had mentioned might be an interesting meeting. She wasn't sure whether that would be a good thing, but it was time, so cleared her mind and opened the door.

A blonde young man stood the moment the door opened, and she smiled. "Lucas Maebury, I presume," she said, gesturing him towards the seat across from her at her desk. "I understand there's something with your family that you're hoping I can help with," she said, and with a swish of her hand, she closed the door behind them.

@luke

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Lucas entered his office when the woman stepped out and invited him inside. She looked just like her sister, they were twins. Luke couldn't remember of Parvati Macmillan had mentioned if they were twins or just sisters. But either way, he entered and took the seat across her desk like she gestured for her to. She got right to the point, asking him what he needed help with and closing the door behind them. Luke knew that she was a busy woman and he was glad that he had even managed to get a meeting. He wondered how much her sister had to pull to get him this meeting, he'd be sure to send Parvati a thank you note or at least offer her a free drink if she ever came into the pub he worked at in Hogsmead.

"Yes, um, well thank you so much for seeing me." he started. He wasn't sure really what to say, so he decided just to jump in. "Well, I was put up for adoption in America 21-ish years ago. I only recently found out that I was adopted and all my adoptive parents could tell me about my biological family was that they were in England. I have to admit, I don't have a lot of information to give you to work with... but the last name is Linley." he explained. Or, tried to explain. He watched her for any type of reaction or to see if she knew the name.

@padma

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As Lucas began to explain his family situation and how he had been adopted and was looking to find his birth family. She wanted to help him. Of course she did, because family was something she held in high regard, but then he mentioned that the one detail he knew was the last name of Linley.

"Barbara and Arthur Linley?" she asked sharply. She held his gaze and flicked her wand beneath the table, wordlessly skimming his mind, checking he was telling the truth. The Linley file was a mess, and it could put people in danger, and she was not going diving into it if Lucas Maebury wasn't exactly who he said he was.

@luke

ooc: permission granted by Ali for Padma to use legilimency

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Luke was thrown off when the woman sitting across from him asked about Barbara and Arthur Linley. Were those supposed to be his parents? Or were those time names of his siblings? Maybe both. He had known that his given name at birth wasn’t Luke, his given name was Kevin Arthur Linley so it made sense that his father had been named Arthur. “I-I guess, I’ve gotta be honest, ma’am I really don’t know anything other than the name and that the two kids go to Hogwarts. I know when I was born in South Carolina I was named Kevin Arthur Linley before I was put up for adoption.” he shrugged. He felt bad for being such a difficult case, but there really wasn’t anything he could say or do that would change the situation on his part, the power was all with her right now. And hopefully she would be able to help him.

@padma

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Lucas Maebury's mind was a swirl of confusion when she asked if he was asking after Barbra and Arthur Linley - didn't even know if those were the kids or the parents. And she almost felt bad for her tone, until he spoke. Saying his birth name was Kevin Arthur Linley and he was born in South Carolina. He sounded honest, and he felt honest, and most importantly, it matched.

Then there was no almost about it - her tone had been too harsh, especially given... well. She would need more proof to give him much, but Saint Mungo's or the DMLE should still have Arthur's blood on file and be able to confirm. But there was still some news she could say, without overstepping her bounds. After all, it had been in the Daily Prophet.

"If that's the case, then..." She trailed off, trying to think if she still knew the words for this, and dropping her eyes and her connection to his mind. "It's a complicated case, and I hope you understand that I can't tell you much without blood proof. I'll get Kendra to get the paperwork together for that in a moment." She paused again, and she suspected he'd have realised that he wasn't going to like what came next. "Unfortunately," she said, as kindly as she could manage, "I have to inform you that Arthur Linley was killed in the line of duty."

@luke

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When Luke heard the news about Arthur Linley, he felt more confusion and frustration than he felt sadness. He hadn't known the man, so he couldn't say that he was a good man and would surely be missed, but the man was still his father after all, he had traveled so far to meet him only to learn here that he had been killed. It didn't really seem fair, but it was the way that it was and there was nothing any amount of emotion could do to change that. "Okay." Luke said after swallowing. "Thanks for letting me know." He said quietly. Surely she had to understand his desire to keep a straight face. He was pretty confident any breaking down or showing of such emotions would be done later. Right now, he needed to keep up a bit of professionalism. Especially since he still wanted to learn more and didn't want to give her any reason to expect that he wasn't worth telling. "Is there anything else you can tell me? Before the blood test I mean?" he asked. He wanted to ask more. How long would the blood test take? Could he get it done now? He just wanted to know and he felt like he had got so close and then ran into this roadblock of not being able to know without having taken this blood test.

@padma

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It must be hard to be told that your father you never knew was dead. How could you mourn a person you had never met? It would be mourning the lost chance, and that was something else entirely. Padma watched Lucas swallow back his emotions with sympathy, but there was nothing she could do to change the situation.

He still wanted to know more, and Padma chose her words and her revelations carefully, knowing that it was delicate, but not everything was secret. "A little. The two children - Lancelot and Georgiana - are both at Hogwarts. That was in the obituary, so it's public record. I spoke with Barbra Linley about support for moving to Britain after her husband's death, but I haven't seen her in months." She had thoughts and speculation, but it would certainly require a more thorough explanation of the situation, and that was still confidential. She smiled kindly, and hoped that he wouldn't think that meant Barbra was dead, because while she had no proof, Padma didn't think that was the case at all.

@luke

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She was able to tell him a bit more, for which Lucas found himself extremely grateful. She confirmed his knowledge of the two siblings who were still at Hogwarts and she told him that they didn’t have their mother nearby. The kids were alone? Barbara, the mother, was still in America and hadn’t decided to move to Britain even though her kids were here, alone and… abandoned. “So the kids are what? Abandoned? Orphaned - I guess?” he asked, feeling disgusted and sure he sounded it too. It was one thing to give a baby up when you weren’t ready for one, but it was another thing to have kids, raise them, move them to England and then leave them there. How could anyone do that to kids?! He wanted to help. He wanted to take care of them even though he didn’t know them and had never met them. “Do they have a guardian?” he asked, considering his options/obligations to the siblings he had never met. “Who’s taking care of them?”

@padma

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"It's more complicated than that. And I'm happy to tell you more - after the blood test." She doubted he would appreciate it, especially with how disappointed he already sounded, but she was not going to bend an inch further. Well, maybe one.

She waved her hand and the door swung open. "Kendra, can you get the Hitwizards to sign off on access to Arthur Linley's blood sample at St. Mungo's for me?" She called out, as she herself pulled out the form to request the test, sliding it across her desk to Lucas. "If you could fill in your contact details, then you'll be able to take this to St. Mungo's, and they should have the results in a couple of days."

But while she left him to do that, Padma went out to her reception and started pulling out her standard 'Welcome to Britain' package of brochures. It was mostly unnecessary except that once she had the standards, she pulled out one for Puppilus Domom Orphanage, tucking it in between the others. She rather thought that should answer his question without her saying a word that might incriminate her or endanger anyone.

@luke

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It was more complicated than that, she explained to him. Of course it was. He rolled his eyes, not at her, but at the Linley parents. He understood that the father, that Arthur dying wasn’t something he had chosen to do on purpose and so he couldn’t really be blamed for leaving the kids, but the mother, Barb had left on purpose. It all felt so heavy. He wasn’t prepared for this. He had no idea that this was what he was walking into when he moved across the country. He had to admit, he had the image of a perfect family all sitting around a dinner table, happy to welcome the son they gave up years ago when they weren’t ready for a child. Despite the flaws in his thoughts, he was glad he had come though. It seemed like a good enough time for him to get involved. Maybe they needed an adult. He was adult enough, right?

Padma got her receptionist working on the task and slid Luke a form across her desk to work on. “Of course.” he said and began putting his information down. She went out of the office, leaving the door open and he took the moment of almost privacy to take a deep breath. What had he just entered into? She returned as he was finishing the form, he slid it, and the quill, back to her side of the desk.

@padma

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Luke took her statement that it was complicated with about as much grace as she could expect, really. It was a bizarre situation, and Lucas was in his early twenties, and handling news that could not possibly what he had been hoping for with little more than an eye roll. But he filled out his form without any questions or protestations, and Padma accepted it with a smile.

"Thank you," she said, and filled in her own half of the form quickly and silently. She stacked it on top of the brochures she'd gathered and passed the stack over to him. "There are directions in one of the brochures in here to St. Mungo's, if you need them, as well as pretty much everything the Ministry thinks new members of the magical community in Britain ought to know. And if you book in an appointment with Kendra for a week from now, I'll answer any remaining questions you may have." It was both a dismissal and a promise, and she hoped he heard both.

@luke
ooc: done on your post, i think!

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The woman seemed to be wrapping up their conversation, which Luke was glad for. But on the other hand, he did have remaining questions. He had so much more he wanted to know, but nothing could be told without the blood test, and he understood that. As much as he wanted to stay and learn more, he also knew that he’d need time for what he already knew to better soak in, and more time for him to compile a better list of questions. “Alright. Thank you kindly for your time and assistance, ma’am.” he told her, keeping the papers in his hand and standing. He walked out of her office, made an appointment for next week, once the blood test would be done, and then headed back out in the city with a cloudy head.

The End!

@padma