Moon Child

Gideon was glad the kids had something specifically for them. While the Quidditch cup had been family friendly, there hadn’t been any kid-specific activities. Even if the parents weren’t far behind, Gideon still couldn’t help but feel on edge. They all did these days, but especially with what happened to Cedric at the last event, Gideon couldn’t help but glancing over at Cedric and Amos so often, just to be sure.

“Felix!” Gideon greeted with a smile. “Not yet,” he said, his eyes flicking back to the crowd of kids. “You know, I’m not sure how that’s going to work. How are you going to get kids to participate in an auction? I’m pretty sure Ron can barely get a full word out.”

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Even if it did betray his confusion and amusement, Félix’s smile was a genuine one. “Didn’t you just say that this was your favorite part?” Unless, of course, Gid’s favorite part was simply seeing all the kids get together without a care in the world. Without prejudices that divide the wizarding world today too.

“I assumed that the parents are gonna be the ones to do the actual bidding. The kids just get to see what’s up for auction first, right?” Or maybe Félix was completely wrong with his assumptions. Looking at the crowd of kids, the collection that basically all looked alike was hard to miss. “Is Molly and Arthur around or are you the one who’s going to do the bidding?”

It’s been almost half a year since Remus discovered that Felix was a werewolf and vice versa. And yet, Félix still doesn’t know how to act around his fellow Order member. Bringing it up with other people within earshot was simply out of the question. But by the time people started going their separate ways, Félix just couldn’t approach Remus all by himself. He’ll just turn his heels and leave. So it wasn’t like he was giving Remus opportunities to approach him either. 

Who: Open

Where: Children’s Auction

When: February 14, 5pm

If someone had told Gideon even a few years ago that he would have been quite the paternal figure, he would have laughed at them. He had Molly and Arthur to thank for that at first. It was impossible not to love kids when he had six nephews and a niece. It was even more impossible lately with Cedric around and all the children of the members of the Order. Gideon didn’t feel like he had changed much since Hogwarts, he was still the same jokester. He felt much more himself in the ways he had changed. Finally being able to admit his sexuality and to love his boyfriend and all of the children who looked up to him. Even with the war, Gideon felt freer.

He watched as the children swarmed together, waiting for the auction to begin. Gideon kept an eye out for the eight children most closely on his mind, all the while spotting many other familiar faces. He turned to one of the adults next to him. “I think this is my favourite part,” he said. “Keeping an eye on one of them yourself or just enjoying the cuteness?”

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When Félix finally finished checking everything that the carnival has to offer, at least for the afternoon, he finally ventured to see the main attraction for the time being. Kids left and right swarmed towards the area with their parents and guardians watching dutifully at the side. Completely distracted by the sight before him, he didn’t even notice who it was he ended up standing beside.

“Oh! Hey, Gideon!” Félix’s eyes flicked back towards the auction, not knowing what was happening at the moment exactly. “Has the bidding started?” Félix asked instead, keen to understand what he was seeing. “Oh, no. Not me. I just wanted to see what the kids are all excited about.”

Last year, Félix barely even realized that Valentine’s was upon them. Having turned only a few months back, he had much bigger problems to deal with other than finding a date. But now that he has a steady supply of wolfsbane and that accidentally hurting people was no longer a worry, Félix started feeling left out like he used to whenever he’s single on Valentine’s. 

This was so embarrassing – but at least she hadn’t dropped dead on the spot or said no to a very reasonable dare.  But this man seemed nice enough, and if she had to admit that she had behaved like a third year she supposed he was a good enough choice. 

She followed behind him, ducking her head so anyone familiar didn’t see her face.  It was going to be awkward enough to explain what exactly had happened to the Healer.  “This is going to be the most embarrassing story – and if it’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve heard today I need you to lie to me, okay?”  She laughed, coughing a bit as she did.  “And if the more embarrassing story came from a twelve year old I’m going to need you to pretend they’re actually 25.  I did a stupid thing.  A very stupid thing.  Not troubling, but just some general idiotic behavior.”

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Félix let out a sigh in his head. He was by no means a new healer but he still readied himself for whatever reaction he might have had if he weren’t talking to a patient in a professional setting. Instead of looking too worried, his lips curled into a kind smile to ease her worries. “Don’t worry. I can already assure you that I have already had a case where someone got you beat.” No matter how absurd the situation that the patient found herself in, Félix was still pretty certain that it couldn’t be as bad as she thinks. The wizarding world, after all, is a fantastic yet very twisted place.

“Please. I’m not here to judge. Tell me what happened.” Her disclaimer that it wasn’t anything too troubling didn’t do anything to ease Félix’s mind. Some people are bad judges when it comes to whether or not a situation is worrisome. Especially when it comes to things that cause harm to themselves. 

Dorcas adored her job. She loved being a healer, even if sometimes transfiguration mishaps could be boring and full of idiotic people. She wished people couldn’t be idiotic, but she supposed it kept her in a job. So she couldn’t moan too much. Today hadn’t been too bad, and now she was sat in her office. She was doing some research actually. Not in her general branch of magic. More in relation to potions. Dorcas thought it was always good to keep her fingers in lots of metaphorical healer bowls. Hence her research. 

She had a few potions in front of her, and was noting down their visuals. They were the round three of this particular research. She looked up when she heard a knock on the door. “Felix. Hi!” She murmured with a smile. She hadn’t seen him today. They’d both clearly had busy days. “Oh. you sound dreadful” She murmured, placing her quill down. “Let me look what I have!” She stood up, beckoning him to come into her office, before she went over to her potions cabinet.

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Félix waited by the door. If he really did have something, he didn’t want to risk infecting her by getting too close. So the healer had no choice but to stay put. He watched her reach for her potions cabinet before his eyes flickered to her desk. “Were you busy?” he asked. 

Félix crossed his arms and leaned agaisnt the doorframe. He didn’t want to look too impatient, but there was only so little he could do across the room. Whether or not she did have cold medicine, Dorcas was gonna have to find out on her own. “Valentine’s is coming soon,” Félix started. “Do you have any plans for the upcoming weekend?”

rabastan hadn’t been excited for the holiday season since childhood, when he would count down the days until rodolphus came home for christmas break. but when the roles were reversed, rabastan found himself dreading returning home for break. this feeling of dread had remained with him well past his years at hogwarts. for some families christmas was a celebration, an opportunity to spend time with loved ones. the lestrange family liked to spend it analyzing the accomplishments of their sons, in particular, they used it as a reason to criticize rabastan’s choices. though, they did seem to do that year round, the decision to do so during what was supposed to be a joyous time just made it worse.

needless to say, rabastan had quickly sunk into his annual holiday gloom. every year the thought of skipping christmas all together crossed his mind, and yet, every year he found himself sitting in the same place at the ridiculously oversized table, wishing he were elsewhere. perhaps he thought that it would somehow be different, or perhaps, he just realized his dependency on his parents meant he needed to show up. 

whatever the reason, he was in a particularly fowl mood as he went about his routine that day. a scowl plastered across his face as he shook the snow off of his hair before ducking inside the coffee shop. he hated snow, he thought. though, once again, he hated most things. still, he managed to be polite as he took his turn in line. 

he had spotted felix when he entered, silently hoping the other wouldn’t notice- as he just didn’t want to be around anyone. he wasn’t so fortunate, it seemed, and not wanting to ruin what little they had managed to fix of their relationship, he joined the other. “hello,” he responded with a nod, forcing a smile upon his face. “not really- i thought i would enjoy an evening in. what about you?”

The fact that Rabastan wasn’t sitting down was telling. “Do you have any other places to be today?” The other wizard looked tightly wound as usual. If they hadn’t fixed their relationship somewhat, Félix was sure that he would have snapped at him already at this point. He definitely knew better than to rush him by now. “You don’t have to sit if you don’t want to.”

Félix didn’t notice the first sniffle. But by the end of the day, he was practically going through an entire roll of tissue to clear his runny nose. The healer managed to fight through it and finish all the consultations he had scheduled for the day but it was becoming clearer and clearer to him that he was in no state to work the next day. 

@felixbautista​

It was honestly embarrassing, but how was she possibly to say no?  Noah had always been level-headed in the moments she thought herself to be a bit too untouchable, but he had taken the night off and she had been a bit too willing to do the stupid thing when it was presented to her by Brenton Avery.

Probably she would have been fine, but she wasn’t going to take the chance that her obituary read – died after swallowing a handful of poker chips on a dare.  A quick trip to St. Mungo’s was well worth the the peace of mind.  So she slipped in, a hat pulled over her eyes, hoping no one she would recognize would show up and see her.  She leaned low in her chair, waiting for her name to be called so she could get this over with and go home.

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Even though Félix worked in the Spell Damage Ward, he’s not exempt from a few shifts dealing with general check-ups. He didn’t really mind. It was a nice change of pace and all the different faces and cases kept things interesting. Most of the time, the cases people presented were mild. Perhaps they were feeling symptoms of an ordinary sickness or were just on the cusp of getting better. If the case proved to be more complicated then Félix would simply direct them to someone more suited to handle the matter.

Patient after patient went through his station. Yet his day was far from over. Félix grabbed the file of the next patient and skimmed through it. He didn’t read about her symptoms yet. He’ll go through those with the patient. For now, Félix locked his eyes on the patient’s name before stepping out to call them out. “Mia Travers? Come in please.”

Marlene would have followed the other if he hadn’t just walked out briskly and asked her  to stay where she was . Marls wasn’t one to take orders, but it seemed more appropriate to let the healer do the healing then Marlene just crowding around someone. That and she wasn’t sure her bedside manner was something many people wanted. 

“Good.” Marls said when the other gave her the news, even though she’d been watching out the window carefully. The other man looked a bit red in the ears but was doing alright. “I’m glad he’s alright. When he didn’t get up right away I was a bit worried, but I guess we are all a little shocked when people fall.” 

Marlene would have defended her giggles but to be fair it was pretty obvious that she was just shocked. Instead she tapped at her mug and said, “I’ve taken that tumble before when it’s icy. I didn’t see any forming quite yet but the bricks are pretty un-level.” 

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“Yeah. I was worried too.” Félix knew first hand how bad falls could be. “Looks like he caught himself all right. Could have been way worse.” He smirked. “Yeah. You looked very shocked when you laughed at the man who just fell,” he teased without any real heat to it.

Félix sighed as he sat right back down. “They are pretty uneven, yeah. Unfortunately, the infrastructures in the Wizarding World, aren’t exactly friendly for People with Disabilities. You would be surprised how much people get injured just because something is ill-conceived and badly designed.”

Going back to his parent’s was precisely what Félix needed to end his year. A lot of things have already happened since he got bitten and turned into a werewolf. It still wasn’t enough to get him used to the lifestyle, but at least it’s enough for him to know his limits and figure out how to control himself. By the end of the year, the least he deserved was the chance to spend time with family. It was only supposed to be a small gathering, but with the Bautistas all back together, it became a huge affair. After going back to London, Félix was spent, but he was thankful just the same. 

He was just thinking about his family while sipping one of his last cups of coffee for the year when a familiar face entered through the door. Rabastan. Unlike himself, Félix doubted that Rabastan had anything similar over the holidays. After Rabastan’s awkward apology a few months ago, Félix eventually started giving Rabastan inches. Leeways. He might not call him a friend again just yet. But at least he no longer felt hostility. 

James didn’t by any means consider himself noble for standing up for what was right. He didn’t do it to get recognition, but because it was the appropriate thing to do. Never really understanding what someone’s blood status had to do with their talents as a witch or wizard, James knew plenty of purebloods who were horrid at magic. Some of his best friends, including the love of his life, weren’t pureblood. That had never stopped him from loving any of them as much as he did. It hurt to hear that some people were still questioning their worth and talent simply because of that, but he knew that this problem would never be fixed over night. That was why they were fighting a war. 

Chuckling at Felix’s concern, James shook his head. “Believe me, by now we’re both used to it. Besides, I always know where to find her when I need to.” There was an unspoken connection between the two of them that relied solely on feeling. If need be, James would know exactly how to get back to her. Nodding at his statement, James agreed. He didn’t think that anything was going to happen that night, per say, but if it should, they would be ready. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, mate,” James chuckled awkwardly. His intention wasn’t to embarrass the man, at all. Rather, he was simply curious. “I suspect plenty of people are on their own tonight, or with friends. You’re in good company, if you should choose to find it,” he offered with a smile. “I won’t keep you longer though, if you’d rather.”

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Félix fondly smiled at James’ unabashed expression of his love for Lily. The two married quite young but there were no doubts in his head that they loved each other very much. “That’s very sweet, James,” he said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. There was only genuine admiration in his eyes. It must be nice to have something like that with someone. Someday, Félix thought.

“No... No... you didn’t,” Félix tried to downplay his own embarrassment. He was flustered, sure, but he wouldn’t go so far as to say that he was uncomfortable. “It’s a perfectly reasonable question.” From the looks of it, James didn’t seem like he had ulterior motives for asking too. “I’ve seen some friends around. Co-workers too.” The two, not being particularly mutually inclusive. “No... no... I don’t mind the company, really. But as I’ve said, I don’t want to keep you from Lily if you need to go and find her.”

Marlene shouldn’t laugh. It wasn’t polite, and without thinking she could feel the giggle come out her hands quickly moving over her mouth to try and silence it. Although perhaps it was a bit too late as she felt a pair of eyes directly on her as she watched the scene in front of her.  It wasn’t the fault of the other that she found the sheer absurdity of the fall had gotten to her. There was a window between them and the fall-victim, but she still felt somewhat bad. 

“Do you think that they need help? Should we help them or would that be more embarrassing? They took quite a tumble and they aren’t getting up yet and I can’t tell if they are just resting or not” She said, her hand already going to the glass to tap at it to get their attention to ask. After all, if they were genuinely hurt Marlene did want to help them even if it would interrupt her coffee time. 

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There were two kinds of people who want to help a person who just fell. There were people like Marlene who would simply tap the glass to catch the attention of the fallen individual. And then there were people like Félix who was already starting to leave his seat. He didn’t even notice what Marlene was about to do. “You can stay here, I’ll go check them out.”

Without making too much fuss, Félix walked out of the coffee shop and approached the man that just fell. They were blinking and they looked wide-awake which was a good thing. His healer sensibilities kicked in and he quickly assessed the situation. Thankfully, the man was already pushing himself off the ground. When Félix finally headed back, the man was already walking away. “He’s fine,” he told her, despite her previous giggles. “He was just a little winded from the fall. I think even he didn’t know what to do for a second there.”

Charlotte turned at the sound of a wand being extinguished and smirked. She could see fine in the dark, a benefit of age and immortality. Clearly her intruder was magical, which could be an added hindrance or perhaps a benefit. She wasn’t all that concerned, but still the vampire was on guard and waved her hand in a simple healing spell. It wouldn’t replace the blood lost but closed the wound enough to not cause a fuss. Schooling her face into something like innocence or fear, she stepped closer to the newcomer.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she rushed closer to him, “He followed me down this alley, I think he is a muggle so I couldn’t truly defend myself but he must have had too much to drink. You can reignite your wand, he’s passed out now.”

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It was a little harder to see as his eyes readjusted to the darkness. But there was no doubt that the person on the ground was knocked out cold. Félix was confused. At first, she had asked if Félix was going to have a problem after seeing the woman and the fallen figure. And now, she was trying to appear with an air of innocence and fear. She even added that he must have been drunk in an almost unamused tone. Her conflicting reactions lead Félix to believe that there might be more to the story in front of him. 

The woman must have seen Félix’s wand which led her to believe that he was a wizard as well. So Félix brought his wand back out to examine the fallen individual. Félix crouched but he did not turn his back on the woman. He didn’t even need to lean closer to catch a whiff of the strong scent of alcohol from the man. “He’s drunk, all right.” Félix placed two fingers right above his carotid artery to feel for his pulse. There was a sigh of relief when he felt it. “How did he pass out? What do you mean by truly defend yourself?” Félix tried not to sound accusatory but the woman must have done something? “Did you cast any spells? Trust me, if he tried to harm you in any way, you won’t be in trouble. You can tell me.” The woman seemed fine at the moment, so Félix‘s priority was figuring out what happened to the unconscious man.

She had never been good at this. The act of superiority was easier when one didn’t feel bad over hurting someone else’s feelings. Maybe it was just because Félix made her remember what it was like with Sturgis. It was a world where she didn’t have to be a perfectly put-together princess but it was a challenge for someone who had grown up pampered and spoiled, not just the idea of giving up luxury for a man simply because he wasn’t used to it but also because there was something very jolting about being told for years and years that muggleborns were monsters (barely human at all) and and then finding herself in love with one. “A navy tie, or perhaps a dark red and it would be perfect,” she said. It perhaps wasn’t wholly true. It still wouldn’t fully fit into the idea of an evening suit she held in her mind but he did look smart.

She frowned at his question. “It’s inappropriate, certainly. If there’s a dress code then people rolling up in anything that doesn’t fit the dress code is tactless. Events like these take time and money to organise and the least people can do is show up in the sort of attire the host wished his guests would be in. I don’t believe it was a malicious choice on her part, however. Simply an ignorant one.”

Melaina didn’t even look around for Rosmerta as she shook her head. “Oh, no, as I say we’re only here as friends. We never planned on spending the entire evening joined at the hip. I have people I’m expected to talk to while that is the part of these sorts of events she doesn’t enjoy as much.” Not that Melaina enjoyed them, either, particularly tonight when all of them were looking for gossip about her father and she seemed to be spending the entire time trying to ensure there would be no damage to the Nott family reputation but she knew Ros didn’t really talk to her family these days and hadn’t come to this sort of thing in the past few years so she imagined she was happier if Melaina did that sort of awkward mingling without her. “I’m sure she is enjoying time with another friend at the moment.”

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“I see,” was all Félix muttered in response. “I’ll think about that in the future.” Not that it’s likely he would be attending more events like this soon. The Masquerade was nothing but a break from the usual routine. And even if opportunities to come to more parties like this opened up in the future, Félix doubted he’d be that willing to subject himself to this again.

Félix, himself, preferred to keep things simple. He couldn’t picture himself donning some of what the people came in with. The male healer returned her frown. Even though it wasn’t his style, Félix couldn’t really understand how dressing differently could make you tactless. “Do you really think that Slughorn would be that offended? Professor Slughorn might have not but... I don’t know about his brother.” Even Félix’s assumption about Horace Slughorn taking those dresses astride was a weak one. He did well in Potions but he never did manage to impress him enough to get invited into his club.

Félix nodded. Color appeared in his cheeks. Did Melaina think that he was implying that the two came together as a couple? He certainly didn’t mean to do so. “Of course. I was just worried that she might be looking for you. That’s all.” He could understand Rosmerta though. Félix wouldn’t be too keen to hang around Melaina’s circle too. 

She leaned against the sink, resting her hand under the faucet, taking a moment to find a position she thought she could comfortably hold for ten minutes. Hearing the admonishment in Félix’s voice, Emmeline stared at him with a hint of defiance on her face. She had always been independent to the point of recklessness and she had always slightly resented the idea that she might not be able to do something alone. So what if it had been a close shave? She had got out and she was fairly sure nobody had seen her. “No. I heard people around but not distinctly enough to recognise the voices. I didn’t see them but they didn’t see me either.” She adjusted her position, flexing her hand slightly as it started to grow uncomfortable holding it under the cold water. “It’s gone numb, now.”

The Potters overall had always detested the disgusting hatred that purebloods threw at anyone who wasn’t of complete magical blood, and James was no exception. He had fallen in love with and married a muggleborn who was five times the witch as some of those purebloods were. Hell, he’d cursed Severus Snape for even daring to call Lily the m word. Looking at Felix’s expression, James could see that it bothered him, too, and rightfully so. “One could only hope.” Turning to look at the man, James clapped him on the shoulder gently. “For what it’s worth, those biggots don’t have half a clue what they’re talking about.”

James hated that any of them were feeling like this, like they couldn’t have a single night of peace. In war, it was common for the only feeling to be fear. Hopefully that would end soon, and the dark lord would be defeated once and for all.  “Maybe we can,” he smiled at the other. “I plan on it. It’s alright to be cautious, but we all deserve to spend time doing things that make us happy. Just know, we’ve got your back,” James assured him, feeling as though he needed a bit of encouragement. Perhaps it was only him that felt this way, but James would not hesitate in risking his life to save another. 

“I s’ppose this just means we’ll need to be a little more careful in who we talk to. Are you here with anyone, tonight?” James asked, changing the subject. 

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It had always been surreal for Félix how others could fight so fiercely for him. Even Félix himself couldn’t find himself getting too worked up about that. Some people hated him simply because he was born the way he was. And yet, Félix simply can’t reciprocate the hate. To argue for his the validation of his own existence was frankly, tiring. His energy was best used on things that he actually wanted to do. Still, it was nice that he had James to stand up for people like him. He had the whole Order, in fact. Félix offered a half-smile. “It doesn’t matter really. At least, not tonight.”

Félix smiled. It was nice to hear James intended on having fun. If anyone deserved it, he did. “That’s great. I hope you and Lily have a great night together.” He looked around for a sign of the other man’s wife. “In fact, should I be keeping you away from your wife this long?” Félix chuckled. “I appreciate that. With a lot of the members present,” Félix stopped himself from mentioning the Order outright, “I think we’re going to be okay.”

“Oh... I-uh didn’t.” It was such a simple question, yet it was enough to color Félix‘s cheeks. It was weird talking about it with James when Félix has been involved with a couple of other members from the Order, namely Benjy and then Sturgis. Both of which were now his exes. He could probably throw in Remus with the lot too although that was just a product of rumor. A rumor which Félix had no clue James had a hand in making.