Author's Note: Thanks so much to laceyowens50 for reviewing!

Late July 1996, (Flashback)

Abel sat curled up in a cushy armchair in the parlor, gazing into the vermilion flames flickering in the fireplace and listening to the comforting crackling of the burning wood. It reminded him of cold winters as a child snuggled up near the fire, listening to Cain regale him with stories of Hogwarts, or using it to heat marshmallows they'd snuck from the pantry, or using it to make shadow puppets with their hands and giggling at the strange shadow puppet shapes they made using it's light. He hadn't sat by the fire when married to Eunice, it brought him no comfort when her very presence had him on edge and she talked all the time anyway. You shouldn't think ill of the dead.

He needed the comfort right now, he hadn't been doing well, his thoughts had been a whirlwind ever since he'd heard of the Dark Lord's return and the fear was wrapped around his heart like a glove. It was new to him as he hadn't felt this way the first time, after all what did a pureblood whose family supported You-Know-Who have to fear? He wasn't scared for himself or for his family, not his legitimate family anyway… but the illegitimate ones? You're a selfish coward.

Cain's son had married a muggle-born, he'd be cast as a blood traitor and the Dark Lord had no qualms about killing blood traitors no matter how pure their blood was- just look at how he'd famously killed the Potters, Cain's grandkids would be at risk too for their less than desirable parentage. And his own bastard son with Jenna Atoll was still just a half-blood, Jenna herself was a half-blood who'd had a muggle mother so his pureblood paternal lineage wouldn't be enough to elevate him from half-blood. And that was assuming Death Eaters would just know about his secret paternity, his blood status was even more undesirable without that. If you'd just raised him then he'd be safe but you were too weak.

His parents weren't too concerned, they felt like he was overreacting but then they tended to view any kind of emotional reaction as overreacting. He couldn't shake the feeling that this could be some karmic reckoning, Cain would lose his family to punish him for the things he'd done as a Eater and Abel would lose his innocent infant son to punish him for cheating on his wife. He was sure wherever Eunice was she delighted, she'd always believed the Dark Lord would return and would be cheering at the chance for his illegitimate son to die, if she was still alive she'd probably do it herself because she had always expressed that when You-Know-Who returned she'd become a Death Eater this time. Instead she's dead because of you.

Despite Jenna agreeing to raise their bastard child in silence, Eunice had decided to go through with the divorce anyway. She'd been disowned of course and it had secured Abel his home and custody of their four children, it hadn't seemed to bother her and she'd gotten a job working with Magical Creatures to support herself so she could fight him for custody. She'd been there less than a year before being killed in an accident, they said she'd been too rough with one of the creatures and it had lashed out at her. Her co-workers had rushed into help her but she'd snapped her neck in the initial fall, she was dead before anyone even reached the pen. Her death had been immensely shocking and painfully ironic to Abel, all his failed suicide attempts and desire to die but she had managed it without even trying. What a nasty person you are.

Since it hadn't been that long, everyone just kind of ignored the fact she'd been trying to go through a divorce and had been disowned. Quite literally, everyone acted like those two events had never happened, the family who had shunned her just months before dabbed tears from their eyes telling everyone how much they'd loved her and everyone treated him like a straight up widower, which he was purely by technicality as the divorce hadn't been finalized yet. His children were the only ones who acknowledged the false narrative, Maverick and Cheryl had refused to speak to him the rest of the summer or owled him once they got back to Hogwarts. The atmosphere had only just started to defrost when she'd died, despite the fact they would speak to him know they were noticeably much colder and distant, their eyes glared and teeth clenched every time one they heard one of the false platitudes. He still Bernice and Eleazar though, they were devastated by their mother's death but they were too young to know or understand anything else. They'll hate you too as soon as they're old enough, you're the reason she got the job that killed her.

He'd already tucked them into bed, they were sleeping soundly safe and secure. Cheryl was probably still up, her quill had been scratching away in letters to her friends or maybe boyfriend when he'd put the little ones down and while it was late enough he'd prefer she sleep, she was fourteen and probably too old for a bedtime- assuming she even listened- but at least she was home. Unlike Maverick. The moody teen was of age now so he was 'out,' he'd been 'out' most of the summer and failed to obey a curfew because he was of age so insisted he could stay out as much as he wanted even though he still had his final year of Hogwarts. It was annoying because it felt wrong for Abel to go to bed before Maverick got back and so he was forced to stay up, night after night watching the fire slowly dying until the stocky youth would stomp in unceremoniously and grunt a greeting on his way up the stairs. Abel was afraid to even confront him about it because of Maverick's explosive temper, Maverick also actually had his wand whereas Abel's parents still did not trust him to have his. Not unless he was being closely supervised, his fear of the Dark Lord had lost him even that pitiful privilege though. You're pathetic, you're the most pathetic excuse for a wizard who ever existed.

Abel sighed heavily, his dark thoughts were not wrong. He continued to gaze into the flames, watching the light it case chase shadows around the wall. Trying not to think about all of the things upsetting, trying not to think about the fact if he was dead none of the things would upset him anymore, trying not to think of anything at all really. It'd be better if you were dead, you know? I do know. Your children would be so much happier without you, they-

BANG!

Abel jumped, jolted from his thoughts by the sound of the front door slamming. That would be Maverick then, earlier than usual actually so he could finally go to bed. He expected to hear his eldest son's footsteps stomping up the stairs like he usually did but to his surprise, they instead traipsed into the parlor. Why on Earth would he want to speak to you?

"Hey Dad," Maverick greeted him as he strode over, the usual bitter undercurrent was strangely absent and his face was unusually pale.

"H- Hey?" Abel offered nervously in response, hastily putting his legs down so he was in a more 'dignified' sitting position, "Did you have a good time… out?"

Maverick didn't answer immediately, Abel wasn't even entirely sure if he'd heard him as he was not looking at him. Something was wrong, Abel quickly realized, stark worry was written into his normally confident face. His son started to pace anxiously, running a hand through his hair- he'd finally got it cut and it was so short it bristled. He continued to walk circles around the floor for so long Abel was beginning to wonder if he should try saying something else, though finally Maverick sat abruptly on the other armchair and bit his lip.

"Dad, I made a horrible mistake," Maverick blurted out immediately, not meeting his eyes and instead staring at his hands which were now wringing his wand.

"Oh," Abel said, not entirely sure what the problem was, "Well, it's not the end of the world, we all make mistakes-"

"No, Dad, I did something bad," Maverick interrupted, twisting his wand so tightly that Abel feared he would break it. He still didn't look at him.

"What did you do?" Abel asked quietly, an uneasy feeling settling inside his stomach. Maverick was silent for a minute, he then swallowed nervously.

"Well… you know my fiancée?"

Abel nodded, he'd never met her but he knew of her. She was also only sort of Maverick's fiancée, his parents and her parents had arranged the marriage for once they finished Hogwarts but the girl herself objected to it. She insisted she didn't want an arranged marriage but her parents were convinced she'd come around, that she'd see the benefit of a respectable pureblood match when she got older- she was a year younger than Maverick- so Maverick continued to try win her affections.

"I went to see her," Maverick said, his voice a whisper as he went back to idly wringing his wand, still not meeting his eyes and his next words were steeped in bitter desperation, "I don't understand what I'm doing wrong, I've tried so hard to get her to like me. I've bought her gifts, conjured her flowers, I've tried talking to her, I've tried listening to her but her attitude is always just 'thanks but no thanks,' she still doesn't want to be with me. Nothing I do is ever good enough for her."

"Arranged marriages aren't for everyone," Abel pointed out, very opposed to it himself and in truth rather wishing the practice would die out but his attempts to convince his parents to leave his children's futures alone had been unsuccessful, "It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong."

"It makes me angry," Maverick admitted, his tone shifting dangerously and his expression ugly, "I'm trying so hard and she just doesn't care, I'm even faithful to her but she doesn't care. Amos thinks I'm being too nice and she's just playing hard to get, he said I needed to show her I was a man not a lovesick boy. I made her a necklace, transfiguration is hardly my best subject but I spent months working on it anyway to impress her. Rose quartz, I transfigured it into a daphne flower- even McGonagall would've been impressed."

"But she wasn't?"

"Of course she wasn't, she's a bitch!" Maverick yelled so loud that Abel flinched, he twisted his wand again, "It was the same old story, 'oh that's so nice but I'm still not interested, you're still not good enough!' Like what the fuck else does she want from me?! I was so mad and I was thinking about what Amos said and- and… then I… then I raped her."

"What?!" Abel shrieked in shock, suddenly feeling like vomiting. He desperately hoped it was just some twisted, dark joke from Maverick but his son's expression was serious and his eyes downcast, "How could you do that?! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I just told you what I was thinking," Maverick growled, his large hands curling around his wand again, "I realize I made a mistake, I get that it was bad."

"Poor Daphne…"

"Poor Daphne? What about me?" Maverick insisted indignantly, looking up and finally meeting his eyes. He looked terrified, "My life could be over because of this if she tells anyone- which I'm pretty sure she will if she hasn't already, when I left her she was a wreck- I could be expelled, I could go to prison, she's definitely not going to marry me… What am I supposed to do, Dad?"

"You're asking me?" Abel wondered in surprise, feeling extremely uncomfortable and completely out of his depth right now. He almost felt like he was talking to a stranger rather than his son, he didn't like this stranger and he didn't think he'd like what he thought he should do because he had far more sympathy for the girl. Maverick's eyes continued to bore into his desperately, he took a breath, "I think you should turn yourself in."

"What?!" Maverick spluttered out, his jaw dropping before switching to anger and jumping to his feet, "Are you insane?! I'd be in serious trouble!"

"You committed a serious crime, you should be in trouble!" Abel countered incredulously, remaining seated and unswayed. Maverick looked like he'd slapped him in the face, "Actions have consequences and you have to face them, you have to do the right thing. You might've ruined that girl's life, doesn't that bother you? She deserves some kind of justice and it'd reflect better on you too, you're barely of age and not out of Hogwarts so if you turn yourself in, show how remorseful you are then they'll probably go easier on you."

"But that's not fair! I don't deserve to have my life destroyed just because I made one mistake!"

"Your life will still be waiting for you when this is over."

"I can't believe you're saying this! That you'd turn on me like this- Mum would've my back!" Maverick spat angrily, starting to pace in front of him. Abel said nothing, he probably wasn't wrong, "I thought you of all people would understand!"

"What? Why would I understand?!" Abel demanded in shock, shuddering at the mere thought and swallowing the overpowering urge to vomit again, "I haven't raped anyone, I could never…"

"You cheated on Mum!" Maverick yelled and stopped to point accusingly at him, eyes burning with barely suppressed rage.

"That's not even close to the same thing!"

"It's similar!" Maverick insisted, throwing up his hands, "Both are doing something sexually wrong, where were your consequences then?!"

"I'm not allowed to see him, I don't even know his name."

"How could you possibly care about that half-blooded bastard?!"

"Because he's my son," Abel pointed out, feeling like it should be obvious but Maverick looked completely baffled for a moment before the rage surged back into his smoldering gray orbs, "Your mother also tried to divorce me-"

"YOU NEVER EVEN WANTED TO BE MARRIED TO HER IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Maverick shouted loud enough that Abel was sure the walls shook from his son's booming voice, he curled his hands on his knees to stop them shaking, "YOU ALAWAYS HATED HER! YOU HATE US!"

"I don't hate you-!"

"OH SO YOU JUST ADMIT TO HATING HER THEN?!"

"Hate is a strong word…" Abel muttered and trailed off, not wanting to discuss his unhappy marriage with a child of said marriage when his mother was dead.

"Is that why you don't care about me going to Azkaban but you care about that fucking whelp?!" Maverick spat out, his tone accusatory, now gripping his wand so tightly his knuckles went chalk white.

"I care about you both but the baby's not the one who committed a crime, you did and you need to face up to that. You can't fix all your mistakes, sometimes you just have to live with them."

"That's rich coming from you," Maverick snarled, still glaring murderously, "You can't live with anything, you need to be babysat by everyone just to keep you alive, you can't even function by yourself. You're a burden on our whole family, Dad, you're weak and pathetic. You're trying to lecture me like you're some paragon of morality all of a sudden but you're the coward who can't even face your own life except you're too incompetent to even die successfully so we're just stuck with you, and you want me to be like you?"

"No," Abel said immediately, his words suddenly feeling like glass in this throat. Maverick wasn't wrong though, "I want you to be better than me, Maverick, you're of age now and it's up to you to decide what kind of man you want to be. Do you really want to be a criminal? Can you really live with what you've done? It's not too late for you to try to be a good person, to do the right thing even though it's hard."

Maverick fell silent, his expression undiscernible and his wand hanging loosely by his side. His words seeming to make the air heavy, the only sound interrupting was the crackling of the fire. Time stretched and finally Maverick started to move, walking beyond him to the exit.

"Where are you going?" Abel hardly dared to ask, glancing at his son but he didn't get up. Maverick paused but didn't turn.

"I'm leaving," Maverick admitted in barely more than a whisper and Abel felt his heart tumbling out of his chest, "I don't want to go to prison."

"You'll be a fugitive."

"I'll join the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord isn't going to care what I've done and when he rules my crime will be forgotten completely because of my loyal service."

"Maverick-"

"You told me it's up to me to decide so I decided!" Maverick snapped and finally glanced at him, nostrils flaring. Abel supposed he couldn't argue with that, he swallowed.

"Goodbye then, Maverick."

"Mum would be proud of me," Maverick added as if that mattered before continuing on.

Abel said nothing. As he moved though it revealed Cheryl's form hovering near the door, she'd probably come to investigate Maverick's loud yelling. Her expression was icy, angry eyes boring into him disapprovingly before she hurried off after her brother. He turned away, sighing and slumping into the chair, suddenly feeling very cold and empty though he wasn't sure what he could've done better. He wasn't good at this, he wasn't good at anything.

He heard them conversing but was too far away to hear the words, there were footsteps upstairs as Maverick either wanted to grab a few things or say goodbye to the little ones, or both. A few minutes later the footsteps returning, heading downstairs this time. More words, Cheryl crying, a hug, then finally the door and Maverick was gone from his life just like that. Abel curled his legs back onto the armchair, his body trembling and he pushed his hands into his eyes as tears started to escape them.

He wouldn't see his son again.