family line
The days leading up to the beginning of the holidays went by quickly. Katelyn began helping Neil through his classes (being much more useful as a partner than Jack), and suddenly things began to slide into place. His progress didn’t go unnoticed by his teachers, and he found himself flushing anytime they complimented his wand work or spells. He even found himself looking forward to classes (excluding potions, those still didn’t make sense to him) and found his homework if not enjoyable, then at least tolerable. He and his dormmates spent hours each night playing around with the magic map, and more often than not fell apart laughing at the creative insults it spat back at them. Kevin even began teaching him quidditch during some evenings, when he didn’t have practice with the team. Kevin owned his broomstick, while Neil was allowed to borrow one of the school’s provided ones. He accelerated quickly through the challenges and drills Kevin threw at him, although Kevin was quick to berate him for any mistakes or lapses he made during practice. Neil found himself one step away from launching the quaffle at the other boy’s head at any given time, and only stopped himself because he knew Kevin was taking time away from his own night to teach Neil.
Jack and the other boys were always invited to Neil and Kevin’s nightly sessions, but besides the first couple of times, none took up the offer. Katelyn even tagged along sometimes but ended up enjoying watching and cheering them on more than the actual playing, although she found it fun to zip around on the broomstick aimlessly.
Neil spent his days tired, worn out from Kevin’s intense training sessions and the long hours spent studying and practicing spells, but nevertheless found himself happier than he ever had. He felt a twinge of guilt at that, not wanting to take his mother’s years of protecting him on the run for granted. He knew she would be scolding him at how easily he trusted his friends, no longer sleeping with his back away from the door and no knife hidden under his pillow. Instead, he had his wand on his nightstand and spent the night facing away from Will’s bed, because the heavy-set boy snored loudly. He no longer checked for the nearest exit when he entered a room, and no longer mentally assessed the threat every person poses. Instead, he laughed with his friends, trusting them to have his back and knowing they trusted him to have theirs as well.
A part of Neil’s mind kept reminding him that this peace, this happiness, wouldn’t last and that small part of him was soon proven true. The day before Halloween, he was pouring over his transfiguration textbook in the common room when Katelyn nudged him slightly in the side and his head shot up to see Thea Muldani, Head Girl and Slytherin quidditch captain, approaching him. He had talked with the impressive woman a few times, and more than respected her for her intensely determined and down-to-earth mindset. The grim and slightly bemused look on her face was enough to set Neil’s warning bells off, causing him to tense enough to earn a concerned look from Katelyn and then Kevin, who had also broken off from his own school to watch Thea’s approach. Neil’s tension was slightly off-put by the wave of humor that flowed through him at Kevin’s red-tinted ears and just barely resisted the urge to tease him about his unrequited crush.
“Neil, do you have a second?” her manner was polite, yet Neil could tell something was wrong, or at least she was confused about something. He got up from his spot and reassured his concerned friends that he would be right back before following Thea from the common room and into the corridor outside.
“Neil, the headmaster has asked to see you.” The sentence was posed as a statement, yet Neil could feel the question within it. “It’s rare that the headmaster ever meets with first years, let alone Headmaster Moriyama himself.” Neil knew Thea was referring to the man’s almost ‘uppity’ attitude and wondered, not for the first time, what the man was even doing at this school. After relinquishing his spot as Minister of the Ministry of Magic to his son, Ichirou, it seemed he could have retired peacefully and in plenty of wealth. Instead, he took up this spot as headmaster of a school of magic, which Neil imagined was quite a step-down. Neil absently wondered if it was because his brother taught here, even though his own son (the second one, however, so practically tossed aside) went to the Durmstrang Institute instead.
“I’m not sure why he wants to see me,” Neil lied through his teeth. “Did he say to come now?”
Thea nodded in response, looking thoughtfully at Neil before continuing. “Do you know where it is?”
Neil shook his head, and so she led him along the corridor away from the common room. They kept up an easy conversation about quidditch, with Neil peppering her with questions for improvement tips, and her tolerating the questioning good-naturedly. Eventually, they came to a staircase, where Thea left Neil with a simple ‘good luck’ before leaving him to climb the staircase, which of course couldn’t be normal but had to move as well. Neil tolerated it with a contained sigh, used to the moving staircases from his months here. Before long, he stood in front of a large stone door, towering and imposing. The deep, trembling fear he had been repressing on the way here suddenly threatened to overflow him, and he hesitated with his fist clenched on the knocker.
The ominous banging of the knocker against the door was gunshots aimed at his head, aimed not to maim but to kill. He couldn’t help the feeling that he had just signed his own death warrant by coming here. His months of peace and friendship were coming to an end, and Kengo Moriyama was finally done letting Neil roam free.
“Come in.” was all the confirmation Neil needed that this was a bad, bad idea. Not even his idea, though, so he couldn’t even be blamed if he ended up dead. The fact that this was not his fault was all that spurred him through the looming door, even if a deep, repressed part of him whispered that that wasn’t true, that it was Nathaniel’s fault.
Good thing I’m not Nathaniel, Neil thought as he stepped into an oval room, bare and sparsely decorated except for a line of portraits lining the wall. They watched him curiously, and Neil forced himself not to shrink from their gaze. They were easier for Neil to comprehend than the moving staircases and floating objects if he just told themselves they were movies. Just tiny little movies that happened to watch you and talk to you. Totally normal.
Neil turned his attention to the large utilitarian desk and the imposing man sitting behind it. Kengo Moriyama did not deem to look up at Neil as he made his way to the chairs in front of the desk. Unsurprisingly, they were cushionless and extremely uncomfortable to sit on. Neil absently wondered if Headmaster Moriyama purposefully chose the most prison-like decorations and furnishings to unnerve his guests or if that was simply a personal preference. Whichever it was, Neil considered himself extremely unnerved as he sat in front of the headmaster, who still had yet to look up from the papers stacked in front of him. Neil’s gaze traveled the room as he waited for the man to finish, and his eyes caught on a red bird on top of a steel perch. The bird watched him back, and Neil couldn’t help but feel the bird was far more intelligent than any bird had the right to be.
Neil also spotted the Sorting Hat sitting on a shelf behind the bird, along with a long, sleek sword within a glass cage. There were a few other odd objects precisely placed on shelves behind the headmaster, ones that Neil had never seen before but didn’t doubt were highly magic-y.
Eventually, the headmaster lifted his head and gazed at Neil. Neil lowered his eyes in subservience, as was proper, before meeting the master’s gaze once more. Moriyama seemed pleased by this display and began speaking.
“Nathaniel Wesninski,” Neil tried his hardest not to flinch at his real name, “how are you finding your stay here?”
“It has been extremely satisfactory, sir. Some of the best months of my life.”
“Excellent.” The master viewed Neil almost thoughtfully. “I suppose you’re wondering why you are here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your father has been sent to prison.” Neil couldn’t help his surprise as he looked up directly at the master but quickly forced his gaze down again. “Does this surprise you?”
“Well- I,” He cut off, not trusting his voice at the moment. “Well, yes, sir.”
Surprise was an understatement. As far as he understood, his father was the right-hand man to the Moriyama main family, a powerful family of criminal connections and hoards of wealth. His father, known as ‘the Butcher,’ was known for his effectiveness, if not his brutality as well. Neil and his mother had run off when he was eight, leaving the family business behind after one of Nathaniel Sr.’s fits of rage. Neil still bore the scars of that night, and didn’t fault his mother for dragging him away, no matter the cost it took from both of them. It didn’t matter much in the end, since he caught up with them anyway.
“He was a liability.” Headmaster Moriyama said, like he hadn’t just upended Neil’s entire world. “I promised you and your family that you would be safe here, and I remain true to my word. However, several of his most loyal people remain, so it would not be wise to go traipsing around unsupervised. That brings me to the reason behind this meeting. The holidays are rapidly approaching, and as I understand it, you will stay here.” It was not a question; the master was telling Neil that he was to stay here while other students went home for Christmas and the winter holidays. Neil didn’t object because 1. he wasn’t suicidal enough to risk the master’s wrath by objecting and 2. it wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go. His dormmates talked about how happy they were to visit their families and parents and pets, but he had known from the start he had no home, no family to visit. Unless you counted… but Neil did not count them.
“Yes, my lord.” He responded like he was expected to, obedient and subservient to whatever end his master required.
“However, the castle closes for summer holidays, as you well know. This poses a challenge both to your safety and my promise. I have come up with a compromise that I believe you will find acceptable.” Like Neil had a choice, ha. “I believe you are becoming good friends with Mister Day?”
Neil didn’t even want to know where his intel came from, or how close a watch Moriyama was keeping on him and his friends. It made him anxious and worried about the danger it may pose to his friends, but he stifled it and locked it away to return to it at another time.
“Yes, sir. Kevin and I are good friends. I’m rather fond of him,” Neil supplied, all the confirmation Kengo needed before continuing.
“Therefore, you should have no problem spending the summer holidays with him. As you probably know, Kevin’s mother was good friends with Tetsuji before her death, and as such Kevin is one of our protected.”
Neil didn’t need it spelled out to him that Kevin was a belonging, an investment, to the Moriyama family. Neil couldn’t help but feel slightly shocked and betrayed at this sudden revelation. He knew something had happened to Kevin’s mom, the famous quidditch player, but hadn’t had her death confirmed until now. And he was involved with the Moriyama’s? Neil was suddenly discovering depths to his friend that he hadn’t known existed until now. No wonder the boy was so hyper-focused on quidditch, he knew his place as an investment. Kevin would have to return the favor to the main family somehow; to repay the “kindness” they had shown him after his mother’s passing.
Kengo continued, oblivious to Neil’s inner turmoil, continued speaking. “So, if it pleases all parties, you will spend the summer at one of our safe houses with Mister Day. You will be provided with all you require and will be protected against any of your father’s remaining men. Does this satisfy you, Mr. Wesninski? Or should I say, Mr. Josten?” Neil knew it wasn’t a question, but he felt a warm glow when he heard his new name from the headmaster.
Neil Josten was real. And Neil Josten was not going to die today.
“It certainly pleases me, sir. That sounds wonderful, my lord.”
“Excellent. You will be charged with informing Mister Day of this change in plans, yes?” Once again, Neil knew the question was not an actual question but nodded in agreement all the same. He didn’t need any more indication to know that was a dismissal, and so with a bow, he stood and left as quickly as possible without sprinting.
Outside the heavy-set doors, Neil resisted the urge to sink to his knees and settled for clunking his head against the cool marble wall.
Neil Josten was not dying today.
With a silent whoop and celebration, he practically skipped down the stairs and happily headed home to his friends.
***
His friends did not buy his cheap excuses that night at dinner, but eventually gave up when they figured out he wasn’t going to spill. Kevin was uncharacteristically silent and looked faintly ill the entire meal. He wouldn’t make eye contact with Neil and simply told the others he wasn’t feeling well. Neil knew that Kevin had a sneaking suspicion of why a random first year would need a private audience with the headmaster, and knew exactly what kind of business the Moriyamas were in.
Eventually, they finished their meal, and Kevin and Neil headed off to the quidditch grounds for their routine evening practice. They remained silent until they had made their way far past the quidditch ground and into a thicket of trees before Kevin spun to face Neil. Whatever he saw on Neil’s face was confirmation enough because the other boy’s face crumpled, and he collapsed to his knees.
“Not you, too, Neil.” The raw desperation in his voice made the older boy seem several years younger than Neil. Neil sunk to his knees next to Kevin and muttered a half-hearted “surprise!” Kevin scoffed and dug his hands further into his own hair and tugged harshly.
“You, too?” This time it was a question, a broken but understanding look on Kevin’s face.
“Ever heard of Nathaniel Wesinski?” Neil somehow managed a lighthearted and almost joking tone despite the ache in his chest.
Kevin’s jaw dropped before exclaiming, “The Butcher?”
“Yeah, so that’s kind of…” Neil winced before just getting it over with, “my dad?”
Kevin’s only response was to fall on his back and cover his face with his hands. Neil was pretty sure he heard a few uttered curses in there but politely gave Kevin his time to deal with the truth. Or at least gave Kevin a solid ten seconds before poking him in the side.
“Can you speed up this mental breakdown? There’s more.”
“There’s more??” Kevin wailed and began cursing anew.
“Good news, mostly. My father is in prison now, and I have the protection of the Moriyamas anyway.” When Kevin’s head shot up in question, Neil gave a harsh shake of his head. “No, no question asking how. I am under their protection, that’s it.” Neil gave Kevin a fierce glare when he moved to open his mouth until finally, Kevin nodded.
“So, you’re safe? No axe murderers?” Kevin settled on instead. Neil hated how he wasn’t even exaggerating with the axe murderer part. His father did love a good cleaver.
“Yes. I’m to stay here for the winter, and I’ll live with you during the summer holidays.” At this, Kevin finally perked up, and a delighted grin spread across his face.
“You get to stay with me and Jean?” He said delightedly, joy etched all across his face. “We can play quidditch the whole summer, actually train you up so you will-”
“Wait, did you say you and … Jean?” Neil said hesitantly. “As in the Ravenclaw, Jean?”
Kevin tilted his head curiously. “You know Jean? He’s in your year technically.”
“The French guy?”
“Yes! How do you know Jean?”
“How do you know Jean?”
“We grew up together,” Kevin said, frowning, “he’s a Moriyama investment, too.”
“Jean??” Neil sputtered. “Frenchman Jean is a part of the Moriyamas?”
“Yes,” Kevin said simply, staring at Neil like he was an idiot. “I thought you said you knew him.”
“Just from school! I didn’t know he was an investment, goodness sake.”
“Oh,” Kevin said, then hummed thoughtfully. “Surely I’ve talked about him before, that’s the only other person I spend time with here.”
“Kevin, I assure you, you have never once mentioned Frenchman Jean in any of our conversations. Granted, you mostly talk about quidditch, but still.”
“Why do you keep calling him Frenchman Jean?”
“Do you not remember Jack’s story about his broken nose and our French tour guide? That was Jean, you daft idiot.”
Kevin’s jaw dropped and formed an ‘O’.
“Yeah, I probably should’ve put that together.”
“You think?”
They sat by the trees for a few more minutes talking about Jean and quidditch and the upcoming holidays and about nothing at all really. Neil couldn’t help the deep sense of relief flooding his chest, because for once in his life, he had someone who understood. Who knew what kind of life he lived, and the person he had become. Who wasn’t just a friend to Neil Josten, but a friend to Nathaniel Wesninski, too. He felt slightly guilty about the feeling of relief because it meant that Kevin knew the same things he did and had similar experiences. Neil didn’t even try to fight the smile spreading across his face as Kevin babbled on about their winter plans, since he was staying at the castle too (along with Jean, naturally) and how he planned to spend every moment honing his quidditch skills.
Eventually, they got up once the sun had fully set, and returned to the castle without touching a single broom for the first time in their short history of evening practices.
"You'll still teach me?" Neil found himself asking as they entered the castle.
"Every night."
Neil Josten was not dying today, or anytime soon. Of this he was sure.