the OG bagman

Cass had thought that her holidays would be spent with nothing more than time with her twin, and perhaps a stray kiss or two with an interesting enough boy. She hadn’t anticipating liking Hogwarts as much as she did, and she certainly did not anticipate the feelings that she could feel growing for Otto. Cassandra Wilkes didn’t get feelings, certainly not this strong, and she found herself not wanting to think of what would happen at the end of all of this. It had crossed her mind more than once to tell him and just get it over with - maybe they could figure something out? But she knew herself too well - she’d grow bored, agitated, and need to be free. No. This was fine. This was good.

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she followed his instructions as the left, keeping herself from turning her nose up. A profession in healing was most certainly not in her future. When he spoke, without even thinking, Cass’s hand found a place on his leg, a kind of reassuring sign as he continued. “I can’t imagine what they’d be doing without you.” She said, her voice genuine for one of the only times in her life. “Logan’s told me that there have been attacks, but I would have never thought…” Her face fell, her hands now together as she wrung her fingers together. “It’s completely awful.”

Cassandra placed her hand on his leg, and Otto swore he felt his heart leap in reply. He was truly experiencing something new with this girl. There had been the occasional girlfriend in his life, but Otto had never felt his actual heart leap at the touch of them ━ it was an incredibly strange feeling, but not one he felt entirely unwelcome by. Hell, if things were continuing this way, he was seriously considering asking her on a date outside the castle.

“That’s very sweet of you to say, Cass,” He replied with a smile, though it was filled with sadness this time. The whole situation was so horrible ━ he’d never seen anything on this scale before. Otto had jumped into action as soon as he got the chance, but he was pretty sure the horrors of the day would stay with him for a very long time.

Reaching out with his own to take the hand that had previously been on his leg, Otto rubbed his thumb against her skin at the sight of her face falling, hoping that it would provide comfort where his words fell short. There wasn’t much he could do but agree with her, this whole thing was awful. “Yeah... I’d thought Hogsmeade would’ve still been safe in comparison to the rest of the world, especially because of it’s proximity to the castle ━ it’s horrible to see these children get hurt because of all this idiocy.” 

Who: James Potter & Otto Bagman ( @ottobagman​ ) Where: The Hospital Wing When: Evening, January 4

James didn’t want to leave Lily when they got to the hospital wing but he was prepared to do it; she could do good work there, because she was clever and had a lot of skill with healing. He had to escort her, of course; he couldn’t just leave her to get there alone and it would be better to get a look at the damage personally. He’d said goodbye but hadn’t turned to leave yet, scanning the room to see if he recognized anyone - well, he recognized almost everyone but he was checking to see if anyone who was really important to him was in here, but he didn’t expect to see anyone and -

Sirius.

James froze, the room spinning momentarily as his gaze moved back to the bed he had passed over so quickly. It couldn’t be Sirius. It couldn’t be Sirius. It couldn’t be Sirius. If Sirius was hurt - if any of the Marauders were hurt but especially Sirius - Sirius was his brother, Sirius had lived at his house, Sirius had been there for all the late nights pining over Lily and planning to become an Animagus and fuming over Snivellus and -

James didn’t realize he’d started moving, was only vaguely aware of Lily’s urgent voice telling him it would be okay, Sirius would be okay, but he had to leave, had to let them do their job - because the world had narrowed down to his brother in a bed in the hospital wing and James had to be there, had to be at his side, had to see with his own eyes that Sirius was okay -

“Sirius!” He wasn’t aware that he was yelling either, his feet moving faster as the sense of panic grew; heart pounding, hands shaking, eyes burning. “Sirius!”

With Poppy down, it seemed like Otto had taken control of the Hospital Wing. He was bossing people around, focussing himself on whatever case needed his priority, and turned away any students unharmed or not harmed enough ( this was the hardest one for him ), to take up space inside the room. The wing had not been made for major tragedies like this, and they had already spilled out into the nearby hallway ━ and he had to make some difficult choices. Luckily, his training in St Mungo’s had helped him with most of it. While his specialty lay with creature-induced injuries, he had a lot of friends in the other departments and a natural curiosity that had him often seek out extra studying on his days’ off.

He’d just finished healing a heavily bleeding wound on someone’s leg when he spotted another student who did not need to be in the wing at the time, especially not causing a commotion. Putting down a blood-soaked rag, Otto moved in his direction, stepping in front of the boy with his calloused hands raised, either to calm him down or stop him if necessary.

“I understand you’re worried about your friend ━” He’d been screaming the name Sirius loud enough for them to hear inside the Great Hall, probably. “But I promise you he’ll be okay. Unless you’re injured or here to help out with the healing, you’re going to need to leave the room.” A quick glance at his body told Otto there was no immediate threat to his life, which would leave him with a place outside in the hallway anyway, but he decided not to mention that.

Cassandra grinned at his response, happy that he seemed excited to see her, and that he was taking a break to spend time with her. (The break might have been for the food, but she wasn’t going to think like that right now). Nodding, she picked up her own plate, waiting for him to lead. He was right, naturally, one look around had her scrunching her nose at the sight. Cassandra wasn’t entirely sure what she’d be doing after she finished school, but Healing probably wasn’t it.

“Lead the way,” The smile returned to her face, though. She hadn’t expected to like Hogwarts as much as she did, and she certainly hadn’t expected to like him as much as she did. He was different than anyone else she’d found herself drawn to, and she couldn’t quite place why. “It looks… it looks like you’re doing good work here.” She finally added.

Otto, who had gone through high school with nothing more than a sling of hookups, most he hadn’t even had to work for, had found himself very intrigued by Cassandra over these past few weeks at Hogwarts. Maybe even enough to suggest they continue that outside of the school, but that was something he wasn’t going to bring up while he hadn’t showered since yesterday and was covered in blood, amongst other things. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from growing a big grin of his own at the sight of her smile. 

“Watch out for that bowl on the floor,” As he navigated through the Hospital Wing, Otto briefly pointed out some spots on the floor littered with dangerous or disgusting things. He did not want to ruin Cass’s appetite. They finally made it outside, and he sat down on one of the few free stone benches. “I ━” He paused a few seconds at her compliment. Otto had barely even thought about helping out in the Hospital Wing, it was second nature. “I’m trying my best. It’s... it’s pretty hard though. Seeing those kids in pain. Especially the young ones.”

WHO: Cassandra Wilkes and Otto Bagmann @ottobagman WHERE: Hogwarts Hospital Wing WHEN: January 4th, 1981. Late Evening.

Cassandra’s head hurt, and she had a small tear in her jeans where a cut was showing through, but for the most part, she had made it back to the castle relatively unscathed. Logan, for their part, had done a lot of talking, and a lot of hugging. Cass was happy that her twin was okay, really, but it had all been a lot. 

She had eventually left Logan, and made her way to the Great Hall. Cassandra remembered that Otto was a Healer, and figured that he would be working with the laundry list of injuries from the day. She had built plates for both of them, before carefully making her way up. (She was struck with the fact that she actually seemed to care about this man, that was weird). Levitating them as she made her way through cots and bodies, she finally found Otto at an empty desk. He seemed busy, and she sent the plates to find a space near him, waiting for him to look up. When he did, she offered a small smile. “I thought you might be hungry.”

After carrying Noura and Poppy out of Hogsmeade and into the Hospital Wing, Otto had not left it since. Their head healer was still out, and with his job at St Mungo’s, he felt obligated to stay and help out the injured, not to forget, it kept his mind off all the gruesome things he’d seen as he made his way out of that mess. Since he’d arrived, Otto had not stopped moving. There was always someone else requiring attention, someone else who needed help. 

He was busy with a Brackium Emendo spell to heal the broken bones from someone’s legs over the last ten minutes now, his mind in complete concentration ━ after all, if he messed something up, he would have to break it again, which was just awfully painful for the poor kid. In his concentration, he hadn’t even noticed Cassandra approached him, but as soon as he finished his spell and looked up, a grin broke out on his face. Despite the tragedy that had just passed, she had made these last weeks especially bright for Otto, and he was having much more fun with her than he’d expected. 

“Hungry?” He repeated, before realizing he hadn’t eaten since that morning. “Yeah ━ yeah I am,” There was some part of him very excited about having been on Cassandra’s mind. “D’ya mind sitting outside with me for a bit... summa these injuries are kind of appetite ruiners.”

“No, I’m telling you, it’s completely mad. Thousands of people, waiting in the cold, for a big electric ball to drop - completely unpowered by magic. Granted, I was seven, so maybe it only seemed larger than life because I was small, but it was bonkers.”

“You’ve gotta be shittin’ me ━” Otto replied to the girls’ story, looking completely taken aback by it. After the number of drinks he’d had, his words had become slurred, but his interest was genuine. “An’ you’re sure there was absolutely no magic ‘nvolved? None at all?”

WHO: Lorcan D’eath and Anyone/A Plant WHEN: December 31st, 10:29 pm WHERE: Room of Requirement

“Am I a little bit high?,” Lorcan asked with a soft chuckle, unsure if he had been asked the question or if he was even talking to a person. “Umm… yeah. But the smoking corner’s right over there and for one night only all my shit is free. And I usually sell that shit for Galleons. So enjoy it while it fuckin’ lasts.” 

“Mate ━ I heard your shit was good, but talking to yourself in the middle of a crowded room good, I did not expect.” Otto let out a laugh at the sight of Lorcan, before taking a look at his goods spread around the corner the Ravenclaw mentioned. “I’ll be sure to enjoy it, yeah. Anything you recommend in particular?”

“Darling, you really have nothing to worry about.” Rita assured him, still smiling. It was collateral damage really, and something she would have to grow used to in the future. People spoke more freely while intoxicated, and she planned on speaking to many people. Seeing Otto was exciting, she had grown quite fond of the younger Bagman brother, and had good memories of the senior.

“We’re very excited to have you!” She could only imagine how thrilled Ludo must have been, the way he had gone on about him earlier in the year. “I’ve been just dandy, love. You must tell me how you’ve been! Is adulthood really all it’s cracked up to be? I must say, your fans have been missing you here.”

“You’re too kind, as always.” He smiled at her, glad she seemed to be alright. Otto couldn’t spot anything on her dress but was still planning to offer payment for the dry cleaning later. It was the very least he could do ━ but for now, he could just continue his chat with Rita. Especially since he remembered she was good with gossip, and while he got Ludo’s letters almost weekly, there was some worry he felt for his brother, and Otto could use someone else’s perspective.

Letting out a laugh at the mention of adulthood, Otto briefly toyed with the idea of glitz-ing up his world a little, before deciding against it. “I’ve got to give you a scoop here, Rita ━ it’s absolutely not.” He liked his job at St. Mungo’s, but there was truly nothing noteworthy about his life to mention, Otto had long since accepted he’d piqued in school. “In fact, being back here has made me realize my life back home is incredibly boring.” 

Cassandra had spent the night flitting from one boy to another, but it seemed that she had finally found her landing place. She could already tell that she liked this one, and immediately began to dial up the charm that she was known for. Her hand remained, her thumb now beginning to slowly rub in place.

“Well aren’t you just the sweetest. You’re quite a looker yourself.” She smiled. She could see his mind whirling after his statement, but she liked it. She could practically bask in compliments. “Oh, how nice! I’m here for my younger sibling, Logan.” Conveniently, Cassandra left out that Logan was only technically younger than her by eighteen and a half minutes. Details seemed unimportant in this moment.

While he had suspected she’d make a run for it after that awful comment ( all those months spent at St. Mungo’s, treating some very gruesome creature induced injuries had truly thrown him off his game, and Otto made a mental promise to go out more ) she actually seemed even more interested than before, her thumb slowly rubbing in place. He was very interested in this girl now, which was probably clear to see with the grin that had grown on his face. 

“That didn’t come out the way I’d meant it too, but I’m very glad you didn’t make a run for it ━ still, I can’t say I didn’t mean it.” His grin turned slightly more devilish, some of his old tricks finally coming back. The way she responded to his comment about Ludo made it unclear if she’d actually met him, or heard of him, but he was pretty sure he had not met any Logan. “It’s good to be back with family, hm?” He mused for a second. “Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of meeting...” Otto paused, his mind quickly reminding him that she had used ‘sibling’, not sister or brother. “them.”

Apolline had to admit to a certain amount of vanity, and it would be deceitful of her to say that she didn’t enjoy watching men fall all over themselves. It was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with her husband - he hadn’t been such a fool over her appearance. But as he was at home and she was here, she would take the compliments. “You’re quite forgiven, but I would never turn down an offer of a drink. That would be very much appreciated.” She was making a conscious effort not to be too charming, but she had always found it relatively easy to control her veela side. 

Otto found himself quite ready to do whatever this woman required of him. He realized he didn’t know a thing about her, not her name, not where she was from, not if she had a romantic partner, but that didn’t really matter. For now, unfortunately, a drink would have to do. Whilst simultaneously trying to keep his jaw from falling to the floor, Otto offered her his arm, turning towards the direction of the bar ━ though not the one with that bartender. 

“Of course, it’s the least I could do.” He replied, finally having mastered the challenge of not letting his voice crack whilst speaking to her. “My name is Otto, by the way. Otto Bagman.”

“Lovely,” Noura drawled. “I’m Noura Shafiq, Ravenclaw.” She asked, taking him by the arm. As they began to dance, Noura tested her boundaries, getting closer only to pull away. “Bagman?” Noura asked suddenly. “Are you related to Ludo?” She was taken aback – how could someone this well-mannered be related to that buffoon?

“Ravenclaw ━ always a good sign when I run into someone from my old house,” Otto danced carefully with the girl, recognizing the way she got closer only to pull away again. Those were the tricks he used to pull as well. The incredulous way she repeated his surname, and then asked if he was related to Ludo, it almost made him laugh, but he settled on a grin. It was a shame she didn’t remember him from when he was still a student, the connection would’ve been much more obvious then. “Yes, Ludo is my younger brother.” 

Adeline did not need someone to rescue her – she was perfectly fine handling those who ogled her on her own. The good-looking man who stepped in seemed like a decent person, so she handed it to him. “Yes, Mrs. Bones” She answered cautiously. “Though I can’t blame him. How are you, Mr. Bagman?”

Otto couldn’t help but grow a grin at the cautious way she answered him. He knew she had a husband, but the alcohol was doing absolutely nothing for his manners right now. “I hope your husband considers himself a very lucky man, Mrs. Bones.” He replied, his tone nothing more than just friendly. “I’m amazing ━ it feels good to be back here, even for just a moment. How about yourself?”

Ludovic untangled himself from Otto’s arms, using the railing of the staircases to keep himself steady. He wasn’t completely upright by any means – no, he was leaning against the railing so he wouldn’t fall again – but it would work. Ludovic couldn’t believe he was still even conscious, considering how many drinks he had consumed over the duration of the party. He considered this to be a success, however. You only failed when you passed out somewhere. He might have nearly killed himself falling down the stairs, but at least he was awake!

“No, I’m not trying to get myself killed.” Ludovic slurred, waving hs hand flippantly. “It was an accident, Otto. They happen sometimes, you know.” There was a bit more attitude in his voice, but it wasn’t necessarily intentional. He was just extremely inebriated. 

Ludo was very drunk. The smell of alcohol that had come from him as Otto caught him didn’t quite do it justice. His words were slurred, he was using the railing to keep himself upright, and the way he waved his hands, Otto was pretty sure he might hit one against the hard stone and break it rather sooner than later. While he realized that he himself been in this exact situation more than once, there was still a twinge of disappointment at seeing Ludo like this. He’d hoped that with this being his final year, and with Emmeline in his life, there’d be a little more responsibility from him. 

“Look at yourself, Ludo.” The alcohol made it hard for Otto to hide his feelings, he always tended to wear his heart on his sleeve, but enough firewhiskey, and it would become almost written over his face how he felt. “You’re a goddamn mess.”

WHO: Ludovic Bagman and Otto Bagman WHEN: A little after midnight, a little while after the Ball WHERE: The first floor staircase, right outside the Entrance Hall

What time was it? Where even was he? Ludovic Bagman looked around in confusion. Was this… the Entrance Hall? He thought so. Those looked like the doors to the Great Hall and that looked like the door that led to the Dungeons. What was he doing out here? Was the Ball over? He swayed unsteadily on his feet and looked down. He was holding an empty bottle of firewhiskey. Upon noticing it, he promptly dropped it, watching it roll away with glazed vision, “Oops.” He murmured disinterestedly. Hm. Where was Emmeline. He had remembered seeing her a few hours ago, but the last hour had been a blur of drinks and darkness. Oh wait! He was supposed to have gone and found her. He looked at his watch and blanched slightly. He was more than two hours late and he was absolutely knackered.

Perhaps he could find Emmeline by Gryffindor tower? Marlene would surely let him in if he asked. Yes, yes, that was what he would do. He stumbled blindly towards the stairs, groaning a bit as he took the first one. He couldn’t believe that he had seven whole floors to climb. But alas, he had a lady to see! He’d barely made it to the top of the first staircase when he found himself tripping over his own two feet. “Woah!” He shouted in surprise, tipping backwards. He scrambled out to grab hold of the stone railing, but his fingers were too slippery and he found himself falling backwards. Briefly, he wondered how much it would hurt to hit the ground. Only, the pain never came. Instead of a stone floor, he felt the chest of a man, and then arms wrapping around him to keep him steady. He looked up in confusion, but began to grin at the sight of his big brother, looking worryingly down at him. “Otto! You saved me.” He said goofily, trying to make his vision focus so he could see one Otto, instead of two.

@ottobagman

Being back on his old stomping ground had been surprisingly satisfying ━ he hadn’t expected to have this much fun, but it seemed Hogwarts was bringing him back to his old self. Otto had had more than a few drinks ( though nothing like his previous habits, he’d changed enough from those days ) and was feeling slightly lightheaded as he left the Great Hall. The night had been amusing, to say the least. He’d seen the occasional familiar face and met some new ones, the latter resulting in some very interesting conversations. Otto had mostly been surprised by the younger girls showing that much interest in him, though it had given him quite the ego boost. 

The ballroom had been almost entirely empty when he left it. Some people were wearing their heels in their hands, others had to be carried out by their friends or a teacher, and Otto swore he’d seen someone simply pass out behind the Christmas trees. There was one thing they all seemed to agree on, however; it had been a damn good time. He decided to linger on the courtyard for a few minutes, letting the fresh air sober him up while smoking the cigarette he’d gotten off some random girl at the ball. Otto had quit almost entirely over the past year, but there was something about parties that always got him back to that old habit.

When he finally felt prepared to tackle the stairs ( boy, he had not missed those ) and get back to the little room they had transformed into a place for them to stay while he was at Hogwarts, Otto spotted a familiar figure at the top of the stairs. He was about to call out for his little brother when he saw him tip backward. His instinct had Otto immediately rush forward and caught Ludo before his head could hit one of the stone stairs, and he wrapped his arms around the younger boy to keep him upright. “Gulping gargoyles!” Otto cursed, giving his brother a concerned look as soon as he smelled the alcohol coming of him. “Ludo ━ are you trying to get yourself killed or somethin’?”

Cassandra loved dancing sober, but mix in alcohol and loud music, and she was having the time of her life. She thrived in parties, truly, and this occasion was no exception. Grinning as she walked away from her most recent partner, she turned suddenly, and found that she was nose to nose with someone new and letting her eyes have a moment to focus, she grinned. He was quite handsome, and she was immediately intrigued.

“You are perfectly fine, really.” Her hand instinctively found his shoulder as she reassured him, and her head tilted. “Are you a visitor as well, then?”

Finally, a beautiful girl who didn’t seem to be a student. When she asked if he was a visitor as well, Otto damn near let out a sigh of relief. It was a fun thing to see he still had some game, even after his days as a regular party animal had long since ended, but it was getting a bit too much for him to deal with, at this point. It was probably why he reacted very enthusiastically to the hand on his shoulder, a smile quickly growing on his lips.

“You’re also pretty damn fine,” He hadn’t meant for the words to slip out, he knew she probably hadn’t meant it like that, but Otto had some alcohol in his system, and at this point, all he could try and do was try and play it off. “I am, yeah ━ here to see my little brother, Ludo.”