my blood | maxima

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

Rhys sat at a table, a glass of fire whiskey sitting idly in front of him. His arms were crossed and his blue eyes unfocused but lost in thought. This year had been an eventful one and not the good type of events. The quarantine was more or less still in effect so he had been home for the summer, it meant he had more time with his thoughts but then again he had more to spend with his siblings as well. His three youngest siblings were on Summer holiday though their term was due to start in a few short weeks. He had taken this opportunity to talk to spend time with them. Even though Rhys only met them as soon as they arrived at Hogwarts it didn't feel as though it had been such a short time. His sister Maxima was sue to start her final year at school and they had bonded over their House affiliation among other things though she had been fortunate enough to not be a werewolf.

The quarantine wasn't all that terrible and ever since Elias died he was terrified deep down that another sibling would be taken from him and in his nightmares he was just an orphan again, watching his family taken away right in front of him as his mother had been. Rhys didn't speak often at all about his nightmares and deep seated fears and instead preferred to maintain the "put-together" look he had worked so hard to craft over his twenty-four, almost twenty-five years. Which reminded him of his upcoming birthday, not something he made a big deal of personally as he had never been accustomed to it being such an event.

He'd spent the summer also reading which he found he missed, drinking to calm the thoughts he had when he wasn't reading, spending time with friends such as Nell and Maria when he was feeling an urge. Oh, that was a complicated aspect of his life. Complicated in that Rhys was fully aware of their terrible personal relationship but they couldn't keep away from one another. Not to mention she and his younger sisters absolutely despised one another. Rhys continued to ponder these things until a voice took him out of his thoughts.

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 15, 2025

"Hi, Rhys."

It had been a while since Max had seen her elder half-brother, and she knew that she was running short of chances to do so before the end of the summer. That was how it always went, it felt like; just when she had begun to grow accustomed to being home from Hogwarts again, she had to return to school. It was even stranger, though, now that it was going to be her seventh and final year that she was entering. She wasn't sure that she felt entirely ready to leave Hogwarts behind, though she had a few more months before she would have to leave the castle behind for good. It wasn't "home", necessarily, but she was there more than she was at her actual home with her mother and stepfather and her maternal half-siblings.

Beyond Hogwarts and life as a prefect, Max also knew that the magical world was hardly as safe as some claimed it to be. Even when things weren't happening out of malice, necessarily—as was the case with the fireworks explosion at the Quidditch finals from which she and Jamie had narrowly escaped—it was obvious that there weren't enough people doing enough behind the scenes to keep everyone from being thoroughly terrorized. It frustrated Max to no end, primarily because she knew that there wasn't too much that she could do to hold—well, whoever was actually responsible—responsible for it.

The Elias Greyback Memorial Relief Fund still existed, though Max and her mother, Khadija, both had stepped away from the day-to-day operations of it. The donations had become too numerous, and there was enough public interest in keeping it running in Elias's name that Khadija had left it in the hands of a number of trustees with more experience in that sort thing. All that Max had really wanted to do with it was ensure that the victims and their families were provided for. About a year on, she hoped she'd done that well enough, but it was more than she could really take on alongside her NEWTs.

Hogwarts and its eventual leaving examinations aside, Max had gone to the Three Broomsticks to meet with Rhys, who looked lost in thought as she approached him.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

Suddenly, he was back in the present as his eyes quickly moved to the voice that addressed him and he very quickly relaxed. It was his sister and he smiled and pushed all the thoughts of Maria, the attacks this year and other things for now. "Hey Max, how are you?" It still amazed him she was going to be in her final and seventh year in a few short weeks. When Rhys had met Max he had already graduated from Hogwarts and was completing his Curse-Breaker training and Jamie and Adrian were also at Hogwarts and had written to him letting them know about the discovery of another sibling. His relationship with Jamie had been slow to start considering the new context for the both of them and not really sure what to make of it along with the large age difference. But once they clicked, it had become a lot easier. He had even wondered would his sister be sorted into Ravenclaw as if to complete the quartet of a Greyback in each Hogwarts house but they would have to wait a few years for that event.

Rhys and Max had always bonded over their shared Hogwarts House and had similar misgivings about being accepted into magical society with their relation. He'd hoped that her older siblings had made it easier but it was always hard to gauge these things. Rhys waved his hand to the empty chair in front of him so she would sit down. "So, you all ready for your term to start? Have you gotten everything you need?" Max had been busy as of late and with the fund that she had helped create for their brother Elias it had been hard to find time to see her. Normally, Rhys was the busy one with traveling and such which is why he hadn't really involved himself much in the running of the fund aside from donating. And he always asked out of habit if they needed anything, but that was just the orphan in him. 

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 15, 2025

Rhys smiled at her and greeted her, asking her how she was.

"I'm alright. You?" Max nodded, sitting down after he gestured to the empty chair at the place across the table from him. Fortunately, unless there was anything that he hadn't told her, there hadn't been much significant in the news. Viktor Krum was now their Minister for Magic, and Max supposed that was good. He wasn't the usual politician; he had been a Professional Quidditch player, but at least he didn't seem to be too extreme in any way.

"So, you all ready for your term to start? Have you gotten everything you need?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Max nodded. "I didn't need much." She already had most of the books that she needed, since she had been at NEWT level the previous year. "Some new quills and ink, mostly."

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

Rhys shrugged, it had been a strange year all around. The attack earlier in the year, a new Minister and quarantine. Plus he'd attained new extra-curriculars as well. "Going a bit stir crazy. They've limited our work with everything going on this year." Rhys responded, he was used to traveling and being on the move. His time home had been in bursts and he would visit family, friends and then drink. His sister was entering her final year, but her classes would be the same as the previous year. "Given any thought to what you'd do after this year?" Careers were usually decided earlier but some tracks had overlapping coursework. For example, Rhys could have gone and applied for Auror training with his NEWTs as they were similar to curse-breaking. The ministry, especially the Aurors didn't seem like the best place for a werewolf, however.

"I haven't had a chance to see Jamie or Adrian lately, what have they been up to?" It had been easier to find time with them or even gather all of them when they had been students and Rhys the lone graduate, but times had changed.

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 15, 2025

"Going a bit stir crazy," Rhys replied to her about how he was. "They've limited our work with everything going on this year."

It was probably for the better that Gringotts was being cautious about sending anyone back out on any Curse-Breaking expeditions. Hag's Fever was still a risk, and getting permission in advance from the Ministry to travel wasn't a sure thing. There was the possibility that they would have to stop travel altogether again, so Max was glad that Rhys wouldn't run into any issues and end up stuck somewhere without a way to return home.

"Given any thought to what you'd do after this year?" he asked her, and Max guessed that he meant as a career, or at least as a job.

Max, who had gone into her sixth year with plans to hopefully become a Healer, wasn't entirely certain if that was what she wanted to do. She had the marks for it (so far, at least, from her OWLs), and she knew that it was likely something that she could pursue. Her Healing Touch didn't actually give her a significant advantage over anyone, as far as she knew. She didn't suddenly know how to heal people in a way that she could explain to anyone; she just did it. And she honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to spend two additional years in training to become a Healer, or if she wanted the stress that being a Healer brought with it.

"Yeah, a bit," she said simply. Rhys hadn't asked her what she'd been thinking about, only if she had given it any thought, and she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do if not becoming a Healer.

"I haven't had a chance to see Jamie or Adrian lately," Rhys added. "What have they been up to?"

"Work, probably?" She had seen Jamie more frequently than she had Adrian, but even their time together was few and far between. "I haven't seen them as much as I'd like," Max explained. "They're probably just busy, though."

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

"What are you thinking of doing?" Rhys asked her, drinking more of his whiskey. At the rate he had been drinking lately he wouldn't be surprised if he had a few before he left here. While he wasn't a lightweight by any means, being stuck at home without his usual work schedule had left him with too much time on his hands and that time had him finding new types of trouble and he was sure it wasn't done. "Yea, you're probably right." Rhys agreed with her, since they had graduated they had moved onto their respective careers. Dragons and Potions. The Greyback siblings seemed to occupy a variety of different occupations when it came to the career front and it just showed their varied interests. Still, it was a chance to do something positive in the world, which is why he had agreed to help Jamie with her Potions testing. That thought only reminded him of how exhausted he was, the insomnia and the nightmares had increased but he figured it was just a side effect and hopefully would go away if not lessen at some point. "How's the fund going?" Rhys inquired, the death of his half brother had been difficult especially considering they hadn't had a ton of time to get acquainted as he had his other siblings. It brought Maria back into his mind, but he wouldn't bring that up here of course. There was bad blood between his most recent friend and his younger sisters. The fund wasn't something that Rhys had been very involved with aside from donating funds, even if he had the time outside of work and he believed in the cause it wasn't something that really interested him.

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 15, 2025

"What are you thinking of doing?" Rhys wondered, which was a question that Max knew that she would be receiving more and more over the next few months. It was a question on just about everyone's lips; everyone wanted to know what their peers were planning to do once they were finished with life at Hogwarts, though Max did feel grateful that she didn't have any pressure from her family about what she should choose to do with her adult life. If anything, it was society's pressure that was weighing heavily upon her shoulders. She knew that her surname did carry certain connotations and that those were going to follow her, especially once she left Hogwarts. It was something that she had managed to avoid for a little while, because most of the other students at least knew who she was and knew that she wasn't a thing like Fenrir—because she was a prefect and ran the Knitting Club, for Merlin's sake—but she knew that she had to prepare herself for going out into a world in which not everyone understood who she was as a person.

"Er, I'm not exactly sure," Max answered him, "right now." Being a nurse was less prestigious than being a Healer, but she was of the mindset that she would get to do more with the former. It would be less to do theoretical knowledge and more to do with applying what she knew and what she was capable of doing in order to care for patients.

Rhys also said that she was probably right about what Adrian and Jamie were up to. They had jobs; their lives no longer revolved around assignments and everything that came with being a Hogwarts student.

That also related to Rhys's next question. "How's the fund going?"

"Oh, er, I'm…" Max began. "My mum started to realize that it was loads of work, obviously, and that she couldn't exactly—with Ministry stuff and everything for her actual job—that she couldn't manage everything on her own, all of the money and everything related to running a—you know—a charity sort of thing," because it was a lot of time and effort that she didn't have. "So there's a board of people who are running the fund and all of that now." It did make it come across as a much more professional organization, of course, so she couldn't say that she minded it much. "And, I mean, I've only just turned seventeen, really," Max added, because her June birthday made her one of the younger students in her year at Hogwarts, "and it's not like I can really do much with NEWTs this year, you know?" It would have been putting too much on her plate, too.

"I don't want that to become my job, though," Max explained, even once the summer came around and her exams were all behind her. "Not that I don't care about it, because I do," which she didn't want to get misconstrued—not at all—"but…" She didn't want something that had started because of Elias's death to consume her life, but she didn't know how to explain that in a way that both made sense and didn't sound callous. She wouldn't have started the fund in the first place if she didn't care. "I think I'd rather become a nurse, and then I'll, er… I'll see what happens from there?"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

Max didn't seem sure in her answer and he had a flashback to his days as an entering seventh year. Really, the career questions began during their fifth year around the time they were going to take their OWLs. Which OWLs you did well on helped determine your NEWTs typically and certain career paths were more strenuous than others academically. Rhys had his heart set on being an Auror and Magical Law Enforcement but when that had been denied to him he settled for Curse Breaking--which was essentially filling the museums he had loved as a child so much with those magical items after they were made safe. While Rhys and his other siblings were hardly famous in any notable way they always had the challenge of their surname and Rhys was the oldest of their bunch--at least as far as he knew--and he tried his best to not make any notoriety that wasn't needed for them.

"Wow, I hadn't realized it had grown so much over the past year." Rhys admitted. His younger siblings had all spent more time with Elias than he had been able to considering his work and normal traveling schedule but he had found some time. However, not being around more had not left him privy to information that might have been useful to know a few months ago but that train had left. "I'm sorry I couldn't help more with that." The idea had been borne of a good heart and despite their Slytherin alliances there was goodness in them, to do something meaningful especially when there had been such tragedy and loss. Max had a good point, seventh year was the next busiest year next to their fifth. Rhys' seventh year had been spent studying, dealing the anxiety of after Hogwarts and mostly being his usual broody self.

"I get it, its a lot to take on." Rhys leaned forward slightly in his chair, even if their time with Elias had been short it had been a positive event. Rhys was reminded of when Jamie first came to Hogwarts and then he met the rest of them in the following years. "The important thing your idea is up and running now." It was still a bit of a sore spot for all of them, they all came from such different background and situations but they all cared about one another even if their relationships differed with one another. Rhys smiled slightly, while he had been still dealing with the shock of Elias' death Max had come up with this excellent idea.

Max mentioned going into nursing. Rhys knew there were healers and nurses and he'd only encountered them after some on the job injury or a particularly nasty full moon where he hadn't had his potion. It was an honest field and if it didn't surprise him that she was considering this. "That sounds like a good way to go." Rhys smiled, he enjoyed these moments. The moments where he felt like a proud older brother and most of the time he did feel this. Though he and his siblings argued as siblings do and despite some bumps in the road with Adrian there was some tiny bit of harmony between them all. Again, he thought of Elias and then his mind wandered to Maria. Where did she fit into all this, if she even did? But he shook that thought for now, "You can patch me up next time some artifact tries to take my hand or something." He joked, drinking more of his whiskey.

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 15, 2025

There was a lot to think about with only a month before she officially began her seventh year at Hogwarts. Her NEWTs took priority, at least slightly, because they were the determining factor of all else. It didn't really matter how well she had done on her OWLs in her fifth year or how well she was predicted to do on her NEWTs based on her previous academic successes, not if she did something to mess up the results of her NEWTs when it actually came time to take them. At least Max knew that she didn't have to worry much about finding a place to live. She didn't think that her mother and stepfather would have any issues with her staying at home, provided that she didn't ignore responsibilities around the house and chipped in where she could. Some of the Americans, especially, didn't really have that option if they were planning on staying around instead of going back across the pond. It wasn't exactly a little detail, either, to be able to know that so many of her immediate needs would be provided for was relieving. At the same time, Max had no plans to freeload. She would do whatever her mother and Mike asked of her, and it really wasn't a problem. She could take on more responsibility if she had to.

With the Elias Greyback Memorial Relief Fund, it was a little bit different because it required a constant spotlight. Max didn't think of herself as a "spotlight" sort of person. She didn't want to be forgotten, necessarily, but she was fine with the idea of working in the background and not having all eyes on her. She knew that she wasn't cut out to be a celebrity or anything like that; she didn't fit that mold, and she didn't think that Rhys was going to blame her for that. As it turned out, he expressed his surprise that the fund had grown as large as it had. Max couldn't have anticipated it when she had started it, either, because all that she had intended was for it to be a way for people to put some small change towards a good cause.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more with that," Rhys apologized to her, but it was water under the bridge.

"It's sorted," Max assured him. He didn't need to beat himself up over the fact that he hadn't been available to sit and do paperwork or engage in correspondence with different people about different needs and publicity requests and this and that. There were a lot of moving pieces that had to be handled from day to day, and he also agreed with that. It wasn't as simple as she had thought it would be to get a couple of donations for families who were hurting. There was a lot of coordination involved, especially with the difficulties that Hag's Fever had brought. Most of the families of the victims were outside of Britain and Ireland, beyond the quarantine zone.

"The important thing your idea is up and running now," Rhys reminded her, too.

Truthfully, she didn't usually think of it in that way. She didn't think about the fact that she had had an idea and turned it into a reality, even if it was mostly out of her hands anymore. She had had an idea and been motivated by it enough that it had served as a catalyst for her to do something real and meaningful, which Max realized in that moment maybe wasn't as small of a feat as she had made it out to be. Money might not have had the ability to bring loved ones back to life, which would have been the ideal, perhaps. Then again, who could bring anyone back to life? Max knew that she couldn't, but making that loss a little bit less painful was a start at healing.

When she brought up the subject of going into nursing, Max hadn't entirely intended for it to come out as it had. Rhys, though, affirmed her thought process about it, telling her, "That sounds like a good way to go," and smiling at her. "You can patch me up next time some artifact tries to take my hand or something," he teased.

Max, who knew that there was always a chance that something like that would actually end up happening, still smiled a little. "You know I will," she told Rhys; she wouldn't just leave him there to suffer. "But be careful," she cautioned him, too. "I don't want you to get your hand blown off, Rhys, just because you want to test my skills as a nurse…"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

Max assured him she would be there if he ever was injured and nearby, but cautioned him to avoid that situation. The many times that Rhys had found himself with close calls and usually abroad he generally didn't tell his siblings about unless it was absolutely necessary. There was a time in Italy he'd had all the ribs on one side broken along with dislocating his shoulder pretty severely, and even a concussion at the beginning of this year. He didn't want them to worry about him when he was working as they had enough to worry about in their everyday lives. For example, the last thing he wanted was for Max to worry about his well-being when she was supposed to study for her NEWTs. "Its really not as dangerous as it sounds, just a few cuts and bruises from time to time." Rhys drank more of his whiskey as he had spoken while not quite looking at his sister across the table from him. He set the glass back on the the table and brought his hand to his eyes, rubbing them. They felt dry and he was tired. "Sorry..." He muttered, wanting Max to know he was here and present and not bored. "Your sister has me testing out that new potion of hers."

While his body had grown accustomed to the new substance some of the side effects hadn't waned primarily the nightmares that woke him up occasionally though he felt he was living the same event every time. As far as Jamie, Adrian and Max knew their father had killed his mother and then turned him when he was about five years old. But, that was about it in terms of details and he really hadn't seen the point of going into the gruesome detail of it all as it would require him to re-live it to remember it. "Still have some side effects but it is better than the usual." The Wolfsbane had been such a leap for helping werewolves live somewhat normal lives. Their schedule still revolved around the lunar cycle but at least he was less of a danger to himself and others and that was of the utmost importance for I'm. Too many times over the years he'd met fellow werewolves on different pages, wanting the freedom of being a monster with no thought of their surroundings. It wasn't something he had ever wanted to risk and especially after his own experience and what he'd seen--well it wasn't ever a path he would go down willingly.

"A couple of my old co-workers are going to be teaching now at the school." Rhys brought up, he didn't want to mention their injuries though he was sure Max would hear the stories when she was actually there but after talking about himself getting injured he didn't want to worry her still. That was his job to worry about his siblings, it had been so natural to do so even when he'd only worried about himself for so long and so many years. This year had brought many changes, not having Jasper and Renfri to work with would be a change as he'd have to find partner up with more new individuals, fresh out of school as he had once been.

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 15, 2025

Max knew that she didn't really have any control over the dangers that Rhys faced in the work that he did as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts, which was occasionally unsettling. It was dangerous work, for sure; nobody really knew how many different enchantments had been put on whatever it was they were sent off to other countries to find, nor did they know exactly how Dark or how potentially deadly they were. Rhys still tried to assure her, though, that it really wasn't so bad. According to him, it was really only cuts and bruises from time to time. Max didn't know if she bought that completely, but at least magic could heal plenty of injuries with relative ease, even to the extent of regrowing bones.

Rhys continued to drink the whiskey that was in front of him and seemed to be more stressed than he was letting on, too. He rubbed his eyes and apologized to her. "Your sister has me testing out that new potion of hers," he explained, which must have been the project that Jamie had been so eager to pilot from Slug and Jiggers. "Still have some side effects," he added, "but it is better than the usual."

"It's fine, Rhys." Even though she wasn't a werewolf, Max understood well enough that it wasn't the greatest joy in the world and had no problem with shrugging off his tiredness.

Changing the subject, Rhys stated, "A couple of my old co-workers are going to be teaching now at the school." Not just one, Max noted immediately, but multiple.

"Former Curse-Breakers, you mean?" Max asked him, for the sake of clarification. "Which subjects?"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

Rhys wasn't sure if he had been told honestly of the actual risk of Curse Breaking versus how the risk hadn't been talked about but chalked up to the thrill of an adventure if that would changed his mind. Then again, he had wanted to work in Law Enforcement which had a risk in itself so he surmised that probably not. The relics were ancient and cursed with more commonly known spells that they had learned in NEWT level courses but there had been plenty of time he'd come across something new and dangerous and while he was glad of his knowledge of such Dark Arts and countermeasures it only spoke to the different situations he'd gotten himself into and out of. His drink was almost empty and he stopped drinking it for now, his sisters had joked before about him and drinking though it was all the more obvious when he was home for a extended time versus when he was home a lot less.

Part of it was habit, a necessity and the other part was boredom. He was stir-crazy after this many months home after almost a decade of traveling to places near and far. "Do you know what she named it?" Max probably spoke to Jamie more often than he did as they were closer in age but even this many months later he still found amusement in his little sister's creativity and enthusiasm about the whole thing. Such an optimist in the face of what they faced daily and truthfully he admired that trait though mainly because it wasn't in his nature to be like that.

"Yea, I worked with them." She asked him about his friends, the ones who were going to be at Hogwarts. "History of Magic I know for sure." Rhys thought of Renfri and all the time they had worked together, bickering like brother and sister but pushing each other to be the best. It wasn't something he had understood when he was younger and really he had wondered why she wouldn't leave him alone and pestered him all the time but he did now. "Renfri and I were in school together, worked together a lot." He added, wondering what Jasper would be up to. He hadn't spoken to him of late so everything was just secondhand information. "I'm not sure what Jasper would be up to, what positions are vacant there?"

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

August 15, 2025

"Do you know what she named it?"

Did she know what Jamie had named what? "The potion? It's called Aware Wolf, isn't it?" Max checked, wondering if there was something that she had missed. That was what Jamie had called it before, at least, unless she had since come up with a different name for it. It was clever, though; Max had to hand it to Jamie for that. The pun made sense.

There was only so much that she knew about the project, especially because she couldn't do much herself to be of use to Jamie with it. Not being a werewolf, she couldn't help her to test it out, nor did she have the same skills (yet) to be brewing potions up at the level that was necessary. As much as Max loved Jamie, she wasn't going to allow herself to be bitten by a werewolf just so that she could serve as another experimental subject. That would have been too much dedication on her part.

She was intrigued, though, as Rhys confirmed that the new professors at Hogwarts were Curse-Breakers with whom he had worked, though he only mentioned one subject at first: History of Magic, which was the one that he said that he knew of for certain. "Renfri and I were in school together, worked together a lot."

Max nodded, although the name itself didn't ring any bells for her.

There was another name, though, that Rhys mentioned, a Jasper, although he said that he wasn't sure what Jasper—whoever Jasper was—would be up to, and so he asked her what positions were vacant.

While she was a prefect, Max didn't know everything that went on at Hogwarts, and especially not over the summer months when she wasn't there. "I don't really know?" she pondered, beginning to think it over. She hadn't heard specifically about any of the teaching posts at Hogwarts, but she hadn't gone looking for that information, either. There had been a lot of other things on her mind besides wondering if any of the teachers would leave the school, and she knew that there was at least vacancy, albeit one that wasn't at all anticipated. Professor Fawley—who had taught Muggle Studies the previous year after having taught the same subject at Ilvermorny—had been killed in the Quidditch stadium accident, which meant that they would need someone else to teach the subject. "Erm, I mean… They'll have to find another Muggle Studies teacher now, won't they?" she noted somewhat awkwardly, her eyes not really meeting Rhys's as she brought it up. "Professor Fawley died in the accident at the Quidditch match, so…" she hesitated, an event that was still relatively raw for her, too.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

---

August 15, 2025
The Three Broomsticks
maxima ruqayyah greyback

---

When Jamie had been sorted into Hufflepuff that had certainly confused a good amount of people. A Greyback in Hufflepuff? Rhys had just fallen in with what was expected of that namesake though he always wondered how much of that put him in Slytherin versus another house such as Ravenclaw. What would have become of Rhys if he had kept his mother's maiden name? "Yea." He responded, drinking more of his whiskey. "Always the creative one, she was." He commented. His time home hadn't necessarily meant he saw his siblings more than usual and he understood. Just as Max had commented they were busy with their work and their own lives but he did check in now and then and just as he was doing now. When Max began her school year he'd be limited to Hogsmeade visiting weekends but he was sure she had her own friends and plans as well. Those who were not Hogwarts staff didn't typically peruse the grounds of Hogwarts and he really didn't have a good reason to be there.

Max brought up Professor Fawley and Rhys nodded, of course. How could he have forgotten? These past few months he'd been so caught up in his own complexities of life that the details of such tragic events had slipped his mind, unfortunately. Rhys had been home when that had occurred and once he'd done his rounds on his siblings to see where they physically where and if they were physically safe he'd been able to breath. He had been invited by his sisters to attend but then he ended up working at the bank that day and truthfully he hadn't minded since a crowd that large was not something he had wanted to deal with but as soon as he had heard about the attack all his controlled composure went out the window. Jamie had sent a message via Patronus and he'd calmed but it had still been....an experience.

"Right...I forgot, i'm sorry." He apologized, it was a bit tactless of him. It was not a easy topic to talk about, especially since Rhys felt that he should have been there but the girls had been able to take care of one another. "I still hate that I wasn't there with you both." He added before he could stop himself, it was a depression topic and he didn't want to dwell on this. "Anyway...."