Coming to Terms

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella had offered to bring Erik over after everyone had settled down, holding his hand as she made her way across the lawn. Her expression was sullen, although she wasn't nearly as upset as she had initially been. Julie was a different case, however. She wasn't sure whether to console the woman or not. Letting Luke go to bed, as he seemed pretty worn out from all the driving, she made her way to the back door of the duplex. She knocked on it a few times, and received no answer. Trying the handle, she frowned as she realized that it was open. Wouldn't her father take more precautions? There were muggle burglars. Of course, they wouldn't stand a chance against magic either.

Fumbling around for a light, she wondered if her father was even home. She remembered that he still had her wand. The girl felt incredibly uncomfortable without it- it was like someone had stolen her arm.

 

[Erik Drage]

Erik was blissfully unaware of all the things that had gone down over the evening. The little boy was still immersed in childhood, for which some would call lucky. Skipping as he held his sister's hand, although he did not understand that he was related to her yet, he hummed a nameless tune. It could have easily been any nursery rhyme. "Anybody home?" he belted out, his voice carrying a high pitch that could be expected of his age. He giggled as he let go of Estrella's hand, zooming around the place. Even though it was bedtime, he did not want to go to bed. "I wanna fly, Stray!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Daddy put it in the cabinet!"

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan was rather shaken up by his confrontation with Julie, having decided to go for a long walk and mull things over. He had disapparated to the nearest park, upsetting a muggle sleeping on a bench. The person looked rather homey- paying him no mind, he continued to walk. The nearly seven feet tall man had no problem when it came to strangers, as they usually kept out of his path. At times he was quite glad for his gargantuan size- no one wanted to mess with him. He was able to get through a few cigars before heading back home. It was getting dark, and in his plight he had nearly forgotten about Erik.

He apparated back to his home with a pop, realizing instantly that he was not alone. He flipped on a light with the wave of his wand, revealing the ever persistent Erik. Hopefully, he could teach the boy to play Quidditch one day- he seemed eager to fly, in any case. He looked up to see that it was not his daughter's muggle cousin who had brought him over, but his daughter herself.

A knot gathering in his throat, he said quietly, "Hullo, 'strella." He wasn't sure what else to say, considering the situation.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella chuckled a bit. "No Erik- it is not time to fly right now. It's beddy bye time. Maybe we can take you out tomorrow." Smiling warmly, she watched as he hopped around, wishing she had that much energy. Normally, she wasn't that good with kids- but she was endeared to her little brother, no matter how little she got to see him.

She jumped a bit as a pop reached her ears, spinning around to find her father standing there. He smelled of smoke, and she figured that he still had kept to the cigars. "Hi," she said, a little unsure of how to approach the situation, "Uhm, you still have my wand." She looked to him expectantly. She couldn't sleep without it at her side; as a wizard, he must know that.

 

[Erik Drage]

Erik giggled and put a finger to his lips. "Shh!" He didn't want his father to know that he knew where the broom was, in order to create future havoc. Appearing the picture of innocence, he smirked and hopped over, attaching himself to his father's leg. Sitting on it, he expected the man to be able to carry him around this way, something that he thoroughly enjoyed.

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan's gaze was quizzical as Erik shushed his sister, wondering what he was up to. Well, in the worst case scenario, he would find out later. Picking the boy up with his leg, to his delight, he looked back to his daughter. "Your wand? Oh yeah. I think I put it upstairs." He motioned for her to follow, carrying Erik up slowly with each step so as not to drop him. "Mind if I put him to bed first?" He made his way to the top of the stairs, standing there and waiting for her to reply.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"I suppose," Estrella replied with a light sigh, following her father up the stairs. It really wasn't a bad place- it definitely seemed homey. The way up was laborious, considering her father was so slow. She felt a surge of delight at Erik's happiness, despite the fact that she was still a bit upset. At least, her father was providing a good environment for her brother. In that aspect, he was doing something right.

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan could only nod, entering Erik's room and heading for the dresser. After managing to peel the little boy from his leg he got him into his pajamas. Planting a kiss on his forehead and tucking him into his rather colorful bed, he gave goodnight wishes and shut the door behind him.

Looking to his daughter, he almost forgot why she was there for a moment. He was still trying to get over the fact that she was here, having somehow managed to find him despite his best efforts to hide.

"Oh, yes, your wand," he started, moving into his own room and rummaging through his trunk. Pulling out the oak wand, he held it in his hand for her to grab. "I'm- I'm sorry," he said, not sure what else to add. "I wish I didn't have to put you through this. I know that you're mad at me- hell, you have every right to be- but I'm trying to make things better. I really am."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella stood out in the hallway as her father got Erik ready for bed. Luckily the little boy wasn't a terror- and when she was sure he was asleep, she told her father, "He knows the broom is in the cabinet. I'd move it if I were you." Although it would be an amusing thing to see her little brother flying around, she didn't want him to get hurt either.

She followed the large man into his room, crossing her arms across her chest as he fumbled about in his trunk for the wand. The girl was quick to snatch it out of his hand, jamming it in her pocket. She resolved not to lose sight of it again- she hated being separated from her wand. It was as relevant as an appendage.

The girl nodded. "Of course I do. A person tends to get like that if you ignore their letters and get into relations with the cousin of their dead mother." She stared back up at him, hoping to get some kind of explanation. With a person like him, though, he could be lying.

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan gave a little chuckle as Estrella told him where Erik had found the broom. "He always finds where it is- I am going to have to find a stronger charm to lock that thing up. I can't let him get out into the yard again." His blue eyes flickered with amusement as he looked back to her.

He took note of the way his daughter treated her wand, figuring that she had been suffering without it. Well, he couldn't blame her. He had his own close to him just in case she had any ideas for last-minute revenge.

"I didn't intend for it to come out that way," he said, truthfully. "I did not even know you were related to her until last Spring. And- I couldn't let you know where I was. It would not be good if someone was tracking your letters."

He looked up at her for a moment. "How long do you have? I can make something while I explain."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's lip pursed as her father spoke, wondering what in the world he was worried about with her letters. Who would be tracking them? In any case, who was trying to find him?

"I guess," she started, following him down the stairs. "If it gets too late I'll call Julie and let her know. You do have a phone don't you?"

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan nodded as he turned out of his room and made his way down the stairs. "Yes, I have a phone." He moved into the kitchen, pulling out a few packs of hot chocolate and filling up the coffee pot with water. He was getting used to doing things without magic, which was quite a surprise to him.

Turning to his daughter as the water started heating up, he started, "As for why I haven't been replying to your letters- I admit, I didn't want you knowing where I was. People could too easily get the information out of you."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella leaned against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. She listened to what he had to say, and found it all too appropriate to question him. "But- why? You're a Death Eater, for Merlin's sake! Who are you running from? The Ministry's been on your tail for a while and it didn't matter if I sent you letters then."

Deciding that she could be as informal as she wanted- she was entitled to it- she added, "And by the way- what happened to your eye?"

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan sighed, figuring that he was going to have to answer a lot of inquiries before the night was over. Well, the cat was out of the bag, so he might as well. "Well- the Ministry isn't a problem. Not a big one, anyways. No, the Death Eaters are now more a threat to me than the Ministry could ever be."

He narrowed his eyes as he pointed to the one he was now blind in. He was so used to it now he tended to forget about it. "This? Well, that's another result of my leaving. You see- after Morgase and Sam died- you do know about that, don't you? I had to take Erik back in. Morgase was raising him so that he did not have to be raised around the group- like Sam and I both were. I figured that was the one thing I owed her. I have to give Erik a life where he isn't surrounded by hate and prejudice. It's only fair."

Swallowing hard, he said, "I'm hiding out for him so that he doesn't have to be around it. Just like when I left you at your uncle's- believe me, I am still kicking myself over that every day- I didn't want him to have to suffer for my bad decisions."

Getting back around to her second question, he said, "And this? It was a parting gift from one of the members. They told me I'd be killed if they ever saw me again." He failed to mention that this member was his father- but what Estrella didn't know wouldn't hurt her. In fact, that was the very reason he didn't let her know.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella took in what he said with a grain of salt. Sure, it was unfair that Erik got to be raised by a biological parent and she hadn't, but life wasn't fair. In fact, she was glad that her brother got a better chance at a family life than she had.

The girl nodded as she listened, her brow furrowing. "So- you left them?" Her lip pursed- that couldn't have good repercussions. "That's the reason for all of this? Ethan and everything?" She waved her hands about the place. "Who would be tracking you in any case? Does anyone even know where you are?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, she asked bluntly, "Who was it? Can you even see out of it anymore?"

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan nodded as he turned about, reaching to one of the cupboards and grabbing two mugs, one for himself and one for his daughter. Pouring hot water into the cups he was quick to mix the hot cocoa into it, handing one to her and sipping at his own. His lip puckered at how scalding the water was, putting it down on the counter to cool off.

"Yes, I did. Ethan is my alias, and will remain my alias while I am still here. Ethan Mallard." Crossing his own large arms across his broad chest, he continued, "You can't just walk out of a group like the Death Eaters, 'strella. I'm going to be looking over my shoulder the rest of my life. I'm lucky to have come out of it with one good eye." He sighed. "I don't know who would- but one can never be too careful."

He nodded. "One person besides your cousin knows me as Tristan here. Josh knows where I live- he actually was the one who got me the documentation to be here and be Ethan." He sighed. "I didn't want you to know- what if someone tried to torture the information out of you? It's not stupid to be too careful."

Skipping the question about who had messed up his eye, he said, "But, 'strella... you can't be telling anyone of my whereabouts. Not even those you think that you can trust most. I can do one no good if I am dead- and if they found out where I am, I have no doubt in my mind that they would do the same, or worse, to Erik too." He shuddered at the thought, quite glad that he had gotten out while he still could.

 

[Estrella Drage]

The sixteen year old listened to her father, surprisingly patient about all of it. She raised an eyebrow. "But- Josh is a Death Eater." She said it bluntly and without hesitation, letting him know that she knew.

She shrugged. "I won't tell anyone- I'm just a little surprised is all. Are you sure it isn't Valcan you're running from?" She had reason to believe that her grandfather was still affiliated with the group, but she couldn't be positive.

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan sipped at his hot cocoa as he listened to his daughter. "How in the world do you know that?" he inquired. When it came to most people, his best friend didn't seem like he was affiliated with the group he was. "He's one of the only people I can trust at this point. I've known him since before you were born- and if I didn't trust him, he wouldn't be your godfather. No, Josh will not squeal on me."

He shook his head, although it was yet another lie. "Your grandfather is no longer affiliated with the group. As far as I know."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella narrowed her eyes at her father. "I was looking through some old Daily Prophets with a- a friend. He was broken out of trial a few years ago. I'm not that oblivious to everything."

She soon became suspicious, her expression haughty. "Then if he left- why aren't they after him?"

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan decided that Estrella wasn't going to give her friend's name, shrugging his shoulders. "Josh is a good guy." He wouldn't say much after that, so as not to betray his friend's position.

Not sure why she was becoming so defensive, he replied bluntly, "Different times, 'strella. Most of Voldemort's old followers are dead or off the hook." He placed his mug down on the counter after draining it, adding, "It's getting late."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella was not entirely sure what to think of this last exchange. Placing her mug down on the counter- she had only downed half of it- she didn't really want anymore. "Guess I should be going then," she replied, a tone of bitterness in her voice.

 

[Tristan Drage]

"I didn't mean to be standoffish," Tristan replied with a sigh. "I just- I can't be telling you too many things." His smile was weak as he looked back at her. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Taking her glass and deciding to finish it off, he said, "Well, you can come over anytime while you're at Julie's. Erik would probably like it too."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella started to wander toward the back door. She said nothing as she started to turn the doorknob, standing there for a moment and mulling things over. Would she ever have a normal relationship with her father? Probably not.

"Sure," she said. She wasn't sure if she wanted to come over or not. Starting to step out the door, she turned around. "Oh, by the way- I made Head Girl." While she would normally have been more enthusiastic about the announcement, she felt no exhilaration as she told her father. With a weak smile, she turned out the door and left across the lawn to Julie's, shutting the screen shut behind her. Sighing, she made her way back, not entirely sure what to expect of the rest of her summer.

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan frowned a bit as Estrella left abruptly, following her to the door. "Have a good night," he murmured, not sure what else he could say. There was nothing to do to keep her around, in any case.

His expression lightened, just a bit. "That's- great," he said, after she had left. Smiling, he figured that he hadn't screwed his child up so much after all. Hoping that the exchange had been a turn for the better and not for the worse, he decided to call it a night.