Settling

Sawyer knew his cousin well. The two had gone to Hogwarts together, after all, and that meant he had been present for all of those character building moments. James failing his first test; his first detention; his first kiss; his first break up; his first Quidditch game. Etcetera. Sawyer had seen all of those character building emotions work their way into James like, and develop onto his countenance. He could tell when something struck a nerve.

Nevertheless, he listened to the good news that James bore, pleased to hear about his cousins. Albus had always irked Sawyer- the boy seemed to aimless and fueled by emotion. Lily suited him much better. She was clever and pragmatic, from his experiences with her. She was younger, so she and Albus had usually been left to themselves while he and James caught up.

"That's great. I'll have to tell Lily I'm proud of her. And I know the prat you're talking about. O'Doyle. He's a fool. Tell Albus I could always use some secretaries." He smirked a bit. James got to the subject the two had bonded the most over as teens- Quidditch. "You have a higher opinion of her than me. However, it's hard to think of someone's good qualities when you have to clean up their messes." He shrugged. "And a temper on anyone can be both a good thing and a bad thing."

Way to be a stick in the mud, Sawyer.

He was distracted. He wanted to know what was eating on his cousin. "Right. So you told me a lot, but you left out a lot too, didn't you?" He locked eyes with James. "What else is going on?"

James avoided Sawyer's eyes, but he should have known better than to think that he could fool Sawyer. They have been too close for too long for that. James sighed and slumped into the sofa. Sensing his owner's distress, Doom trotted in from the other room and hopped on James' lap; purring.

"Ah...." James groaned, "I don't even know where to start....Well, did you know that I have a child?"

James paused for Sawyer's reaction before continuing with an explanation.

"A couple of weeks back, Albus visited me at home while I was having a friendly drink with Jack. He tells me that Jamie had been pregnant with my child when I broke up with her for cheating on me with Elijah. Naturally, I got upset. Didn't stop to think on it. I just left, Jack on my tail. She must have been worried about what I would do.

Anyways, I barged into the Leaky Cauldron with a photograph of her, and got nowhere with it. Ended up going back home and doing what I should have done from the beginning: send Jamie an owl. Fat lot of good it did me, though. I have yet to hear back from her. Someday soon, I'll march into the castle itself. No one will keep my child from me."

James had halfway risen in his seat, his face flushed with anger, which he had been holding back for weeks now. Realizing that he was losing control, James sank back down into the sofa, breathing hard. He stroked Doom absent-mindedly, the silkiness of the feline's fur calming him.

James had fallen silent, staring hard towards the floor, lapsing into deep thought. Best to go through these things one at a time, beating each to the ground before moving on to the next topic. James wanted to put the massacre of Diagon Alley off for as long as he could. The memory was just too painful and too fresh.

Walrus was dismayed when his pal left him but it took him awhile to work up the nerve to walk into the living room. Walrus was a proud creature, and to be slighted by his feline friend for a lowly human hurt a bit. Out of spite, he gnawed on one of Sawyer's slippers before walking into the living room, sitting on Sawyer's feet. Sawyer winced as 140 pounds landed on his feet, but did not make the dog move.

Sawyer listened to James silently. Sawyer had always been good at this. He had learned it as Head Boy. When students came to him, if he patiently listened to all of their qualms and problems, they usually found the root of their trouble and suggested their own solution. And there was healing in expelling these concerns, bringing the internal to the external forces to be witnessed.

It turned to silence and Sawyer gnawed on all of this thoughtfully, rocking slightly in his chair. "I'm sorry to hear about Albus and Jamie," Sawyer said. "I imagine they'll each pay their price. But congratulations on your daughter. You have an exciting new addition to your life. She's sure to bring you some joy."

"Ah, if only she was an exciting new addition," James replied, craning his head back to stare at the ceiling, "problem is, I haven't even been able to meet her yet. I'm worried that if I don't become part of her life soon, she'll be angry with me; accuse me of abandoning her and her mother. Then there's the aspect of needing to be in contact with Jamie again. There's a part of me that still loves her, but I just don't think I can forgive her for what she did."

James sighed, shaking his head. He didn't want to think about this right now. He'd had too many sleepless nights, when lying in his bed alone, no one to distract him from these poisonous thoughts in his head. Perhaps it was time to move on into something that wasn't at quite so much of a personal level.

"Have you been reading the Daily Prophet lately," James asked, switching subjects, "Namely, the attack on Sparks Bistro in Diagon Alley?"

Again, Sawyer listened, but James' qualms seemed to have such obvious reassurances to be given. "I don't think it had affected her too much yet, mate. She can't be more than, what, four? It's not until a child is about six that they really notice that thing, from what I've seen. And besides, the truth will go a long way. If she ever asks when she's older, all she needs to know was that you had no idea and as soon as you knew, you cared for her." It sounded so easy to Sawyer, but the man was pragmatic. He could not see why his cousin would be so agitated by the idea of not knowing a three year old. Then again, Sawyer hadn't the emotional range of the Potters.

Speaking of Jamie was much harder, however, Sawyer shrugged. "You don't need to forgive her just yet. It's fresh. She's the mother of your child, that's as far as she needs to be respected. The only person that matters now is your daughter."

James continued on as Sawyer raised his glass to his lips, sipping his ale with satisfaction. Something about Diagon? Sawyer frowned, shaking his head. "No I haven't had a chance to change my subscription's address. What's going on?"

James was afraid of this. Bad tidings read from a newspaper tended to make you feel more disconnected to an event spoken from mouth. James supposed it was because the newspaper had no voice which could crack or waver as it retold the grimy details of a particularly nasty death or event. For some reason, it was easier than speaking about his estranged daughter...likely it was because James had discussed grave tidings such as these too many times to count.

"Well," James explained, "two days ago, there was an attack on Spark's Bistro in Diagon Alley. Khaat was kidnapped....again. The abductor had used Fiendfyre to set the place on fire. The minister, Khaat's father, had happened to be there and he alerted as many as he could via his lion Patronus. I had just happened to be in the Leaky Cauldron having a drink, so I was one of the first on the scene. Myself, Robert, Brian, Thaor, Michael, and Louis were battling the flames, and nearly had it contained when Robert left along with Brian, leaving me in charge. Of course, with two people abandoning the battle against the Fiendfyre, it got out of control. The fire escaped, and set fire to other buildings in the alley. It also killed Thaor, before the fire disappeared. We can only guess that the Death Eater originating the fire was still hanging around, for there was no other reason for the fire to disappear like that. We caught no one, of course.

Among the bodies, many of them were completely unmarked by smoke, ash, or flame. We surmised that they must have been killed with the Avada Kedavra curse, so that there would be no witnesses to whomever had set the Fiendfyre. Ah, and the dark mark. I forgot to mention that the dark mark had been set in the sky. It disappeared shortly before the Fiendfyre, which was odd as well. I do not believe that any of us fighting the Fiendfyre had the time or know-how to expel the dark mark.

Anyways, through-out the course of this, Jack informed me that Nemo had been kidnapped as well. Seems the Death Eaters are coming out in force again, sending us some kind of message....and I am worried. The Order is weak, and fighting among ourselves. We seem to never be able to get through one meeting without everything breaking down into some sort of fight. I sometimes wonder whether our current leader is up for the responsibility of handling the Order, but then I remind myself: that line of thinking is exactly the sort of thing that is hurting us. I have my suspicions that we are harboring a spy. Someone who is attempting, and succeeding, at breaking us down from the inside."

It was a lot to soak in, but Sawyer did his best to do so. He leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee, his chin resting on his fist. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he focused purely on James' words, taking it all in, nodding on occasion when a particular piece of information really hit him. No major surprise, concern, or feelings of upset seemed to register on his face however. Sawyer could be a machine.

"So... Head of Law Enforcement, Head of the Wizengamot are gone. That leaves myself, Robert, and the Headmaster and Elijah as high profile suspects. I doubt I'm a concern as I'm new and it doesn't seem like anyone was after Jack when she had the job." Sawyer couldn't do much. Why apologize for the past, something he could not change, and never had the power to change. He simply had to plan.

He was unable to contain the cringe that crossed his face from the news on the Order. "That's always a problem." He sighed. "Next time there is a meeting, let me know. I doubt anyone remembers me, so I'll need an in." He sighed. "I came just as the tide's turned, eh? It'll probably be me and you, taking on the world." He smiled at his cousin.

James nodded in agreement, finally paying his kitty some attention and stroking him under the chin. Doom took this as a sign that his Master was feeling better now, and he sprang from James' lap across the room to land on the huge canine.

Ignoring this, James latched onto the subject of the Order. It being a sore spot in his life, James had plenty to say on the matter.

"If only it could work like that," James sighed, picking up the firewhiskey, but not drinking, "We could probably found an Order to rival the current, but then we'd likely be branded traitors and troublemakers. The trouble-making part is nothing new to us, though. The meetings are just very upsetting. I had to actually leave for awhile; cool my head. While no one seems to be able to work together, everyone has their own problems that they expect the Order to fix for them. Which is fine, but it's the way everyone goes about it. Every person gets their own idea in their head, and they think that they are right, and no one else can know any better than they themselves can. It always turns into a big argument, with people getting unduly affronted, and taking things personally if you disagree with them. I suppose the unfortunate thing is, the Order needs a strong leader, which Matthew is most definitely not. He cannot control himself, therefore he cannot control the Order meetings. In the end, he gets just as angry as everyone else, then it falls apart from then on."

James stopped and took a deep breath. There was so much more to say, but at the risk of going on full-steam into a never-ending rant; James chose to cover up the moment by finally downing his shot whiskey.

((Totally feeling the Doom/Walrus bromance!))

The cat's sneak aerial attack surprised poor, unsuspecting Walrus. When the cat landed on Walrus' flank, the dog started, letting out a low, resounding bark of surprise. He began rocking back and forth to get on his feet, barking the dog equivalent of "RUN, KITTY!" which Doom promptly did. They took off again, sensing that their masters no longer had any use for them.

Sawyer listened patiently. Matthew? His eyebrows scrunched together. "When did Matt take the Order? I thought Jess had it." He had never really decided an opinion on Jess as a leader, yet. Jess had all of the qualities, with few of the results.

Sawyer sighed, running his hands over his face. "We can't start our own, of course. Division does little for solutions. But there's two of us on the same page. If we can get a large group of us headed in one definite direction, we can really get a move on. Who else seems to be capable of making positive changes in the Order?"

James watched the interaction between dog and cat a bit bemusedly. That little rascal of a cat had a mood which changed more often than a love-sick woman. He brought his attention quickly back to Sawyer, and pondered the question brought to him.

"Well..." James trailed, "The first person who comes to mind is Jack. She is just as sick of the fighting as I am, and she has the skill and willpower to help the Order get back onto its feet. I could also never see her joining the Death Eaters. There's no way she's the spy, and oh yes, I am certain that we have a spy.

Susan's heart is in the right place, but she has been through so much right now, and seems emotionally unstable. Right now, I feel that she is a bit of a risk.

Matthew is great, but just not as a leader. He has a tendency to let his emotions rule his actions, at least from what I've seen. I do not know Matthew well.

Louis, is...erm....well, headstrong, but has a very good heart. He would definitely move in the right direction. He just needs to learn some restraint, and let's face it, he isn't the only one who can be a bit reckless."

James paused at this to smile and shoot Sawyer a quick wink. James knew that he couldn't very well find fault in someone for being reckless.

"There is a gal named Santana, who I think would be better off outside the Order. She's a distant cousin, but I doubt you know her at all. She is very brash, and gets easily offended. Last meeting, she was the biggest problem for why it went wrong.

The other spark would have been Sylvan. He is a man who seems to not like being disagreed with. He takes the attack on many issues, and while some see him as being driven, something about him makes me uncomfortable. He just seems to be a dodgy and untrustworthy character to me, even walking out in the middle of the meeting.

The last person who comes to mind as someone who could help, is Whight. I don't know much about the man, but his head seems to be in the right place. He keeps his emotions very well controlled, and was one of the few who was able to keep his mouth shut last meeting. The only words he spoke were wise and calming words."

((Hope I covered almost everyone, lol. A lot of people to try and keep track of.))