so much more than our destinies [Ariadne]

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Early July 2025

The Leaky Cauldron had always been something of a neutral zone. Witches and wizards of all kinds congregated there, and it wasn’t unusual to stop by for a drink or a covert conversation in the evenings when all the usual traffic had gone. It was one of Cas’s typical spots when he needed to meet other members of Ouroboros and didn’t want to use one of their safe houses. He could always rely on the Leaky Cauldron as a plausible meeting place for people he normally couldn’t be seen associating with (which, let’s be honest, was basically all of Ouroboros except Titus). It also helped not to frequent the same places too much -- Cas had been favoring Hogsmeade too much recently, and it would benefit him to switch up his routine to avoid any potential tails.

As was the case today. It hadn’t been long since the squad leaders had held their last roundtable to discuss the future of Ouroboros. There’d been serious discussion and serious decisions made, but today was less complicated than contemplating the fundamental nature of Ouroboros and its future. Parvati had reached out to him, through the usual covert channels, about a new member. She hadn’t given him details (also not rare, details were unadvisable for any form of communication not face-to-face) but Cas had put together the basics. A new member of Ouroboros who would benefit from talking to him. He wasn’t much the mentor type, but Odette had taught him some lessons in that regard. That sort of relationship went both ways, after all.

So, after closing up his storefront for the day, he’d traveled to the Leaky Cauldron and found a table that was sufficiently hidden from sight without appearing to try too hard. That was his style after all – wait to be approached, and find the right seat to see all the action. He’d blend in better with a meal or a drink, but he could wait until he was approached. Cas was patient, after all, and beyond curious what he could offer that Parvati couldn’t for this new member.

@ariadne

[Deleted]

Ariadne had found a message waiting for her in her private office nook at the Hospital; during usual times they would be promoted to their own private office spaces, but with space at a minimum, they had to cram together, and keep barriers in place for privacy. It had given her instruction to go to the Leaky Cauldron and wait for someone named Cas to approach her. She had no idea who this Cas person was, or what he would look like, but apparently he would know her. Cas was a nickname for both male and female names, so really it could be anyone. She went home after her shift and showered; she was sweaty and tired after her long shift, and the hot water helped refresh her body.

After she dressed, she Apparated away to the Leaky Cauldron and walked through the doors. She noticed a few customers left, including one tucked away in the corner, but her instruction was to wait to be approached. So she sat at the bar and ordered a glass of white wine. There would be time for food later she hoped, but the wine would help calm her nerves a little bit. What if this person treated her with contempt because of what her family had done? With an involuntary shudder, she turned back and smiled at the bartender as he placed her glass of wine in front of her. She took a small sip and sighed, settling onto the stool and waited to be approached by whoever it was that was meeting her.

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

His half-hidden table gave him the perfect vantage point to observe all the other patrons of the Leaky Cauldron and Cas kept a careful eye on his surroundings as he pretended to look over a menu. Logic dictated that he be the one to approach this new member of Ouroboros – he was better equipped for it, after all, and he preferred to take charge of any situations involving surveillance. His time in Ouroboros had greatly sharpened his observational skills, and subsequently his paranoia, because – well, there were larger consequences to messing up from his position.

Even if he hadn’t been given a dossier, there was enough he could guess about this member to spot them. Cas recalled a ‘she’ and naturally it had to be someone Parvati would be in a position to recruit, which pointed him towards students or, at least, a younger demographic. That eliminated some of the old warlocks huddled around various tables, and naturally anybody that had come in a pair or group. Cas’s eyes landed on a young woman who’d recently arrived and found a seat at the bar who seemed to tick off all the boxes. It was worth a shot. He slowly put down the menu and casually walked across the room to slide into a seat right by the woman nursing a glass of wine.

As the bartender walked over to take his order, Cas replied succinctly with, “Just a gillywater,” and nodded slightly as the drink was placed in front of him a moment later. It wasn’t to his normal tastes (he preferred something a little stronger to take the edge off at the end of the day), but Cas made it a point to never drink on this type of job. He couldn’t afford to get sloppy. He eyed the woman next to him – she seemed on edge, nerves or just a long day? – but took a slow sip before turning slightly to address her. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are you new?” Simple enough words with a double-meaning, exactly his style.

@ariadne

[Deleted]

Ariadne barely heard the person slide into the stool next to her, and she glanced briefly at the person. Dark haired, tall, and..ordering a gillywater. That seemed off; most people seemed to order something with a bit more of a kick to it. Then he spoke again, asking if she was new, and that he hadn’t seen her around. Well, that was silly, the Leaky Cauldron was run by her adoptive mother, Hannah Longbottom, so if anyone was new it’d be him. Still there was something about the way he said it that made her pay attention.

“From a certain point of view,” she answered, turning her gaze towards him. She gave him a half smile. “You must be Cas,” she added, taking another sip of her wine before turning her attention to the sandwich that was just placed in front of her. She paid the bartender and picked up the place. “Shall we go back to your table then? I assume you haven’t been waiting long,” she asked, her eyes never leaving his.

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

She caught on quickly, for a new recruit. That was one of the trickiest things about trainees, and the reason Cas was uninterested in membership issues like recruitment – they had to be trained, taught everything from scratch, and the beginning was where you were most liable to go wrong. He’d entertained a few possibilities for how identifying himself to the right person might go tonight, and most of them had required a long drawn-out conversation to get to the right starting place. So he was a little shocked, but mostly relieved, to get on the same page so quickly.

He returned her half-smile with one of his own, raising his glass in a sort of greeting at the sound of his name. “Cas Karkaroff,” he confirmed smoothly, “although you seem to have me at a disadvantage.” He gave a slow if not distracted nod at her question as he let his eyes sweep over their immediate surroundings. The bartender had moved a safe distance away, and the only other patrons nearby were two witches in the middle of what seemed to be a deep and noisy conversation. Nobody was paying any attention to the pair as they exchanged greetings. Perfect.

Cas wasn’t one for using words where none were needed, so as fluidly as he’d taken the seat next to hers he slid off the stool and made his way back to his secluded table, simple gillywater in hand. Cas silently contemplated the girl as he sat down. He’d been expecting someone young, but it was different to expect something and then see it in front of you. Maybe it was a simply a sign of the impact Titus and Parvati had managed to make over the years, but it hit Cas in that moment with melancholy to think that the burden of the fight against society’s worst lay with such young wizards and witches. So it had to be, he supposed. He idly placed his drink on the table. "Not what you were expecting, I presume." He never was.

@ariadne

[Deleted]

Ariadne allowed herself a small smile as he asked if he was what she was expecting. “Life has taught me to expect anything,” she told him, taking another sip of her wine. Karkaroff, she did remember that name. His relative, presumably, was the Durmstrang headmaster back in the nineties, and was a Death Eater along with her parents. Not a very good one, from their musings; he had turned tail for the Ministry and had put away a Ministry worker who was on their side. In Ariadne’s own opinion however, she thought he’d done the right thing. Perhaps not for the right reasons, but Avery had been dangerous.

“My name is Ariadne. Ariadne Lestrange,” she finally said, meeting his eyes. “So you see, you can understand why I learned to expect anything,” she added softly. Her family name was poison among the wizarding world, and she understood why. Though, with Parvati’s help, she had learned that her surname didn’t define her, and she could make her own name by doing good work, both in her job and outside of it.

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

She didn’t seem to get fazed easily. That was good – Cas had very little patience to deal with people who spooked easily. As she introduced herself in return – Lestrange, a twist he should have seen coming – he didn’t respond immediately but instead considered her thoughtfully. The referral from Parvati made much more sense at this point. How, despite being in different squads, a meeting could be ‘productive.’ Cas didn’t make any move to respond quickly, but instead flagged down a server to order some dinner. It was better to blend in, and they might be a while.

Cas waited until he was certain he wouldn’t be overheard, then asked coolly, “It’s still Lestrange, then?” He wasn’t one to follow the gossip rags, but front page news was hardly that – he, along with the rest of the wizarding community, had read about the deaths at Hogwarts and Ariadne’s suspected role for some time. He’d been raised with a respectful fear of the Lestrange family (for perhaps different reasons than most of Ouroboros), but had since heard plenty in the pureblood community about the ‘strange Lestrange girls.’ He had never developed a private opinion of Ariadne, but he knew what his public one should be.

He shot her an amused look. “Well, from one blood traitor to another, I suppose I should welcome you to the club. It’s a difficult game to play.”

@ariadne

[Deleted]

Ariadne managed a small smile at his blood traitor comment. She had been called far worse by her own parents before their untimely demise, and with James protecting her, she had weathered the storm of insults. “Yes, still Lestrange, even though the Longbottoms technically adopted my sister and I,” she explained. “I do not want to hide where I come from; instead I want to prove that not all Lestranges are psychopaths intent on Pureblood world domination.” She would be lying if she said she had always felt that way - she certainly had not. But getting out from her parents thumb, and being with James, she began to remember that it was not the name that made the person, but the person that made the name.

“It wasn’t always this….straightforward,” she admitted. “When I was accused of those murders at Hogwarts, it was horrible. I cried myself to sleep every night, but had to keep quiet enough so that Desirae wouldn’t throw her pillow at me to stop being a baby. Ironic really, seeing the part she had played in the whole thing in retrospect,” she said with a wry smile. She did not believe in speaking ill of the dead, but she had never fully trusted her quick witted roommate, and she was rewarded in her mistrust when it came out that Desi was Elaine’s right hand woman before her death. “What about you? The last name Karkaroff doesn’t exactly inspire ballads of heroism,” she asked, taking another sip of her wine.

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Now that the pair had settled and were away from potential eavesdroppers, the conversation grew more honest. Cas was still a relative newcomer to the United Kingdom – he couldn’t have arrived more than five or six years ago – so he still had much to learn culturally about well-known institutions like Hogwarts. He couldn’t even recall visiting the school before. Although he was rapidly becoming familiar with the lingering mistrust of old family names like Lestrange or Karkaroff. They were much more villainized here than they had been in Prague.

The story she told was one he’d heard from several purebloods since joining the Order. Wanting to be a better person, putting some distance between themselves and the family name. They were admirable sentiments, he supposed, even if they were rather divorced from his own perspective. Cas had no interest in being a good person – although maybe slightly in being a better one. “These things rarely are straightforward,” he acknowledged, steepling his fingers thoughtfully as he considered her story. She was a well-known blood traitor, and probably didn’t have the ability to navigate pureblood society anymore like he did.

He gave a wry smile as she asked about him. “Yes, my uncle’s reputation seems to be alive and well in Britain.” He shrugged slightly, eyes trailing over the room before settling back on Ariadne. “I suppose I am here for a similar reason. Settling old family debts.” The Karkaroffs, between his uncle and his father, had done plenty of damage to Britain’s magical community. It seemed reasonable enough that he should be the one to change that legacy, however anonymously. “But there is a value to working quietly, you know. Ballads of heroism interest me less than operating where others cannot.”

@ariadne

[Deleted]

Ariadne raised a brow at him. “I hope you don’t think I want a ballad written of my heroism. Unless it’s about the babies I help deliver at Saint Mungos,” she said slowly, just a touch of ice in her tone. Her Aunt Bellatrix, though she had never known her, had certainly done enough to have her go down in history books as a mad, evil witch. Most of that side of the family had, her own father included. On the younger generation, though Ares would never affirm it, he was likely aligned with the Purifiers as their parents would have been had they lived, and Andromeda? Well...Andy marched to the beat of her own drum. “My purpose for joining is to help make the world a better place for everyone, from Muggleborns to those who can trace their lineage back to the founders of Hogwarts,” she added, taking another sip of wine.

“My brother is holding up the old ideal of the Lestranges well enough anyway, it was high time someone stood up and broke from those ideals. I don’t want to marry too young, or change my last name because people fear it. I want people to understand that just because the fruit of a tree can be rotten, it doesn’t mean you should rip it out, root and stem.” She was overexplaining herself, she was sure, but she didn’t appreciate the tone he had taken. “Why don’t you want people to know it’s you changing your legacy for the better? There must be another reason other than not wanting songs sung of your accomplishments,” she asked him, looking him square in the eye.

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

Cas was hard with people. He knew that he could be difficult, and he tended to challenge those he spoke with (especially if they were younger) if only to see what they were made of. He wasn’t soft, or affectionate, and while he’d taken on the role of mentor in the past his form of teaching relied on self-sufficiency and having an iron spine. If someone bent easily, then it became readily obvious that they weren’t ready for any serious life lessons or even really to take on a challenge at all. His philosophy was very much ‘sink or swim’…he didn’t make things easy. He didn’t offer direct assistance so much as observations meant to guide future decisions.

He was pleased to see that as mild as Ariadne appeared at first sight, she must have some sense of fighting spirit to challenge him. Ariadne quickly countered that she hoped he knew she wasn’t looking for any ballads, just an interest in helping people. Cas filed away the information that she seemed to work in the maternity ward at St. Mungo’s and responded smoothly. “Hardly,” he began, “but most people do like to feel appreciated.” The inflection in his words, especially the emphasis on ‘most’ was very deliberate, although his tone was as smooth and casual as when he’d started speaking. She was idealistic, and her viewpoints on pureblood society and proving her worth were hardly unique – Cas had heard it many times. And it wasn’t even that he disagreed – he despised pureblood ideologies – only he preferred a more subtle approach towards rebellion.

Her question was a good one – why bother with the secrecy? Cas was brutally honest. “When I began, it was about playing the odds. Keeping one foot on each side until I could gauge which was stronger.” It wasn’t a pretty thing to say, it definitely wasn’t evidence of being ‘good,’ and it was one of the many things that showed Cas’s self-serving mindset. “But…” It was hard to share the truth, if only because it had been drilled into him at such a young age that secrets were power and the truth was best kept to oneself. And it was a highly personal answer – most Ouroboros people didn’t know, or at least didn’t bother to ask. Cas shrugged lightly. “But now it’s about filling a need. Ouroboros needs members embedded deeply in Knockturn, or any other dark place you might find a Purifier. They need someone who understands and can approach the enemy, if only because we occupy the same space in society.” He smiled wryly and leaned back in his chair. “So, you can understand the need for secrecy. And in the meantime, I can live with my coworkers’ distrust – and dare I say disgust – at what I do.”

@ariadne

[Deleted]

Ariadne tilted her head a little as Casimir explained himself to her. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t fascinated by the inner thoughts and workings of families with large Death Eater ties like herself and why they chose to side with who they thought was best. She had an entirely different reason of course; she just truly didn’t believe that Purebloods were better than everyone else. It didn’t take playing both sides for her to see that, although plenty of people seemed to believe she would. It was easy, she supposed, for others to just assume she was either evil or playing both sides simply due to her family. She had tried to be the perfect daughter, and never revealed how she really felt to her parents except for refusing to learn how to torture or any Dark Arts they taught her brother. Still, the expectations of society for people like them were astronomical, and Ariadne didn’t think that was really fair.

“We shouldn’t be judged for what our families did, and yet society will never let the past go,” Ariadne said softly, looking down at her wine glass before draining the contents. “I decided to become a Healer because I wanted to do good, I wanted to...show the world I guess that I wanted to help life come into the world instead of snuffing it out.” She laughed mirthlessly. “Saint Mungos asked me if I could refer to myself as Healer Longbottom instead of Healer Lestrange on my first day of training. I wanted to protest, but I realized that this prejudice would just get in the way of me doing my job, so I agreed.” Ariadne paused again. “It’s why my patients usually call me Healer Ariadne or just Ariadne instead, so I don’t feel like I’m lying.”

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

There was some truth to Ariadne’s words – British society had a long memory. Cas had been prepared for that reality when he first began to work at Borgin and Burke’s, but the peculiarities of the United Kingdom continued to reappear at many often inconvenient moments. The magical community in Prague was small, certainly smaller than in many other major European cities, and Cas had only ever been exposed to the pureblood elite. Those social events had been very particular in how wizards presented themselves, and how history was remembered. But even at Durmstrang, Cas had never had so much trouble with his last name as in British society. In Durmstrang, it only really mattered who was strong and who was weak – once Cas had established himself as someone who couldn’t be cowed into submission, the abuse had largely stopped. It had taken him a long time to apply that thinking to the Order.

He studied Ariadne as she recounted her experiences at St. Mungo’s. “You might find that same treatment here,” he said coolly, taking care to avoid mentioning Ouroboros by name. “It’s human nature. Trust is a fragile commodity, while suspicion can linger for ages. Even across generations.” He shrugged slightly. What she had described was not unusual, and he had encountered the same treatment in Ouroboros and other parts of polite society (not that he usually ventured there). People had a difficult time looking past the name Karkaroff. It had taken him many years to realize he should not be working to erase his family name, but to change it instead to mean something new. To show, if only to the other members of Ouroboros, that he was an asset not despite his family name but because of it.

Accepting that reality for what it was didn't mean he agreed with her philosphy, however, and he leaned forward slightly in his chair and lightly tapped his fingers on the table. “I am going to tell you a truth, Ariadne, although you may not like to hear it.” He paused slightly, then pushed forward callously. “You are a Lestrange. It’s not a name you can wear or dispose of as you please. The reality of it is in your blood, and people will see it no matter how much you work to hide it or prove otherwise. But…” He shifted in his seat, slightly agitated now as he considered this hard-won lesson in his life, and the conclusions he had reached after years of tormenting himself with it. “But you can take away the power that name has over you. Not by rejecting it – no, the opposite. By accepting it as part of who you are, and refusing to apologize for it. You are a Lestrange, but you’re not one of them.” He waved his hand dismissively – he meant her aunt, or his uncle, or their parents. “I am a Karkaroff,” he said slowly, “I know who I am, and I do not tolerate any insinuations from my colleagues that I am...a spy, perhaps, or a chained dog. If you are serious about joining...you need to understand how they will see you. And you will need to work much harder to earn their respect, but not as Ariadne. As Ariadne Lestrange.” He leaned back in his chair. Cas did not approve of purebloods who did everything they could to erase their names -- not because he believed in blood purity (far from it), but because he knew that names were power, and that power came not from denying what was there but from learning how to live with it.

@ariadne

[Deleted]

Ariadne braced herself for what Casimir was going to say. He had prefaced that she may not like what he had to say, so she knew it would have something to do with their last names invoking thoughts of disgust and rage with the British wizarding community. Her instinct proved correct, but Cas actually made very good points. She had been troubled by Saint Mungo’s asking her to go by Healer Ariadne instead of Healer Lestrange, but she also knew that if a patient in labor heard she was being treated by a Lestrange, they would likely panic or refuse her admittance into the ward. It wasn’t fair, really, to either of them. They were so much more than their last names, but the British were so scared of her aunt that they immediately assumed she was just like her. Ariadne had been accused of killing the first years on the train after all, even though in her six years at Hogwarts she had never hurt a fly.

“I am a Lestrange,” she said slowly, a small smile quirking at her lips. “I am Ariadne Lestrange, and I am so much more than my last name,” she repeated, willing herself to believe in it. “I am serious about making a difference in the world, a positive difference. I do not sink down to the level of my aunt and torture or kill anyone who stands in my way. Even if people talk about me behind my back, I will hold my head up and defy their expectations with action.” She laughed. “Do I sound ridiculous?” she asked, looking Cas directly in the eye.

Casimir Elias Karkaroff

[Casimir Elias Karkaroff]

She certainly was a quick learner, or at least more willing to listen than most witches and wizards with a chip on their shoulder that Cas had come across. He had spent years trying to drill the lesson into Rhys Greyback’s thick head during his time as his mentor. Rhys was too easy to provoke, and once his anger took over there was nothing one could do to bring him back from the brink except take control of the situation forcefully. Cas's sister was more receptive to his lessons, but Ana still worked incredibly hard to rebel against their mother in increasingly obvious ways. Cas was patient, more patient than most, and that was likely the main reason he was in such a unique position to play the balancing game between pureblood society and Ouroboros. It required a long-term view most people simply didn’t have.

He mirrored Ariadne’s slight smile as she spoke. “No,” he responded shortly as she asked if she sounded ridiculous. “But it’s easy to say it to me. It’ll be much harder to say this to other people, and even harder when they don’t believe you.” He paused to consider his words, and replay every memory he had of a skeptical member of the Order challenging his reasons for being there or refusing to work a mission with him. “The hardest challenge will be to believe it yourself. Nobody else will trust you if you don’t place that confidence and trust in yourself first.” Eventually Cas had found people he could work with. His partnership with Parvati was much stronger than with the other squad leaders, and as a result their squads often worked more closely together. He’d also had that bond with Claire once, and he could have almost fooled himself into believing there had been a mutual trust there.

Cas chuckled slightly as he thought of a line Titus always liked to repeat. He mostly used it to charm women, although it had come up in conversations between the two of them as well whenever one of them mentioned Ouroboros. “We are so much more than our destinies,” Cas said out-loud, weighing the words. He had never said it out-loud before – it better fit Titus’s worldview than his own cynical approach. But he couldn’t deny that it had a ring of truth to it. He spoke bluntly to Ariadne. “I think you have potential. But I’ve seen bright witches and wizards become buried under the expectations people have of them. You’re not starting something easy. But it will end up being one of the most important things you ever do.”

@ariadne