I can help... for a price.

@giacomo

Karel heard and saw things often, for some reason people invited themselves to give him their life stories when they were looking for his help with 'business agreements'. He never listened properly, he only listened to the important things; the things that would go in his favour, that he could use to his advantage. What Karel did notice though, the more people talked about their problems, the more there was a slip of the tongue and something that he knows he shouldn't have heard, comes to light. Those were the things he focused on, the things he honed in on and it never really failed him. One of the people who'd had a bit of a slip of the tongue was a friend of Giacomo. Karel could only imagine the Ravenclaw would be pissed to know that someone who he'd confided in, had given up one of his secrets but Karel didn't care about the trouble it might cause between friends, he was more interested in the fact he could make yet another business deal and another partnership that he could use if the need arose. He knew Giacomo was a fan of magical creatures; he just so happened to have a business deal that needed someone who had a way with animals. It worked out perfectly for Karel; two birds with one stone.

Standing on the corridor near to the Ravenclaw tower, Karel leaned against the wall, he was supposed to be doing a patrol with Giacomo and he'd told the eagle that he'd come and meet him outside of the common room. Karel had his wand between his fingers and he was twirling it like a baton with a rather bored expression. He didn't like waiting for people; people waited for him. He let out a long sigh when he heard the door leading to the Ravenclaw's common room open and shut with a much louder than expected bang and Karel glanced sideways to see the person he was thinking about coming towards him. He pushed off from the wall and strolled over to Giacomo with a raised brow, "What did that door ever do to you?" He asked as he slid his wand into the inside pocket of his suit. He wasn't going to bring up what he knew, that Giacomo was looking for his father, just yet. He would give the wizard a chance to bring it up first. It would take care he'd have to pretend to be interested in whatever was on Giacomo's mind; if the Ravenclaw didn't open up, he'd have to throw his friend under the bus (not that, that would affect Karel) and go about it this way, but he was going to try tact first. Normally that worked.

"So what has you in such a bad mood?" Karel asked casually as he started to walk along the corridor to start the patrol, he'd have to see how this went and he'd have to listen to everything Giacomo said so he could push it so that the wizard felt he was coming to Karel about his daddy issues, not that Karel already knew and was just trying to force it out of him for his own benefit. 

Giacomo did try and be adaptable but even he had his limits. There was only so much he could be pushed or that he could tolerate before he snapped. Secretly he worried it would come to a head when he was at school and then he’d be sent to the counsellor. The last thing he needed was to talk about his problem. He hated to talk about himself, let alone his problems. He was reserved and wasn’t easily forthcoming when it came to talking to others. Even if he was up for talking to people, he was very select in who he spoke to and what he said to them. The only person he was constantly comfortable in talking to was his mother but given her situation, he eidn’t want to bother her with what he thought were trivial things. She didn't’ want to talk about his father, Giacomo had learned that quickly and that what was bothering him. He didn’t want to seem needy, he didn’t need his father essentially but he wanted to know of the man.

He wasn’t the best candidate for being prefect but essentially last summer, he had been awarded the role and he knew that was a good thing. Despite how down he was feeling about his situation, he was able to say proudly that he was a Ravenclaw prefect but he knew had very little power over other students. He didn’t even know if that was the best part of being a prefect. Sure, there were instances where people listened to him. However, he found that being in his fifth year, the younger students did listen to him if he instructed them to return to their common rooms if it was past curfew but the older ones definitely didn’t. They would head off if he told them to move on but he figured they probably just went to another part of the castle. Well, if they wanted to do that then that was their decision.

Tonight he was patrolling with Karel, the boy was in his year but a snake. Giacomo knew that many of the people who had put his mother into suppression had stemmed from Slytherin but he tried to not put all snakes under the same umbrella. Karel, was decent he supposed, they knew each other a little having been in the same year for some time now. The Ravenclaw yanked open the door and brushed off this sleeves as he stepped out into the corridor. He nodded at the snake. ”What concern is it to you what the door did? Let’s just go…” he said sticking his hands into his pockets and began walking towards the stairs that would take them down to the sixth floor.

”Christmas is coming soon and it’s another one without my fucking father” Giacomo said quietly not looking anyway particularly. He didn’t want to look at the boy next to him to see his reaction. So it was easy to press him about issues at times, that wasn’t a bad thing necessarily. ”Let’s just keep an eye out for people loitering around” he stated in a defiant tone. He definitely didn’t want to expand on what he had just said.

Karel wasn’t overly interested in what was going on outside of the school walls to the Muggleborns, all he cared about was his family getting their magic back. Even if he wholeheartedly supported what was happening to them, (not that he did. He neither approved or disapproved). He knew that there were students that had Muggleborn parents. He’d say Muggleborn siblings, but if that had been the case they would have been taken as well as they’d obviously have the same blood. Or maybe not if it was stepsiblings. Karel didn’t really think about it too much, it was none of his concern; none of his friends were Muggleborns and same with his family so he didn’t think too in depth about it.

When Giacomo stormed past him, Karel was slightly taken aback. From what he’d observed the Ravenclaw was normally quite meek and passive. Karel wouldn’t be surprised if he’d just roll onto his back in submissiveness if someone tried to start a fight with him, so seeing him so angry was more than a little unexpected. The wizard raised his brow as he followed the boy, a slight smirk on his lips at the Eagles sharp remark. ”Wow, someone is in a really bad mood. What’s so bad that you feel the need to attack a poor door?” He said, sarcasm seeping into his voice. When Giacomo demanded they just start patrolling, Karel slipped his hands into his back pockets and sauntered after the boy.

Karel wasn’t paying much attention, but when Giacomo spoke it caught his attention, it had been barely audible but he’d heard it and that was all he needed to get his foot into the door. The brunette paused for a moment behind Giacomo to put his mask of concern in place before he picked up his pace and started to walk side by side with the boy. ”What do you mean another Christmas without your father? What happened to him?” He asked with what he hoped came across as genuine concern, he had a general idea, but he needed Giacomo to think that opening up about his father was on his own terms, not on Karel’s. ”Is he like your mother? A Muggleborn.” He asked, trying his best to not sound accusing because that wasn’t the angle he was taking, he was taking the concern acquaintance angle. He wanted Giacomo to feel comfortable enough to talk about his father to Karel and then the wizard could strike and use the boys struggles to his advantage. He did need someone to take the baby Moke’s for him, someone who knew his way with animals and that somebody was Giacomo.

”I hope it’s a quiet night, I can’t be bothered with dealing with troublemaking students.” He said casually, trying to give off the impression that he wasn’t going to pry about his father comment. He would when the right time came.

Giacomo wasn’t sure why he got so upset by all this. Was he so pathetic that he wanted his father's approval like those petty purebloods who were so obedient and did everything that their father wanted just to gain their approval? No, he was not like them. He of course was a halfblood and he seemed to do well without the man in his life. Most of the ftime, he tried not to think about what it would be like to celebrate his achievements with his dad. When he had been made Prefect, he had gone and found his mother promptly and had shown her his badge. She had hugged him and told him how proud she was of him but was that enough for Giacomo? At that time he had convinced himself it was going to be enough but the more time that passed, the more he wanted more. He lived with his Grandparents since he was unable to live with his mum. He missed the times when they were both happy in their house. Now, he tried for make the most of his time at school.

He knew the way he had reacted had come as surprise to Karel. However, he didn’t feel the need to explain himself. He was not exactly a lost cause nor was he looking for sympathy. Giacomo was perfectly fine on his own. Karel was not some kind of counsellor. They had a guidance counsellor here for a reason. Though, the eagle tried to make his visits to them very rare, if non existent. Giacomo was not at talking about himself, let alone his feelings. In the current political climate, it was more beneficial for him to keep to himself. He looked to the boy resisting the urge to roll his eyes as he questioned how he had treated the door. ”Don’t worry I’m not about to get my anger out on any other inanimate objects” However, if they encountered a trick staircase, he wasn’t sure what he would do. But Giacomo was not up for sharing.

However, his own damn voice betrayed him even if he had spoken in a low volume. Did he now have to elaborate? He wasn’t prepared to do that but the two of them had to spend the next hour or so patrolling and silence was deafening, particularly around the Hogwarts castle. ”I have clue what happened to him…” Giacomo huffed as he wrapped his arms around himself and looked down as they walked. What if the man in question was dead? Would Giacomo be okay never knowing him? It was unlikely. His Ravenclaw thirst to know everything spread beyond school. He looked to Karel and shrugged. It was uncertain of what blood status the man was but he had feeling that if he was a mugggleborn like his mum, she wouldn’t have kept her son from knowing him.

Troublesome students were a group that Giacomo did find annoying but unfortunately he couldn’t avoid them. ”You and me both. I’m not for arguing with any of them, trying to get them back to their dorms” He continued as they walked. Hopefully they were blessed with a quiet night.

Words: 525

Everything missing

can be found.

Karel was selfish, he never did anything for other people only for himself. It was the least messy way to approach life and if he built up walls and kept his cards close to his chest then he never had to worry about making mistakes. Mistakes led to danger and trouble and Karel couldn’t afford to do that, not when his very being depended on making no mistakes. He relied on other peoples mistakes and issues, that was how he worked, how he earned his way in life; when his father wasn’t giving him money, of course.

The wizard trailed along behind Giacomo, letting the boy show express his temper, he just had to wait for the right moment to swoop in, the slightest hint that the Ravenclaw was at his most vulnerable and he could use that to his full advantage. He arched a brow when Giacomo told him he wasn’t going to take his anger out on any more inanimate objects, "Well I pity the poor sucker who crosses your path at the wrong time." Karel drawled, his lips turning up into a small smirk. He also realised that that poor sucker could very well end up being him if he pushed Giacomo’s buttons too much. Granted, he could hold his own should the Ravenclaw lash out, but Karel needed to avoid that if he wanted any deal to come through between them.

When Giacomo caved and continued to speak about his father, Karel feigned interest and picked up his pace so he was striding alongside the boy. "How long has that been the case? Has it always just been you and your mum?" He asked, trying his best to keep his voice steady, light and inviting. It wasn’t something he enjoyed doing, but he had to look at the bigger picture and being friendly was a small price to pay if it meant money, prestige and a reputation. Of course, his name already gave him a reputation of sorts but he didn’t want to live his life using the Kopitar or Higgs name; he’d want it to go in his favour, naturally but he wanted to make a name for himself, in his own way for his own future and the future of his loved ones.

Karel’s gaze flickered over Giacomo and he hummed thoughtfully, "I’m sure he’s out there somewhere… I think your mum would have told you if something bad had happened to him." He pointed out, taking Giacomo’s comment about not knowing and making a note to remember that, if he was part of the magical world there’d be folders on him, information, notes. A birth certificate… a death certificate if the Ravenclaw’s father was no longer walking the Earth. All of these things were in easy access if you just knew where to look or who to ask."Giacomo, is your father on your birth certificate or did your mother leave it blank?" Karel asked slowly. He had an idea forming, it would be difficult if he wasn’t on his birth Certificate, but there were muggle ways. Blood DNA tests and things like that. All stuff which was not easy to reach for their kind and for people trapped in the school walls, but outside the walls? There was potential, a DNA test would be a good first step, it would provide a name and then everything else would fall into place.

Karel was getting ahead of himself, but he always found planning things out before discussing ideas but it much easier for him to see his side of the deal through, it was quick and efficient and had very few faults if you knew how to approach it correctly."I don’t know, I feel you losing your temper with someone, would probably lighten the tension." Karel mused, he wasn’t encouraging a fight as such, but he also wouldn’t say no if a fight just happened after all.

@giacomo - 653

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRPHY 2.0

When Giacomo had received the news he had been made a prefect at the start of school year, he was happy to be able to put a smile on his mother’s face. She had been hurting so much since the registration had come into place and despite all the anger he was feeling, he still tried to make her smile. Giacomo was biased but he thought she had the best smile in the world. She was his rock and had been there for him since day one. He knew that if his father had been around since the beginning, he would have done the same or his mother would have made sure he was there and around. His mother was very convincing when it came to it. He loved that about her and it hurt him to see that she was able to convince herself out of her shitty situation.

Now that he as well into the school year, he tried to work hard at being a fair prefect, even if he wasn’t in Hufflepuff. But Giacomo did have an ego when it came to his intelligence. He knew he was smart and that was his current drive so that he did well in his OWLs at the end of the year. He wanted to make his mother, even more, prouder of him. He only wanted her free and happy. But he could only manage one with who he was. Giacomo hated to hear what other students said about muggleborns and how they deserved what came to them. Of course, they didn’t deserve that, it was so wrong but the fifth year thought that some people had some really warped thinking.

This coupled with what he was feeling about his absent father in recent days made him mad. Giacomo was moody most days but tonight, he seemed to hit a new high. He knew it was not healthy given that he had to patrol tonight but he hoped that the night was good them and he could retreat to his bed and hopefully have pleasant dreams. He had never had nightmares, well, not that he had been aware of. He considered himself lucky like that. But tonight, the door he had exited through to meet Karel for patrols tonight. He decided not to indulge the Slytherin with an answer.

Giacomo wished he had been stronger and had not started to open up. They were just supposed to patrol and not share stories about sap stories about any daddy issues he had. The younger wizard sighed and nodded. ”It has always just been the two of us. I’ve never met my father” Giacomo shrugged. On the flip side, he didn’t know anything about Karel or his father. Maybe the man wasn’t in his life, maybe they were alike like that. But he wasn’t prepared to question the sixth here on his family makeup.

”Don’t get me wrong…..I’m so thankful for everything that my mum has done” he said, trying to smile but failed. Giacomo felt lucky some days knowing that with his father out of the picture, his mother wasn’t obliged to keep him when he was born. But he didn’t ever reveal that to anyone, ever. Karel asking about his father on his birth certificate made him think. He had seen his birth certificate and he tried to recall what was written on it. ”It’s blank…..” he sighed and rubbed his forehead as they walked. That likely wasn’t the answer the other wizard was looking for. Giacomo looked around, grateful there were no troublemakers in sigh.t

”Losing my temper? With who exactly. You may not this, Karel, but I avoid people, this is the most conversation I’ve with anyone today, consider yourself lucky” Giacomo smirked as he folded his arms behind his back before he unhooked them and ran his hand along the stone wall as they walked.