Notes: For Camp Potter - Archery Week 1 (Write about a father and his children - no optional prompts used.)
Thanks to Jess (autumn midnights) for permanently putting up with my inability to remember which magical terms are capitalized and which aren't.
Duty and Responsibility
Mr. Goldstein was destined to be alone. This was his punishment, he thought, for not marrying a nice Jewish lady and letting a crazy youthful crush of his become the mother of his children. A nice Jewish lady wouldn't have abandoned her children. A nice Jewish lady wouldn't have had magical powers to give her children as the only heirloom and reminder of her.
But as it was, Anthony and Vivian had powers he'd thought impossible, and if he hadn't witnessed Vivian's bursts of angry magic, he would still think it was all a cruel joke. There was the owl quietly perched on top of the armchair Anthony was sitting in, contributing to the sensation of absurd reality.
He didn't get why they used owls -and quills, and parchment- but he knew better than to question it. He was lost in that world of magic and enchantments, and he'd learned to get used to the fact that there was a lot about his children that he'd never understand.
At that very moment, Anthony was reading a letter and Vivian was lazily laying down in the sofa, catching up on the television shows she'd missed. Mr. Goldstein was sitting in the adjacent little studio with the door half-open, going over his accountant's reports. He had that way of listening in, when the kids thought he wasn't paying attention. He felt guilty, but they wouldn't talk to him otherwise and not because of a lack of trust. They just thought he couldn't understand their world.
And they were right.
"Vi?" The girl turned her head to her brother, who was done reading his letter. "Mother just wrote. She has issued a statement to the Ministry, so we're officially recognized as half-blood."
"So we don't have to register?"
"We don't have to face the consequences of not registering."
"That's more like it."
Anthony gave her a nod of approval and a soft smile. Anthony and Vivian were never friends, but lately, they seemed to do everything together. And they rarely fought, too, when they used to argue daily. He remembered the times in which they fought for control of the television upon getting home, or when Vivian got angry at Anthony for using their internet connection when she totally needed to make a phone call.
"What do you think will happen, Tony?" Vivian was the only person in the world allowed to call him Tony.
"They'll run away, the lot of them. The adults are registering, but people our age... maybe it's pride, but I know Lisa and Stephen didn't lose time in running away. They know registering is signing their own death sentence. They might not even be in the Isles by now. Do you have any Muggle-born friends, Vi?"
She nodded. "My friend Pete... I don't know what he plans on doing actually. Maybe I should write to him."
"The German kid?" She nodded. "Now isn't that ironic."
"Was that a Holocaust joke, Tony? That was awful! Pete could be dead as we speak-"
"They haven't done anything yet. Write to him, then, if that will make you feel better."
"Can you lend me your owl?"
"Can I get the television for the next twenty-four hours?" That was more like the Anthony and the Vivian he knew. Mr. Goldstein couldn't contain a smile. Anthony was a good boy and was only ever mean to his sister. Tough love, he called it.
"That's blackmail!"
"It's only fair. Not my fault you chose a cat when given the choice." Anthony was back to his letter, but Mr. Goldstein was sure he only pretended to read it.
"You promised you'd let me use your owl!"
"I never said there wouldn't be conditions."
"You must be a Slytherin, blackmailing and joking when one of my best friends is in danger."
"One of your best friends? It's the first time I even hear about you and Von Klaus being friends. Nana would roll in her grave if she heard you're friends with a German."
"You've never heard of it because it's none of your business."
"Wait, he's not your boyfriend, is he?"
"Anthony, cut it out. Why are you being such a pain in the arse?"
"Maybe because you've monopolized the television for the month we've been home."
"If you weren't online all the time..."
"You asked for a mobile phone for your birthday. A mobile. As in, something you only need for two months of the year. You don't need the phone. Speaking of which, why don't you just call Von Klaus? He's a Muggleborn. He's got a phone, too."
"I... didn't think of that," she admitted. "Less risky, isn't it?"
"For sure. They're too caught up in their all-magical utopia that they ignore the Muggle wonders. Like phones. Phones are cool."
"It's a shame we won't have these when we go back to Hogwarts. More than any other time, we'll need them."
"About going back to Hogwarts... Vi, I was thinking." Anthony's solemn tone made Vivian turn down the volume and sit up.
"Things are never good when you think."
"Very funny, Vi. I'm serious." Anthony crumpled the letter in his hand, the sound of which made his owl hoot. "You must leave. The two of you."
"Leave as in...?
"Leave England."
"Well, that's a good plan. Except you can't make me."
"And I refuse to let Dad become a victim. Think of this as Germany in 1939. He'll be hunted down, sooner or later. We can't protect him all the way from Hogwarts and Mother doesn't really care to." That comment stung, but Mr. Goldstein knew better than to resent his son for the truth. "Dad can't possibly see it coming - and you both must leave before he does."
"Yeah, so Dad's gotta leave. I get it. What about me? I want to go back to Hogwarts."
"No, you don't."
"Okay, I don't. But I don't want to run away."
"But Dad must, and he can't go alone."
"Then you're coming too."
"No. I must go back to Hogwarts. You know I must, Vi. I'm Ravenclaw's oldest prefect - and possibly Head Boy, if God's willing. If the ship sinks, I'll sink with it. But you won't."
"Then I want to be with you."
Anthony did something unexpected just then: he pulled out his wand and pointed at her sister.
"Vivian, I'm old enough to use magic." His voice was calm and nonchalant. It wasn't like Anthony to get upset, anyway, but his stance denoted that there was something wrong. " Don't make me."
"You wouldn't."
"Don't try me."
They did threaten each other in a weekly basis -they were brother and sister, after all- but Anthony's hand was shaking. Mr. Goldstein knew his son to be soft, or at least, not the kind of person to find it natural to hurt somebody else. Not even Vivian, as a silly joke. But his trembling hand was a sign, he thought, that he would be willing to use spells to make Vivian obey.
"Don't make me angry," Vivian started. "You know-"
"Enough," Mr. Goldstein finally interrupted.
He could tell that his presence startled them, and he was glad that their whole attention was on him. He walked up to the sofa and sat next to Vivian, trying to keep his expression from betraying the confusion he felt.
"What do you think, Dad?" Vivian asked.
"What are you two even talking about?"
"You-Know-Who and the war," said Anthony. That seemed to be the answer to many of his questions as of late. Anthony seemed to realize how inconclusive it was, because he kept speaking. "They're against all things non-magical, remember? So children of Muggles were ordered to register. Mother was kind enough to save us the hassle, but that still leaves you. And I refuse to let you become a victim."
"I can't leave."
"You can't stay. They'll kill you."
"Where will I go, then? What should I do?"
"I was thinking you should go to Israel. You're considered a refugee... and even if you weren't, they could help you under the Law of Return. I'll take care of the paperwork, as I must speak to to the magical representative of the Jewish Agency. He won't talk to a Muggle."
Anthony was almost eighteen, yes. But even as he'd called him an adult many times since his Bar-Mitzvah, five years ago, Mr. Goldstein never really thought of Anthony as an adult until that very moment. It almost felt like Anthony was slowly becoming the head of the house, as Mr. Goldstein couldn't offer guidance in a world he was absolutely unfamiliar with.
He hated it. And yet, he was wise enough to realize Anthony was right. Even he -a Muggle- could tell something sinister was going on. Had his mother lived, she would've also wanted him to flee. She couldn't flee Poland on time so many years earlier and had become a victim, defenseless against a criminal regime.
No. He needed to go. He trusted Anthony enough to know there was no time to lose.
"Let us know what to do, son."
"Us?" That was Vivian. "I'm staying."
"My headstrong little Vi... if I'm going, you're coming with me. I can't force Anthony - he'll be eighteen in September." He wished he could, though. "But you're still under my guardianship and I won't let you be in danger." She looked disgruntled, and he understood. How much it pained him to have to convince her! "I'll need you with me."
"Anthony also needs me, Dad."
He was the only one to be surprised: Anthony's expression changed imperceptibly. They weren't friends, really. Or they hadn't been until now.
"I want you safe, Vi," was his response, but his voice had lost his authoritarian tone. "If I were a Gryffindor, I don't think I'd be doing this. I would need you with me - I wouldn't forgive you for not staying to fight. But as it is, and if your only reason to want to stay is that I'm going back to Hogwarts, then there's no reason for both of you to endanger yourselves. I'm asking this, Vi. Please do go with Dad. He'll need you, and I've got no choice but to stay."
"You've always got a choice." There weren't tears on Vivian's eyes, but her voice indicated that she did want to cry.
Mr. Goldstein realized that Vivian felt that she'd lost the battle. And once she gave up, he realized that Anthony's wishes were imminent - they were leaving England while he was staying, and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Whether I like it or not," Anthony said, "I must be an example to follow for all of Ravenclaw. Do you think I'm not terrified, Vi?"
"We're all terrified," she said. "And you don't have to do this. Dad, make him come with us."
He wished he could. But Anthony was a man with a responsibility. Anthony had the means and felt the moral obligation to stay and fight.
"You won't forgive yourself if you leave, will you, son?"
Anthony shook his head.
"Then I won't forgive myself if I try and make you leave." And it seemed unfair not to give Vivian the same choice, so he addressed her next. "Will you stay, Vi? Or will you come with me?"
As she was given the choice, Vivian's resolve seemed to harden. She spoke with an iron voice, as her will was just as strong.
"I'll come with you, Dad," she said. "I can't make any of you change your minds, can I? Now this is what I must do. I won't leave you alone."
Mr. Goldstein closed his eyes and leaned back. Decisions had been made, and it seemed like they couldn't turn back. It's not like they made split-second choices, for all those choices were thoughtful and sincere. It wasn't a matter of want or will - it was all a matter of duty and responsibility. Anthony felt responsibility toward his peers and classmates, and Vivian felt responsibility toward him.
It was like this that, in the midst of such a silent chaos, he came to a heartwarming realization.
I might be destined to be alone, he thought, but I'll never be alone as long as I have them. God knows I've raised them well.