This will be a standalone separate from my other fics and features the original Percival Graves in a more paternal role to the Goldstein sisters.
The Goldsteins
"You must drop by for dinner, I insist!"
Sam Goldstein was reliable, one of the department's best Aurors to be partnered with or to have as a mentor. His forebears came over in the late 18th century, fleeing famine, war, persecution… you name it. A wizarding family must be in dire straits or overly ambitious to strike out for the New World. Jewish, halfblood with a grandfather owned a pawnshop over at Queens. His mother was No-Maj born. Blood status always counted for little in the field.
Percival was a direct descendant of one of the original Twelve Aurors. His family hailed among the wizarding elite in the New World. Yet he always felt the weight of tradition nipping at his heels and his family's expectations sitting on his shoulders. He had always known he would become an Auror. Still, that did not really prepare him for his first day at work, tripping over a wayward mop and landing smack on his face in the lobby of MACUSA. It was Sam Goldstein who helped the young rookie up and took him under his wing.
They were partners and often worked together on assignments. It was natural that they became close, close enough for Sam to extend that invitation to dinner one day. Sam Goldstein was married to a medi-witch who worked at St Kitts, a beautiful blond whose photo graced his desk, alongside those of two little girls. Elsa Goldstein had retired to take care of her children as good childcare help was hard to come by in New York City.
That evening was the first time Percival Graves met his mentor's daughters - Tina and Queenie Goldstein.
His mother had always emphasized the need for a gift for the hostess when invited for dinner. Percival considered the sorry selection of flowers at the nearest florist before opting for a bottle of red wine from the liquor store. November could be harsh on blooms.
The Goldsteins lived in a modest apartment in Queens, likely in the same neighbourhood as their ancestor's pawnshop. It was a wizarding neighbourhood all the same. He knocked on the door. The elderly caretaker grinned at the guest from his sub-basement window and indicated that Percival should ring the bell for the Goldsteins to be let in.
Percival never got the chance to ring the bell. The door burst open, and a broomstick zoomed out, knocking him clean off his feet. He tumbled down the five steps before the door. There was a broomstick poking into his shoulder and a weight on his abdomen. A knobbly hand reached out from sub-basement window and snagged the wine with a chuckle.
"Grazie, signore!"
"Sorry, Mister!"
A little girl about seven in age was sitting on him. The child wore a pinafore and white stockings. She had a messy mop of dark hair and twinkling brown eyes. Sam's daughter. There was no mistaking her for anyone else's.
"Porpertina Esther Goldstein! What did we say about touching Papa's broom?"
Elsa Goldstein's voice called out within the building. Footsteps on the inside staircase. A gasp from Mrs Goldstein. Hasty apologies, and reassurances from Percival he was not injured. A quick once-over of the child for any injuries before a sound telling-off. Brooms were not toys to be flown indoors. Sam poked his head over the banister with him was a younger child with golden curls the splitting image of her mother.
"Sorry, Mister Graves…" Tina apologized to their guest. Thus went Percival Graves' first meeting with Sam Goldstein's girls.
The apartment was spacious enough for a small family. The dinner was a cosy, informal affair. Elsa was a talented cook, whipping up casseroles, chicken dumplings, and strudels with ease. Tina was permitted to sit at the table with the grownups. Queenie was only five and too young for dinner parties. Sam was just getting her ready for bed when the older Tina saw fit to try his broom.
Other invitations would follow. Percival grew to like these gatherings. His family was too far upstate for him to visit as often as he would like. Moreover, his parents often travelled across to Britain to visit his older sister, who had married there. She had children and his parents were keen to spend time with the grandkids.
Tina was mischievous and as sharp as a tack. She would slide down the banister or climb out of the window. A regular tomboy. Queenie was demure and would play with her dolls. For Tina's birthday, he gave her a book of wizarding tales. He gave Queenie a doll for hers. He was also the first to discover her unique talent.
"What're suitors? Why would Papa have to beat them off with a stick?"
Young Queenie had looked him in the eye and piped up at one dinner where she was allowed to join them at the table. Percival exchanged looks with her parents. He had been thinking quite innocently about how the child had inherited her mother's beauty and would probably attract more suitors than her father would care for when she grew up. A visit to St Kitts confirmed their suspicions – Queenie Goldstein was a born Legilimens.
When Percival fell ill from the wizarding flu, Elsa ensured that he was eating right by cooking and sending food to him until he recovered. He soon became an honorary uncle to the girls. Everything changed when the Dragon Pox came to the city. The illness cut a swathe through the MACUSA offices. Most recovered. Percival was fortunate enough not to get infected at all. Sam Goldstein caught it first. Elsa contracted it while caring for her husband. The girls were sent to a distant cousin. It would be the last time they would see their parents alive.
It did not seem fair. His friend had been in the prime of his life. Likewise, his wife. He saw the girls at the funeral. Tina had a solemn look on her face as she hugged her weeping little sister close. The look on her face struck Percival cold. He knew the smiling little girl was no more. It had only been over a year since he was first invited to the Goldsteins' for dinner.
Sam Goldstein had named him as executor in his will. It was a hastily drawn-up affair the entire department did after losing two Aurors to a werewolf attack. Sam had moderate savings that should be able to see both girls into adulthood and cover their fees at Ilvermorny with some scrimping. Then there was the business of who to care for them. The distant cousin was already elderly and could not possibly be expected to care for an eight-year-old and a six-year-old in the long run. The apartment the family had been renting had to be let go along with the furnishings. Only a few small items of sentimental value were set aside for the girls.
For one crazy moment, Percival wondered if he should adopt the children. His parents quickly disabused him of that notion. He was a single male in his twenties who hadn't the foggiest idea about child-rearing. Moreover, he was an Auror. He would face danger on an almost daily basis. Had he given any thought to what would happen to the children in the event he be hurt or even killed in the course of his duties? And no, his parents and sister were not interested in fostering any orphans. The best he could do was to ensure that the girls were placed with a loving foster family or a decent children's home.
Tina was too old for most fosterers. Moreover, she was too serious for a child her age. The shock of losing her parents seemed to have pushed her into the role of both mother and father to her sister. She was also fiercely independent. McMillan from the Underage Magic Department called Graves in after little Tina was caught trying to use her mother's wand to break into their former home. The sisters had left their elderly relative's home in the dead of night after the witch had threatened to send them to an orphanage. The children managed to cross the city to try sneaking back into their old home, not knowing it was no longer theirs.
When Graves asked her what she was thinking leaving their relative's house in the dead of night, Tina had shrugged and replied that they were going home. She was going to take care of Queenie. Tina had not given any thought to how their grocery bills and living expenses were to be paid for or how Queenie would need to fend for herself when she went up to Ilvermorny.
Queenie had a higher chance of adoption since she was such a pretty and loveable child. The only drawback was her legilimens status. Some families might not be comfortable about that. Graves did not want to split the pair up. After much thought, he settled on Mercy Brown's Children Home – an orphanage specializing in Magical orphans and free of any complaints or scandal in its history thus far. He even checked in on them unannounced. The child residents appeared happy and reasonably cared for.
With that, Uncle Percy stepped out of the pair's lives. Like his family advised, it would be best for the girls to come to terms with their parents' loss and their new status as orphans without any more painful reminders of the past.
Author's Notes:
It would be at least a decade or so before the sisters reappear in Percival Graves' life. And he is not going to be Uncle Percy to them by then.
Grazie, Signore (Italian) – Thanks, sir