"I hate my father. He's such a jerk."
"Like mine was any better? I think the only reason he kept me alive was so that the family name would continue."
"Why is it that power-hungry men never make good parents? I mean, sure they buy you things…"
"…Give you way to hurt your enemy and protect you…"
"…Give you power yourself. But they never seem to give the important things."
"Like time. Or a smidgen of respect."
"Or at least listening to you when you say something is important."
"They just use us."
"Of course. Doesn't matter who you are…"
"…if it's an enemy, crush it. If it's a friend, use it. If it's stronger, suck up. If it's weak, despise it."
"Exactly. I saved his life once, and all he gave me in return was a grunt. No thanks. No recognition. Just… nothing."
"At least you had a chance to do something like that. My father's such a coward, he never does anything without double-thinking the consequences through twice. He'd never get himself in a position like that."
There was silence for a moment.
"I wish I could kill mine. I've thought up so many ways, how easy it would be… But I never can get my muscles to act, when it comes to the point. Maybe Father is right. I am weak."
"At least you've thought up ways to kill yours. I can't even think of one single way to kill mine, he's so powerful. Well, nothing that would work."
"Have you ever thought of a kamikazi run?"
"A what?"
"A suicide mission. Killing him at the risk of being killed yourself."
"No. He's a bastard, but I don't hate him enough to kill myself to kill him… did that sentence make sense?"
"Not really, no. But I think I got the gist. There's so much I want to do, need to do before I can die, and half of them won't work properly unless Father is dead."
"Exactly. I want to make my mark on the world, but not as the boy who killed his important father."
"Yeah."
A beat in the conversation, when drinks were contemplated and drunk.
"I have an idea."
"Oh?"
"I'll make a bet with you. We meet here, one year from now, and whoever's killed his father, or come closest to it wins… something."
"Something? How about a year of service? Or a big favor to be paid in full?"
"Fine by me."
"Sounds like a challenge."
"Are you backing out?"
"Not on my life. One year from now. Deal?"
"Deal."
The two blonde boys regarded one another for a moment, one with pale gold hair, the other with silver. Two butterbeers sat on the stained table in between them, hardly touched.
The gold one threw down some metallic coins, and the silver one left in a blur as the gold one disappeared with a crack.
A fateful meeting between two sons of powerful men. A human and a mutant. A muggle and a wizard. Who knows what this will bring?