WE ARE ALL MAD HERE | THE KARKAROFF'S

[Deleted]

It had been some time since all of the Karkaroff children gathered together under the same roof. While, it wasn't abnormal for them to go months without seeing one another, at least Aleksander had Casimir. Leaning on his older brother once more felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. There was something missing from Aleksander's life when Casimir went off to do his own thing. Sure, Aleksander understood, and was able to manage on his own...and keep everyone else afloat, but that was another story. 

Since it had been a while, Aleksander thought it was time for them all to gather once more for an evening of merriment. It was likely a bad idea on his part, but regardless, Aleksander had sent out the owls a week or so ago requesting his siblings presence. It was a short and sweet message, and surprisingly they all had agreed to show up. Now, they didn't necessarily know that all of the siblings would be there, but that was another debate that would occur once they were all congregated he was sure.

While Chantal was off doing Merlin knew what, Bane was already in bed asleep at this time of the evening. Mother was, per usual, on her side of the estate and rarely left. So it had been quiet on this night at Karkaroff Estate. With everything that had happened to himself and his siblings growing up, he understood why they all left. The desire to be and do something else burned within his siblings, and he respected them for it...to an extent.

Aleksander poured himself a glass of whiskey, which would likely be his only glass for the evening, and set it on the desk, a book on prophecies sitting among the ledgers. He flipped a couple of pages, taking a drink as he did so. His long brown hair pulled back into a bun, and he was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt, casual as he would call it. He was standing as he read, digging through what exactly the essence of a prophecy was. There were so many different aspects of the orb that it was often hard to decipher.

And yet this was Aleksander's element. While his siblings were off doing whatever they wanted, he remained as a dutiful figurehead. The married, pureblood male that did whatever it took to keep the Karkaroff name in good standing. At least, that's what it always looked like. Deep down, underneath the mask, was a dreamer, who wished nothing more than to be free like his siblings were. Hence, while he respected them, there was slight resentment even though he would never show it. After all that is what Aleksander did best...show nothing.

They lived the life that he wanted. While he lived the life that they all needed, and that was that. 

Family affair | MARCH 2027
anastasia marie karkaroff
Casimir Elias Karkaroff
DAMIAN ANDREAS KARKAROFF
✿

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

March 2027

Time passed quickly…but sometimes not quite quickly enough. As Cas Apparated skillfully onto the threshold, he gazed up at Karkaroff Manor with an expression of disdainful scorn. He’d never liked the shadowy figure of the manor in the countryside just outside Prague, a dark scar on an otherwise idyllic view. Dark and imposing walls, a sprawling layout, isolated from the inane bustle of middle-class life in the city…it was everything a pureblood mansion should be, a symbol of the status and purity of the Karkaroff line. But the house stood out of time, out of place, and it reminded Cas too much that the world had moved on from it, and them. There were too many memories here, ghosts of the past that he could never quite seem to shake off, and it exhausted him to think of the evening that was still ahead of him.

He was probably the first one to make it. Damian would no doubt do his absolute best to be late, stroll in with a dragon leather jacket and a cigarette he could put out in one of the manor’s crystal ashtrays. Ana might have arrived already, but she was probably in the garden kicking at a stump so she could relieve some of her frustrations before putting up with their mother’s passive-aggressive remarks for the rest of the night. And Alek? Likely already inside preparing to host his siblings. Cas could always rely on his brother to play the part and hold himself with the bearing of a good son. They’d always been the perfect team, the two oldest Karkaroff boys. Cas knew everybody, knew how to advance their interests – stock the family vault with treasure, expand their network to touch every pureblood family in Europe. And Alek kept the operation running while he was gone, kept everything quiet at home so Cas didn’t need to worry about a war on two fronts.

Yes, Cas knew he could rely on Alek. It’d been some time since he’d seen him for any longer than the minute it took to drop off or pick up his nephew, but the Karkaroffs were used to that. And Cas had been busy doing what he did best – expanding the family enterprise. He’d originally bought the Poisoned Spindle for the Order, not to make galleons, but it’d been almost a year since the safe house had been used for that purpose. Now it served the Karkaroff family in a different way, and it was gaining its own reputation in Knockturn Alley. The club had taken most of his attention to establish the day-to-day operations, but now it could run well enough on its own. Which meant Cas no longer had any viable excuses to avoid a visit to the family headquarters. He pushed through the vast doors and marched through the entryway without so much as turning his head to examine the expensive hangings or dimly lit corridors. No, he made his way directly to the ‘family room’ (which didn’t fulfill that purpose anymore) where he knew he’d find Alek. His brother was predictably already seated and with a drink in hand, probably only his first, however, while Ana would have already been halfway through the bottle. Cas raised an eyebrow at the jeans – since he himself never went anywhere in less than business attire – but didn’t comment. Instead he took a seat and waved his wand to summon the whiskey. Cas pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat back with a drink in hand and muttered, “I don’t have the patience for Damian tonight.”

@aleksander
DAMIAN ANDREAS KARKAROFF
anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

a deep nod in agreement

a status quo exile

March 2027
Casimir Elias Karkaroff
@aleksander
DAMIAN ANDREAS KARKAROFF

Seeing her own name scrawled in a plane-style script on a letter was not unusual, but Ana did a double-take as she recognized the handwriting that she seldom saw. Alek typically didn’t write to her. That was Cas’ job usually. And Damien preferred to grace her with his irritating presence just as he’d always done when they were young. Internally she groaned and loathed the idea of some family get-together in her childhood home where her mother still (unfortunately) lived. Well, Ana supposed they were overdue for some obligatory reunion and to make sure her nephew still recognized her as his Aunt as well. It wasn’t good for public appearances if he didn’t know who she was.

It was strange that Alek was putting this together—though she immediately assumed that Casimir was pulling the strings as he always did, and the rest dutifully fell in their place. Well, as much as Ana and Damian would let him, Alek was reliable in the sense that he could do what he was told. Ana loved her brothers in the strange way the Karkaroffs knew how to love at all, though she was grateful she’d been born with some willpower and semblance of a spine. She apparated and paused to take in the old building where she had spent so many unhappy years. A chill always traveled up her spine when she’d return and one that made her want to leave as quickly as she’d arrived.

Stepping through the front door, she didn’t see anybody. The staff had dwindled over the years, and all that remained were the most loyal. The ones that had seen them born and now grown, the same ones that would comment on remembering their father as a young boy and the day they met their mother and new mistress. They had never been unkind to Ana, but she had hated them as a child when they just stood there and watched her mother treat her daughter the way she did. Though when she got older, she understood they simply couldn’t. As she neared the main room, her low heels only lightly made noise on the old floors, so she could hear her oldest brother’s exasperated voice from the hallway.

”Does anyone?” Ana responded to announce her presence as she entered the family room. She quickly glanced to her side and whoever was sitting in the armchair to her side. And she once again did a double-take. ”I thought you were Josef for a moment.” Ana crossed her arms as she waited for Cas to finish with the bottle of whiskey. ”I take it mother hasn’t seen you yet.” Her mother would have plenty to say about the length of her son’s hair and his casual attire at the manor. At least if it was Joseph, long-time and faithful butler to the Karkaroff family, she would have said it was because he was the help. ”And Damian? Or is he still in France pretending he can speak French?”

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[DAMIAN ANDREAS KARKAROFF]

Damian had no desire to make time for his family tonight. He had much more interesting and fruitful opportunities to chase. But he imagined Cas' face, the stern look he was always on the receiving end of at the thought of skipping it. There would be a reminder of duty to the family, keeping up appearances and rationalising. Damian rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he frowned down at the letter from Alek. He would go, of course. But he would make it much more interesting.

Predictably, Damian was the last to arrive. He pushed open the door and drifted into the room where his siblings were gathered, delighted to find that their conversation centred around his favourite topic - himself. "Mon francais est la meillure de cette famille,"[My French is the best of this family] said Damian with a smirk."Glad to know I've already sparked a conversation even without being present," he added.

Damian turned his gaze to Aleksander. "What's this about anyways? I have French girls to impress with my non-native tongue," said Damian, the meaning plain on his face. "I don't understand the point of an all family meeting. It's all squabbles and we never get anything done. Maybe Cas should hire a personal assistant to get all of the admin out of the way." Glancing at his eldest brother, Damian thought there may actually be some value to that suggestion. "Have you got any wine? I'm thirsty," he added suddenly, sulking off to the kitchen in search of something alcoholic to drink. He may as well bring round a few bottles if he was to get through this.

@aleksander
anastasia marie karkaroff
Casimir Elias Karkaroff