just like the good old days (Will)

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

April 7, 2025 

Cas never really went out into the field anymore, but…well, these last two weeks, he’d been breaking all sorts of routines. Someone else was rifling through his ledgers, he was selling cursed relics to teenagers…a decade ago, it might have frazzled him, but curse-breaking and Knockturn Alley had toughened him up. And anyway, this most recent Ouroboros assignment actually seemed, well, right up his alley. He wasn’t the sentimental type, not really, but he did miss those days of total freedom. So he didn’t complain.

The job was shrouded in mystery, so Cas apparated to the approximate location with very few details. He recited what he knew in his head as he examined the grassy area around him. Basic surveillance, scoping out an old manor in the countryside that had once belonged to a long-departed pureblood family. It was difficult to know what to expect from those types of residences – whether they’d be cursed, how much was still standing, and if they were truly abandoned. Still, he couldn’t help but secretly hope for some antiques, maybe a little curse or two to keep things interesting. After all, it was precisely everything he lived for.

He’d come early – mostly out of habit – so he found an old tree to lean on while he waited for his associate, the manor faintly visible in the distance. His mind shifted from the details of the mission to a letter he’d been poring over before departing. Its contents concerned him (as did most of the correspondence from his family) and he frowned as he considered this new problem. A strategy did not immediately reveal itself to him, and as with most of the family matters, it would likely be an agonizing decision that he’d have to bear alone. The thought didn’t please him, but then again, very little did these days.

@will

[Deleted]

Harry was excited to have something to do outside of school for a moment. He was still having a hard time with the politics of Ouroboros and all, but he didn't want to reveal himself to all his nieces and nephews and friends and everyone in order to get more insider information. But when he was asked to help, he stepped up. Not only because he wanted to be useful but also because he was getting a tiny bit restless. So, he went as his disguise, John Dent, and arrived at the meeting place. He was a few minutes late, which was kind of a habit he wasn't great at breaking. Didn't even matter how old he got, he still needed to find things to do or he got antsy.

When he arrived, he smiled at the sight of Cas, who wouldn't know how John Dent was... which made him a little sad. He gave a wave, "you must be the person I'm meeting,", he suggested, making his voice slightly lower to try and sound less like himself.

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Perhaps there had been a time when Cas knew how to relax, but too many factors these days prevented him from ever being completely calm. Even as he reread the letter for what must have been the hundredth time, he was on edge and listening for the telltale sign of Apparition. It seemed that his brother only ever wrote to him about problems he expected Cas to address, and family affairs were always a nerve-wracking issue. Not that Cas ever allowed anyone to see how frazzled he could get.

He’d been expecting an old colleague of his from Ouroboros to appear, so when he heard evidence of his arrival Cas quietly folded and tucked away the letter before turning around. The arrival of a complete stranger, however, stilled Cas completely and caused his eyes to narrow as he looked over the new figure. He didn’t reply immediately to the other man’s statement. A trap, or just a change in plans?

It always grated him to do it, but Cas chose to play dumb. The place was too deserted to pretend he’d wandered here accidentally, but there was something he could make of this. “Ah, so you’re here purposely then?” Cas could easily have added to the excuse – a stray Portkey perhaps, or an Apparition gone wrong – but it was too early to box himself in entirely, and a satisfactory answer to his question could easily end the whole charade. “I’m afraid I’m quite uncertain why I’m here. My colleague appears to have disappeared.”

HARRY JAMES POTTER