Closed Yet Again

[Heath James]

Heath James always found himself here in the Kitchens. He knew all the House Elves by name by now because he was always working late nights and would end up hungry. This night was like to no other. He took a seat at a table and let a house elf hand him a butterbeer. He did not know what he wanted because he did not really have time to sit and eat right now, but here he was. He thought that a simple butterbeer would do for now before he went and got back to work.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai was hungry. First week of classes weren't over and he already found himself wishing he was back in Nightray manor. Sure dinner was a nice affair and he never really bothered to stop himself from eating - that didn't stop him from being hungry during late nights. His mother really did spoil him and Tizi with all the snacks and food she would cook for him. He had no doubt that even Dad was spoiled from all the cooking that if he were to go one day without his wife's packed lunch, he would burst a vein in the office. The Slytherin sighed as he entered the kitchens, wishing that he could have his mother's chocolate chip cookies right about now. The house elves were quick to approach the young boy and ask if he needed anything. "Good evening, would there be any leftover snacks from dinner?" he asked, remembering to keep his tone polite. The house elves assured him that they would have food so he should just take his seat while he waited. After thanking them, he moved to the tables in the corner of the kitchen and found a man sitting by himself. Jai would have carried on and sat and happily ignored the man really, if only he didn't look so familiar. And so, even as Jai sat, he continued staring - forgetting that it was actually rude to do so, in his concentration to try and figure who the man was. He knew for sure though that he had seen the guy before he even came to Hogwarts. Just... where? Jai really didn't like knowing.

 

[Heath James]

Heath was quietly sipping on his butterbeer. However, once a student walked into the kitchens he tensed up a little bit. He reminded him of someone he used to know. Heath looked at his pocket watch and saw that it was not curfew just yet, so he had not reason to really talk to the boy unless he was being rude to the house elves, which he was not. Heath went about his business but realized that the boy was staring at him, which agitated the man. "Do you need something, kid? A butterbeer? You can ask for one." he told the child. Heath did not hated children, but he did find them annoying. He could not believe that he used to be one.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai flinched at being addressed by the older man as he finally realized that he had been staring - it was very rude of him. He shook his head at the first question and felt his nose scrunch up at the mention of butterbeer. “Does it not have alcohol? Mom would kill me,” he said and he did not really care if anyone teased him for refusing to do anything that his parents told him not to do. Sure his father was strict, but his mother was a whole different level of scary. And she would know if he did anything too, she always knew. “I apologize for staring. I was trying to figure out where I’ve seen you before,” the Slytherin said, although he wasn’t really sorry for staring, just for being caught. However, he thought that maybe this man knew why Jai found him so familiar and would be able to tell him instead.

 

[Heath James]

Heath chuckled when the boy asked if it had alcohol in it. That had been his first thought when he had been offered it coming into the magical word. "I would lose my job if I offered you alcohol, kid." he said and he stood up and went over to sit across from the kid. It would make it easier for him to see where he was coming from. "I have never seen you before in my life. What makes you think you have seen me before, firstie?" he asked hoarsely. He knew the student wa a first year because the Sorting Ceremony had always been something that Heath enjoyed. He may not want kids of his own, but he did enjoy working at the school. He was paying his dues. "Your mother sounds like a strict lady. What's her name? Did she go here?" he asked curiously.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai thought that made sense. He was underage after all and the man was working in the school so if Jai got into trouble, surely the older would get into trouble as well. The Slytherin watched as the man moved seats in order to sit across from him just as the house elves brought him a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. The boy thanked them - and wondered how they knew exactly what he wanted - before he took a cookie and bit into it just as the man told him that he had never seen him before. It wasn't his mother's cookies but it was still good. Jai would have shrugged if his Dad's reminder did not pass through his head - Use your words, Jai. "You look familiar but different. Older. And..." he paused for a bit wondering how to describe the man before him. "Rougher?" he said, a little confused if he were really honest with himself. "Maybe you were here when Mom was here and had pictures with someone in my family. A lot of them went here. I don't think you and Dad would have gotten along if ever though," he said trying to picture his strict and clean-freak stepfather being friends with this rugged looking man. Yeah. Definitely not. The boy grinned however at the mention of his mom, "Yeah. Mom's really scary, but she's really nice - just not when Dad and Father are arguing. And her name's Ai, she was in Hufflepuff," he said before munching on another cookie. ​

 

[Heath James]

Heath James watched as the house elves brought cookies and milk for the student. He chuckled. He was 11 after all. This could potentially be his first time away from home, so he probably missed his family. Heath knew that he sure as hell missed home when he came to Hogwarts New Zealand. He laughed at the kid's description of him. Rough? He touched his slightly fuzzy chin and a nodded. "I'll give you that one, kid." he said. Heath found this conversation was getting stranger as it went on, and he was going to change the subject soon. He remembered how much of a loner he was in school. It was not much different now though. He nodded once he heard Ai's name. Of course fate would do this to him. "No wonder I look familiar to you. Your mom probably had pictures of us. We were in the same class, your mom and I, and trust me. She was scary then too." he laughed more to himself. However, he could not help but notice the kid's usage of Dad and Father in the same sentence. Ai must be married to a different man than who she had this kid with, which was territory that he did not want to cross into. "I'm Heath James. Now you have a name to associate with the pictures." he introduced himself gruffly. He looked at his pocket watch again, being very cautious of time. "I was a Hufflepuff too, but you're a Slytherin, right? And how is your uncle doing? Um...Conan!" he exclaimed as he remembered the name of Ai's annoying brother.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Now that the man had told him where he had seen him, Jai could remember now where he had seen the man. It was indeed in his mom’s collection that he had seen photos of this man. And there were a lot. Well, compared to every other person that he knew of course. Except maybe Uncle Ryuuji. Even this man had more photos than his biological dad. His mom didn’t keep many photos so it was relatively easy to track, he had been wondering who this man had been but everyone avoided talking about their years in Hogwarts. Sure they would tell stories sometimes, but never really much - like how his parents met, or how his Mom and Uncle Conan met everyone else. And so knowing that this man knows his mom, meaning a lot more people in his family - it was pretty interesting. Especially since he says that his mom was scary even before. He always thought his mom was just a nice girl when she went here considering she made Prefect and Head Girl. “Can you tell me stories about when you guys went here? You were her boyfriend right?” he asked as he consumed another cookie. He didn’t actually know but he figured it was at leasta good guess. “I’m Jai. Nice to meet you Heath-san,” the Slytherin decided to fall on Japanese honorifics to give the man some respect, considering he knows his parents. The boy nodded at being a Slytherin - his Dad’s house, he didn’t mind, it suit him perfectly. “He’s doing fine I think. He doesn’t visit much nowadays except to drop Corey off and talk to Mom for a bit,” he said after another cookie. He supposed it was only natural that Heath-san knew Uncle Conan since they were all in Hufflepuff. And well, his mom and uncle were close even if they did live in separate continents now.

 

[Heath James]

Thinking about Ai ruined Heath's mood. However, he was not going to let Jai know that. He chuckled when he asked if he and Ai dated. "We did date for a little bit, yes." he told the boy quietly. Breaking up with Ai had been the hardest thing that Heath had done in his school years. He had felt them drifting apart, so he made the decision that he felt was the best for him at the time. "I'll tell you all the stories you want, Jai. I live for embarrassing your mother." he admitted to the kid. He was a bit surprised that Conan had a kid, but at least someone could handle that annoying dud. "I remember there was a time that your brother "disowned" Ai, and I was so confused because we were all literally in the same house. Conan was a total jerk in school. We fought once as well." he added.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai did not expect the older man to actually confirm his suspicions, after all, it didn’t really matter now. But it was interesting to meet someone that dated his mom other than his fathers. Heath James was different from Jeremiah Raven and Liam Nightray. “Mom was happy so thanks,” he said with a grin that grew even wider at the prospect of stories. He settled into his seat and drank some of his milk while he waited. He was confused by what Heath-san told him though. He did not know about this at all. “Uncle Conan disowned.... Mom?” Despite his intelligence, Jai could barely comprehend that this actually happened to his sweet and kind mother, “But... why?” he asked. “Is that why we live in England while Uncle Conan lives in Japan?” He had so many questions that he didn’t even know where to begin. He wondered how is it that his mom and Uncle Conan were as close as they are or if they were pretending. He wondered if this is why his mother’s teachings were as they are. “Mom said that our grandparents died early and Uncle Conan was all she had. So she always told me and my siblings that we should have each other’s backs.” he said a little confused. Uncle Conan had said the same thing but something different happened years ago. It was hard to know that his uncle was a jerk. “What did you guys fight about?”​

 

[Heath James]

Heath realized that he brought up a bad subject. Jai clearly did not know the situation of his own birth and the whole drama that it put the school through. He may have known a little bit, but he did not know the full story, and Heath was not the right person to tell him. He was going to leave that to Ai, who would probably come knocking at his door to punch him in the face later. Heath shrugged. "I only know bits and pieces. Your mom and uncle would know the whole story. Just know that it may or may not have had to do with you." he told the kid slyly. There was a part of him that enjoyed this. However, he did not want to completely scar the kid. He did not deserve that. "Jai, sometimes life happens, and that is what happened with Ai and Conan. Ai and your bio dad. Ai and me even." he said honestly. Life was not fun all the time, and no amount of time at Hogwarts New Zealand could prepare these children for life. "Things couples fight about. Dates and stupid things like that. I was also kind of mad that she had so many friends and ended up getting Head Girl." he said dryly.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai was just as confused as he was when his mother's history with his uncle was revealed to him. "I don't think anyone of them likes to talk about what happened here. They tell stories sometimes, but never much. Even Aunt Arianna keeps quiet and she's the one who likes to talk the most," he admitted quietly. He wondered if his mom would finally cave when he tells her that he knows about Uncle Conan disowning her. It probably won't be pretty and Dad would probably get mad if Mom got upset but he didn't really know who to ask aside from Uncle Conan and Aunt Taylor. Well, maybe he could ask Aunt Taylor on the next visit. Or owl her. Yes, he'll probably owl her instead and hope for some answers. Jai listened as Heath-san tried to impart some life lessons on him that didn't really make much sense to him. Life... happens? What? It was a confusing notion for Jai and he chalked it up to one of those things he'd probably understood given another few years. "I don't know what couples fight about. Mom and Dad don't fight, well, not in front of us anyway. Dad and Father fight a lot though. Especially now that we're all in the same house," he said rather offhandedly. It was true. Not a week goes by that his two fathers don't argue within Nightray manor, it was getting rather old and Jai had gotten used to it after the first year - that and he learned to stay away and try to find his mother before his sisters got into mayhem. He was confused however as to the other thing that Heath-san had gotten mad about. "Why did you get mad that she had friends? Did you not want her to be Head Girl?" he had always thought that it was a big honour, troublesome but it was a pretty good achievement. It wasn't something his mom liked to talk about much though, he could tell.​

 

[Heath James]

Heath found that Jai's home life was interesting. He had two father figures in his life, which he found pretty strange. However, Heath viewed his sister as a mother figure since his parents did not want much to do with him after he got his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. "Sometimes there are things you just don't need to know, kid." Heath told him honestly. Heath did not know how else to explain it, but life was life. There were some things that just happened, and people had to deal with the curve balls that life threw. It was not something that he expected an eleven year old child to understand, but he felt that it would help him later on in the future. "You don't want to worry about what adults fight about. That's why you are a kid. You should just enjoy being a child for now." he said. Heath vaguely remembered his childhood. It had been good before magic came in and ruined it. However, Heath had come to terms with the choices that his family had made. "I guess I was just a mean person? But, Ai saw all the good that I had in me, but that didn't stop us from clashing." he told Jai.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Sometimes, Jai was not really sure whether he wanted to get older soon or not. Adults tend to tell him after all that 'he'll understand when he's older' and all that, but then again adults were also complicated. Particularly why he was so unsure whether he was looking forward to growing up or dreading it - even if people told him that he was already quite mature for his age. But then again, some aspects of his family history was just plain confusing to him right now, and even Heath-san seemed to be agreeing that he was better off not knowing until he grows older. Well, never mind, he'll figure it out soon enough. Jai drank half of his milk while Heath told him that he should just enjoy being a child and he couldn't really refute that when he was here in the evening, eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking warm milk. It was interesting to listen to the older man's stories about his mom though. "You don't seem very mean," Jai had to look at the man, he looked rough sure, but not really mean. "Mom looks meaner," the words were out of his mouth before he could think on it and he was pretty sure he looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Please don't tell her I said that."​

 

[Heath James]

Heath remembered vividly remembered when he was Jai's age. He was so young and confused about magic. His parents had abandoned him because of it. He only had his sister when he was younger. However, as he got older, he reached out to his parents for help sometimes. He did not do particularly well in school, but he managed to pass his classes. Heath chuckled when Jai said that he did not look mean. Rough, sure. But, he definitely was not mean anymore. He just had a hard time warming up to people. "Too late! I am gonna send her a letter right now." he joked but remained still to make sure that Jai knew that he was joking.