Dear Blaine,

Please find attached a list of the people from the Ministry who should be on your guest list. You will find they are all fine contacts to have if you bid to become the Minister.

Please also find enclosed a cheque for 2000 galleons. It is from our private account; we never assumed you would wed. We expect a lavish affair, fitting for an Anderson wedding. Should his modest budget be too taxing for you to adhere to, do not hesitate to contact us for more.

Congratulations on your nuptials.

From,

Your father,

Anthony Anderson

slytherinsebastian:

Up on his feet as soon as the older couple was in the room, Sebastian held out his hand to Blaine’s father, posture straight and somewhat guarded. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Anderson.” He then turned to Blaine’s mother. Somewhat hesitant on how to greet her, he met her eyes with a small smile. “And it’s a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Anderson” Okay, so he wasn’t sure if it was actually going to be a pleasure to spend time with the dragon lady and her husband. But if Sebastian wasn’t at least a little hopeful that this would blow over well, why would he be there in the first place?

“Yes, it is my first time to the manor. You have a lovely home.” Huge and cold, but still lovely. Well, in some ways. 

“No, thank you.” He said in offer to the refreshments, taking his seat again, with space still noticeable between him and Blaine. He wanted to reach out and take his fiance’s hand, at least, but knew that probably wouldn’t be a smart idea. He sat with rigor and precision, back not touching the cushions and straight as a board, feet flat and facing forward, and hands to his sides. No thumb twirling, no crossing of his legs, no relaxation of any sort. It was as if Sebastian could hear his father’s voice in his head, urging him to not screw it up and make him look bad, as if he was at a military formal or something. 

How exasperating; the children were going to forego their announcement in opt of pleasantries. And of course, they knew what was coming. The rings were gorgeous, though with a lack-luster shine. Upon closer inspection, she was sure she would find a dull cut to the jewels. 

Anthony took Sebastian’s hand in a firm shake. Anthony had more patience than Cynthia had; it was one of the finer qualities that she had come to appreciate most about him over the years. He did not view Sebastian with the same intense critical eye as his wife had; it was a slower and broader evaluation of his character.

“And you, Sebastian,” he said in a curt tone. “I trust you had no problem arriving.” If he had, then they were truly in the presence of idiocy. He took his seat on the sofa opposite them, where his wife was already sitting.

Anthony took stock of Sebastian, making note of each stiff mannerism and carefully place limb. He was accustomed to this lifestyle. How intriguing.

Cynthia brushed her hair back, and sat a little straighter. “I assume, then, that your announcement will commence soon.” There were other pressing matters that need to be taken care of after this visit.

slytherinsebastian:

Nodding, Sebastian met the kiss, allowing the brief contact to calm his nerves a bit. Blaine was right; they were about to find out anyway. No reason to remove their rings. Sebastian hadn’t removed it since Blaine gave it to him anyway.

Allowing Blaine to lead the apparation, Sebastian moved in closer to him, his eyes closing briefly until he felt them land. He opened them again, somewhat stunned at the sight in front of him. This place was huge! Huge and intimidating! Feeling his stomach start to sink, Sebastian squeezed Blaine’s hand once as a house elf greeted them and allowed their hands to drop. As much as he wanted to hold Blaine’s hand, he knew that it would be best if their PDA level was as low as possible. He forced a smile and followed them into the mansion, stomach flipping.

His eyes could barely take in the large halls as they headed towards the study. He had never been in a house like this before. And it didn’t seem that appealing, in his opinion. Too much space. Too cold. He could see why Blaine didn’t like it here. They reached the study, and Sebastian paused, unsure of where to sit. But as Blaine indicated the seat next to him, he gave a small smile and sat down, being careful to leave several inches between them. And now they wait.

Cynthia was, as always, ready before her husband. She had already chosen the perfect outfit for optimal comfort and sex appeal the night before, and was now sitting on the bed, waiting for the house elf to fetch her emerald heels.

She regarded her husband in vague amusement as he fussed with his cuff-links. That particular pair had been a gift from when she and the Minister had went to Romania for the month, to oversee a summit over the trade of Dragon Eggs. He seemed to like them well enough, though not as much as he had liked the lacy number she had worn the night of her return.

“Darling, if you need assistance, you need only ask. We’re wasting time.”

“I have the situation handled,” came the calm reply. “They know we will be arriving at some point. It’s an informal visit; we are not expected to adhere to strict punctuality.”

A smirk stretched over her ruby lips. “An excellent point, darling.” She walked over to her husband, her stockings barely slipping on the wooden flooring. She helped him fasten his cufflinks.

“Mistress? Mina has shoes for you. And Master Blaine and his Blaine-friend is in the study,” said the small elf with the cloying voice.

“That will be all Mina. Leave the shoes and go back to your chores.” Cynthia flicked her hair back and adorned the heels. She admired them in the floor length mirror, smiling at the reflection.

Her husband wrapped an arm around her waist. “Perfection.”

They walked together down to the study to greet their son. Cynthia had already briefed her husband on the details of Blaine’s past visit, and the previous encounters she had had with the lover. They were prepared for whatever this visit would entail.

It was Cynthia who entered the room first.

“Blaine, dear, welcome home… And Mr Smythe. Welcome to the Manor. I believe this is your first visit to the family home,” she said, voice sweet and syrupy. “Would you like refreshments?”

blaine-at-hogwarts:

Dear Mother,

I was wondering if you and Father had any time in the future for a meeting with Sebastian and I. We have some news that I would like to share with you in person.

Yours,

Blaine Anderson.

Dear Blaine,

For the sake of clarity, let it be understood that you were not simply ‘wondering’ if your father and I were free; you were extending an inquisition so as to appropriately book an appointment. As such, your father and I have cleared the afternoon on Friday 19th October.

Please arrive promptly at 1pm in the Anderson family manor.

Should it be deemed appropriate, these instructions may also be extended to your partner.

Yours,

Cynthia Anderson

Personal Assistant of the Minister of Magic

blaine-at-hogwarts:

“Oh…” Was all Blaine could say. He’d never seen this side of his mother before. She wasn’t a dragon anymore, far from it. She was just a crying woman. All of the intimidation and fear was lost and Blaine was forced to re-evaluate everything he knew about his mother.

His instincts told him that he should hug her. After all, that was what people normally did when they needed to comfort others. But it just seemed to…strange. Blaine’s physical contact with his mother had been very limited. For as far as he could remember, they had never hugged or anything remotely similar. So he had no idea how well the action would be received. His hands automatically wrapped around himself in a small attempt to calm himself down, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he tried to figure out a logical response to the situation.

Cynthia took a deep breath and stood up, brushing herself down. “Enough of that nonsense.”

She paused. “If your heart is set on living with… Sebastian, then I have no qualms about the arrangement. However, if he steps out of line once, don’t think I don’t have the power to cut him from the team. One step; that’s all it will take.”

She took a book from the shelf and smiled at it. “You never knew most of these books were mine from childhood. Be sure to leave some for your sisters. I’ll fetch some drinks.”

She stalked away. That was… most undignified. But she felt… lighter. Yes. Perhaps that was why she was humming as she left.

blaine-at-hogwarts:

Blaine’s eyes widened, “Mother…I-….You want to help me?” He asking in disbelief. He didn’t know what to say, he had never dreamed that she would actually be supportive of his plan. If anything, he had always assumed that he would end up running against her considering her current position within the Ministry.  “…Thank you…” He tried to give her a small smile to show his gratitude but just couldn’t bring himself to as she was still crying. “But…why? I thought you like things the way they are?”

“You’re my son; I’ve only ever wanted what’s best for you. All of you… my family. I’ve never wanted anything less but the best for you all.” She sniffed. “You may not appreciate the opportunities you’ve had, but they were given to you because I wanted to do well.”

She hugged herself. “My only son… and you’re gone already… All-all grown up.” 

Oh, why wasn’t it lunch time yet? She needed the arms of her husband more than ever. “I apologise for these tears… I don’t quite know how to stop them…”

blaine-at-hogwarts:

The tears shocked Blaine. His mother showing any kind of emotion other than disdain was rare. And this was just…unprecedented. He had never seen her cry before and had no idea how to handle the situation. “Mother…What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice shaking with nerves.

Blaine carefully sat on the edge of his bed, directly facing Cynthia. “Well…Straight to the top I suppose.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I want to become Minister. There are so many things wrong with how things are run nowadays. And I want to fix that. And getting as high up as I possibly can is the only way I could possibly make that happen.” He gave a small, decisive nod. Still scared to find out his mother’s reaction.

She couldn’t hold back the choked sob that shook her. He had drive, and ambition, and…

And he’d never shown her it. He never told her his plans, or his progress… He didn’t tell her… anything. She might never have found out about the boyfriend had she not been for the inspection.

She smeared the tears away, trying in vain to gather some semblance of composure. She sniffed.

“Anything,” she said softly, voice wavering with emotion she only dared let her husband see. “Anything you need to get there, Blaine… I’ll do it.” She sobbed. “Mommy will help, I promise…” She sobbed again. “I-I swear…”

The tears streamed again; this time, she let herself.

blaine-at-hogwarts:

“We already have the contract for the apartment and it’s all ready for us to move into straight after graduation. And we’ve made sure it has a fireplace connected to the floo network to make it easy for Sebastian to floo to Ireland and for me to get to the Ministry.”

Blaine did his best to hide his confusion. His mother had never shown any interest in his friends before and he wasn’t sure whether she honestly cared or not. “Well, Dave plans on becoming a reporter. But he still has another year of Hogwarts before that. Quinn Fabray plans on becoming a healer. Santana is going into law  and aims to be a lawyer. And her fiance Sam Evans has been scouted for the Spanish quidditch team, so he’ll be playing against Sebastian in the future.” He figured it was best to leave it there. Of course he had plenty more friends, but he didn’t want to ramble on.

“My plans…are to progress in the Ministry as much as I can…” He wasn’t sure whether or not to mention his plans to become the Minister for Magic considering his mothers intimate relationship with the current Minister.

… When had Blaine… grown up?

Merlin, she felt so old. The son who could do nothing right on his own had… had everything sorted. Even his choice of friends, as much as she had disagreed with him over the years about them, had flourished in to something more. Sportsman of renown; lawyers… even the clumsy child of Blaine’s youth had become a useful asset for Blaine’s media image.

Her son, her- her little boy, her… her Blaine; the small, totally dependant baby she had held in her arms every night until he grew old enough to want to wriggle away.  He had grown in to an independent man, who didn’t need her any more. He made his own decisions, and planned them well. He made choices that in the end… proved he never needed her; she was never wanted.

The first tear startled her. It ran down her cheek, and she felt the make-up begin to slide away. Usually, she’d fuss. Right now, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She let the tears continue to fall, but in defiance refused to stop.

“Then what?” she asked softly. “Where do you aim for?”

blaine-at-hogwarts:

Blaine was pleasantly surprised, he hadn’t anticipated this going so well. His mother actually seemed impressed for once. “France is Sebastian’s favourite place to live. He moved around a lot as a child but France was already his favourite. Paris in particular. Plus it was where we had our first date.” He knew that talking about emotional attachment wasn’t really the best way to go, but it was their main motivation in moving to Paris and he couldn’t exactly justify it any other way.

This child and his emotions were beginning to infuriate her. “And exactly what are you planning to do in France? What sort of contact are you hoping to make there?” She crossed her arms. “And your other school friends; their plans?”

It was the sort of thing she would have expected Blaine to write home about, but he never had. In fact, an owl home was a rarity, and usually only for his sisters. Her husband agreed with this stance on privacy; Cynthia found it impossibly rude.

“What are your plans for the future? These daydreams are all well and good when you’re a child, but you do not have that luxury.”

blaine-at-hogwarts:

“My apologies Mother…” Blaine trailed off awkwardly. He had never really stood up to his mother before and wasn’t to sure how to handle the situation. He didn’t want to risk everything by pushing her too far.

“Oh…” Well that was news to Blaine. His parents had always been so distant and he’d never really seen them show any form of affection to each other. He’d always just figured it had been a marriage of convenience, never one of romance.

“They’re doing very well in the league tables and it’s a very popular team, especially in the UK.” He nodded, glad for the change of subject.

Cynthia paused. A popular team… imagine the publicity! The campaigns that they could run on that fact alone…

“Impressive. Now, why France? What is it about this apartment that enthrals you so?”

Suddenly, this moving away lark didn’t seem like such an inconvenience. With the right factors… it would be most advantageous to the family legacy. Of course she needed to ensure the factors were there.