A Tale of Two Children [Closed]

[Miral Valtoris]

Miral looked as she walked beside her mother, holding her hand. They'd arrived at the Lestrange estate in midafternoon, but her parents didn't look especially impressed. Her mother had said it was a necessity, though, so here they were. Her father rang the bell (or knocked whichever way is necessary here), and they waited.
"Now, Mira," her mother looked down and she looked up to listen, "You need to be on your best behavior, okay?" she smiled, "No need for bragging or anything like that. Remember, it's all about how you carry yourself and what you do, not what you say," she said.
Miral nodded, "Yes, Mom," she murmured before looking to her father who didn't seem wholly to agree with that, but he wasn't going to argue. While his family was influential, her family was more so. So in cases such as these, he deferred to her judgment.
This wasn't the first time they'd come here, but it was the first time they'd come when she was at an age that could remember. Apparently, they had a son her age. She wondered what he was like.

[Miral Valtoris]

(Laguna and I did this through a different means and I have compiled it all into one post, so enjoy!)

As the staff did final preparations, Mr. and Mrs. Lestrange were giving one more look over at their presentation before greeting the guests. Once they were satisfied with it, Mrs. Lestrange turned her attention to Laguna, bending down as best she could in her heels and dress to brush his hair out of his face. “Now remember Laguna, you are to be on your best behavior. Miral is going to be one of your most trusted confidants one day.”

The tiny boy looked up at his mother through big blue eyes, “confidant?” He questioned.

His mother smiled at him and reached up to touch his cheek. “I just mean she’s going to be a very good friend, sweetheart.”

Not far away Mr. Lestrange quipped in his thoughts, “What do we pay that tutor for again?”

Mrs. Lestrange sighed lightly and stood up, gliding to her husband’s side. She reached up to straighten his tie and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Come now, be polite Ludwig.” She reached for his arm and the couple made their way to the door to open it. Immediately his mother and father seemed to light up and invited the family in.

Laguna stared at Miral for a moment as the adults finished their initial greetings then at last offered her a smile. “Hello, Miral. It’s lovely to see you again.”

The Valtoris's greeted the Lestranges in the usual polite fashion, though her father's eyes never seemed to not be looking for any crack in the facade. Her mother on the other hand was polite, the Lestrange and Malfoy families had their ties and she didn't want to lose them so she did her best to make up for her husband.

Miral looked at Laguna and smiled as well, "Hello, Laguna," she said, giving a curtsey, "Lovely as always," she giggled a little at the greeting she was told to give, "Would you like to play?" she asked, glancing up at her parents before leaning forward, using her hand to hide her mouth, "I snuck over a new toy, it's so cool!" she beamed.

Ludwig seemed to notice the lack of interest in the affairs before them and perhaps he'd take the time to have a fatherly tour of the wine cellar later to explore. After all, he should be happy to be in such highly regarded company. The others didn't seem to notice, at least visibly.

Meanwhile, Laguna's eyes seemed to light up as Miral told him about sneaking over a new toy. He lowered his voice and nodded, "We can go and play in my room." Whatever the new toy was, he was thrilled to find out. In all honesty, the parents would probably be thrilled to be rid of the children for a while anyway and the nanny would be nearby to ensure nothing terrible happened.

With that, Laguna encouraged her to follow him, "Come on!" He took off running up the nearest staircase and down a long hallway. Along the way, they'd pass several rooms that were absolutely off-limits to him, but he never even second-guessed why. Who wanted to play in boring old rooms when you had a whole room full of toys?

Miral grinned and hurried after him, holding the bag she had at her side close as she hurried after him. She did kind of glance at the rooms that they passed, curious, but decided not to press the issue since the point was more or less to play, so why divert from that path? When they got to his room, she set the bag down and dug inside a moment before pulling out what looked like a couple of child-sized brooms, "I asked Mom to get me two so I could have another for friends too," she smiled and offered him one. Once he took it, "Let me show you what it can do," she beamed before getting on her. She gave a small knob on the end a twist and it started to lift off the ground a little, lights and bubbles starting to emit from the bristles behind her, "They're enchanted so once you twist the handle they work!" she beamed before starting to move around his room on the broom, no more than a few feet from the ground, "Parents have to make it go higher, but still, it's fun!"

His curiosity had him on his toes as he tried to get a peek at what was in her bag. Once she took it out, that curiosity turned to wide eyes. Of course, once she'd turned the knob and the toy broom was lighting up and making bubbles, his blue eyes seemed to be glistening and he was in complete awe. "Wowwww..." For a moment, he didn't recover from the sight of Miral moving about the room on the toy, but once he did recover, he was ready to hop on. Just as he'd seen her do, he turned the knob and the gleam in his eyes was apparent as he leaned forward to move the broom. Even if it was just a toy, it felt natural and he was amazed by the feeling. "Have you gone higher?"’

Miral beamed at his response, glad to see he liked it just as much as she did. She nodded eagerly, "Once! Mom wanted me to get a feel for what it was like, it was so cool, but looking down was a little scary at first," she laughed a little before zooming around the room, her broom making sparkles and bubbles behind her, "I bet if we get good at these, we could play Quidditch when we go to school!" she grinned at him.

Laguna recalled the feeling he got when they were out near the cliff overlooking the castle and how exciting it felt. He imagined that being up high on the broom must have the same kind of feeling. Maybe it was even more exciting because you got to fly around. Suddenly he found a game to play which was to zoom toward some of the big bubbles that her broom left behind, seeing how quickly he could get to the next to pop it.

The realization of quidditch was something that consumed him from that moment forward. Miral probably had no idea how it would take over as one of his biggest passions, but these little toy brooms were just the start of an even bigger journey. "Quidditch! On the Slytherin team! You can be the seeker! I'll be a beater!" He pretended to swing an invisible bat at a bludger.

"Our team won't lose!" Miral grinned, nodding her head enthusiastically. The visits to the Lestrange house were common enough, but once Miral knew how to write, she also would send owls to Laguna as well. He was probably one of the first kids her age that she felt was on par with her and didn't make her feel strange for knowing as much as did or for who her parents were, namely her mother. Perhaps it was something they shared in common.

When they were 8, it was Laguna's turn to come to the Valtoris Estate. It wasn't in a place quite like the Lestrange's but rather deep in the woods where the estate could spread out its massive halls and lawns without nosey neighbors being nearby. The day he was coming, Miral found herself nearly bursting with excitement as she stood in the front hall. The butler had had to station himself by the door to keep her from breaking decorum and opening it herself.

"What do you plan to show him this time?" her father asked, amused at her eagerness, "More flying?"

"Of course," Miral said, "But I want to show him the course I made!" she beamed.

Her mother sighed, "I suppose there are worse things for you to be excited about," she muttered.

The consistent exchange of owls was one of the reasons Laguna's parents were thrilled when he finally found his own owl and helped nurse it back to health. Not only did it help him become more responsible, but it also helped him use the family owl much much less. Over time he’d update her on new things such as his first broomstick, some of his flights with his dad, and even told her about family vacations.

His first time visiting the Valtoris Estate was a huge culture shock for him. Although both came from families with huge estates and wealth, somehow, they couldn’t have been more different. As he took in the massive estate that was surrounded by trees, he thought it must have been fun to be able to explore the forest around it.

When they arrived at the front door, dressed to impress per the norm, Laguna suddenly felt excited. It had been a while since he’d seen her and she was always coming up with new things to do for flying or talking about some of her improvements, now he’d get to see firsthand what she had going on. His parents knocked at the door and as they waited, Laguna bounced a bit on his toes.

The butler opened the door and Miral had to purse her lips to try and wait as her father stepped forward, "Welcome," he smiled to the Lestrange family, "I am glad we have the chance to welcome to our home for a change," he chuckled a little, "Please come in, and make yourself at home."

"Lunch should be ready shortly, but we should be able to give you a small tour of the main part of the estate if you'd like," Miral's mother smiled, stepping up to her father's side.

Miral bounced a little as well, nodding with her head to Laguna to come on, motioning towards the backyard. She had set up an obstacle course just to give them a chance to show off and practice.

“We’re happy to be here,” Ludwig said, leading the family in. His wife followed, “We would love to have a tour. Wouldn’t we Lagu—“ but when she turned to look the two were basically already already gone. “Well, I suppose Laguna will be getting his own tour of the estate from Miral. Shall we?”

On the other side of things, Laguna was tailing Miral even in his little suit. When they reached the backyard, his eyes widened. It was huge. Much different than the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

Beatrice sighed, shaking her head, "I apologize, she's practically glued to that broom, I swear," she said, "Anyways, if you'll follow me," she smiled and motioned for them to head towards a room, going in the direction as well, Alistair following.

"I have to give Bea credit, she really brought life to these halls with her decorating," he chuckled.

Miral closed the door behind them once they were outside, "Did you bring a broom? I've got spares if you couldn't, I want you to see what I've been working on, I think it'll give even you a challenge," she smiled as she hurried down the stairs towards the lawn where her broom and another were waiting.

“No need for apologies, our Laguna is just the same,” Aurora replied in her sweet tone.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lestrange grinned to himself and finally chimed in, “In fact, we’ve just purchased his first real racing broom. Think he’s old enough to manage without the child features now.” Only one of them looked happy about that bit.

“Mum wouldn’t let me,” He pouted. But even still he was running after her eagerly. Once they made it to the lawn it was clear that this was going to be a perfect day. Laguna grinned and sprinted off toward the brooms. “I can’t wait to get started.” He turned his head and glanced back at Miral over his shoulder. “This is incredible!”

Alistair chuckled a bit, grinning at the conversation, "Miral keeps trying to convince Bea, but it's not exactly ladylike," he shrugged a bit.

Beatrice tutted, "While that is true, that is not the reason I said she couldn't have it yet," she said, "You know how your daughter is. Once she takes up learning something, it becomes the sole focus for a time and I'd rather her not latch on to that just yet. Besides, what's wrong with the broom she has?"

Alistair snorted, "It'll do fine for transportation, but once she gets to school, she'll need a new one anyways. There's no way you'll convince her to not play Quidditch."

Miral beamed when she heard he was on board with it, following after him, "The trees make for good teachers, so don't underestimate them!" she laughed a little, thinking of her own mishaps and the bruises that came from not watching out for branches or turning right and meeting the old oaks. Once they were on the brooms, "Follow me!" she said before lifting off, the brooms normal brooms though, as Alistair pointed out, they weren't really made for speed or agility, "Consider them a handicap," she giggled a bit before taking off towards the trees towards her obstacle course.

“Strong-willed. It’s no wonder Laguna spends so much time talking about her, they’re like two peas in a pod.” There was a bit of laughter and an exchange of looks between the Lestrange parents, knowing that the future of these two was going to be entwined from the moment they entered Hogwarts. Even more so than they could have imagined when they first learned that both had a child around the same age. Old names ran in familiar circles, but not all shared children who were so in sync with their interests. It made it more comforting for Mrs. Lestrange to know he would have a friend to look out for him. Mr. Lestrange was thrilled to think that they were looking at the next two Slytherin quidditch stars in the making. All the glory it would bring… “I’m certain you won’t be convincing either of them not to join the team. Not a bad thing. It helps immensely with networking down the line.”

Trees make for good teachers was something he carried with him well beyond that day as even in the present he enjoyed a spontaneous flight through the forest to mix things up. He chuckled as she took off her broom and followed after her. He didn’t mind that the broom wasn’t made for speed, even a broom like this could make you feel like you were on top of the world. It was no surprise that despite the lack of speed, her obstacle course was full of challenges all the same. “Watch out! I’m going to pass you up!” Though with the late takeoff and the limited acceleration that was not actually going to happen.

"Indeed!" Alistair said, putting his hand on Beatrice's back and the next moment they were in the sitting room, a house elf had just disappeared after setting out some tea and snacks.

"I suppose that would be helpful to find some allies that will actually look beyond their names and lineage," Beatrice mused as she took a seat in one of the plush chairs in the room, "I just worry some of that will go to their heads."

"You only worry about that because you'll know they'll be good at it," Alistair chuckled.

Miral gave a laugh, ducking down as a branch whizzed by her head, "Not likely!" She grinned back at him before taking a sharp angle up, going over a bush, "Hey! You ever get close to the water flying back home?" she called as she continued darting through the trees and branches as quickly as the broom would take them.

“But of course, they’ll be good at it. After all, they have strong bloodlines in the wizarding world. Pair that with the…opportunities we can provide and they’re already well ahead of any competition they could have.” Ludwig looked at Alistair and smiled, tight-lipped. “Now what sort of spirits do you have? I think we could do with some business talk over drinks.” He glanced at the women. “If there are no objections from our ladies, of course.”

Aurora smiled at her husband and gave a small shrug, “No objections from me darling. I find it all to be horridly dull.” She often left him on his business ventures. There were several reasons, but Ludwig tended to insist she had nothing to do with it. Sometimes she thought that was his own way of keeping her from some of the shady parts of how he maintained the family status. A way to protect her from some of the dangers.

Outside, Laguna was having a blast. It was the first time in ages he’d been around someone his own age. Once he tried to talk to some local boys, but they looked as if they’d seen their worst fear when he approached. His father then scolded him and told him the muggles were not to be interacted with. But with Miral, he didn’t have to worry about that because she was magical too. “My dad took me on his broom, but I haven’t been allowed to go out on my own yet.” That would change now though. He was getting a proper broom soon if he continued his pleas to his mother and he’d be able to fly out over the ocean. Laguna grinned and called out to her, “Watch this!” It was slow and probably not as smooth as his eight-year-old self recalled, but he slowly raised himself up until he was balancing in a standing position on the broom. “I’ve been practicing this one!”

"No objections here," Beatrice shook her head, "We can talk about things that are far more interesting in here," She teased a bit as she smirked at Aurora before starting to fix herself some tea.

"Ah yes, I'm sure you will," Alistair snorted a little, "Come, my friend, the spirits are kept in my office," he said, motioning for him to follow. He led him down the hall to a large oak door, stepping into the office space. He walked over to a shelf and opened a hidden compartment, "What's your poison?" he smirked over at him.

Miral watched him and grinned back, "That's awesome!" She nodded, "I'll have to try that sometime! I've got a trick of my own!" She beamed before starting deeper into the woods. She'd wait for him to catch up before they came out of the trees near a large lake. She flew lower until she was just over the water, looking back to see if he was still following. She then flipped over, holding onto the broom tightly with her legs, crossing them, before letting go with her hands and letting her fingers skim across the water’s surface- though with her hair being as long as it was, it also was hitting the surface of the water at times.

As the two mothers entertained themselves with gossip and tea, Ludwig followed Alistair off to his private office. "I trust you've got some good Scottish Whisky?" he asked as he eyed the hidden compartment. This would make the visit much more enjoyable and perhaps break the ice. By this point, the two men must be ready to forge somewhat of a deeper relationship, if only for the professional side of things for both families. But he seemed to be coming around more and being a little more open to the idea that their families would have ties whether he liked Ludwig and the Lestrange name or not.

Outside, the two children continued with their own fun. As Miral countered his little trick, Laguna's eyes widened with amazement. "Whoaaa!" He called out. His little face was so completely stunned that you'd have thought Miral was defying any sort of trick that had ever been done before. "You must be one of the greatest flyers in the world!" He leaned forward to speed up toward her. In actuality, it was rather slow still, but eventually, he caught up to her. "Let me try!" And he tried...but when he tried to flip upside down, his broom struck her broom and, in an entanglement, they went flying down toward the ground. With a thud, the duo was just lucky they weren't in the water, but instead rolling down a hill. It looked like a sight out of a cartoon. Eventually, they'd rolled to the bottom of a hill right next to each other.

Laguna blinked up at the treetops then looked over to Miral and suddenly erupted in a fit of laughter.

"Of course," Alistair said as he got out the whiskey in question and a couple of glasses before bringing it over to the desk, "Ice?" he asked him as he opened the bottle. Alistair was a practical man, a part of his job in trying to get people to cooperate and all, and the fact the Lestrange and Malfoy families had such ties in the past, ties that had given him some issues in his job for some time, as well as Beatrice, made him willing to give him an ear, "What sort of business shall we discuss?" he asked once that had been decided, pouring the drinks (If Ludwig wanted ice, a house elf would appear and take care of that need).

Miral gasped as he hit her broom and when they were suddenly on the ground, she also blinked in surprise, spitting out some grass before looking over at Laguna. As he started to laugh, she also started as well, flopping onto her back, "I think I can use that to convince my parents to get me a better broom!" she teased him, "So I can be quick enough to get away from you!" she gave him a little push, laughing again before lifting her legs and looking at the grass stains on her pants, "Another pair down the drain! Mother is going to be so mad," she giggled a bit more, clearly not worried about her mother's reaction in the slightest, "Are you okay?" she finally thought to ask, looking over at him.

“Ice would be lovely, thank you.” He seemed to pay the house elf no mind as it served the ice, into his glass. Alistair would be pouring it over the ice and Ludwig could already imagine the taste of the whiskey. It was one of the things that he indulged in from time to time and he had quite the collection at home. “Surely you know that I am a reasonable man.” It was no secret to him that Alistair had been skeptical of such dealings in the past. “Our children, like it or not, will be faced with unfair judgments and obstacles that will hold them back and threaten their safety.” Ludwig glanced toward the door. “I am no fool and neither are you. My wife finds comfort in thinking that despite everything our children will still have the same opportunities as others. But they are of blood considered to be tainted. It is up to us to begin to secure their futures now.” He paused, bringing his fist up to his mouth as he considered his next move. “I propose an alliance. One that could very well secure our families' futures. You see, I have business contacts all over the world. My business associates require a certain level of security in our dealings. You have the knowledge to ensure that our transactions are discreet. We build our family wealth so that our children have a secure future—no matter what others think of their names.” (Hopefully that all made sense)

As Ludwig began his proposal to bring Alistair in on his dealings, outside Laguna was still having a blast. He still couldn’t believe what had just happened but he was laughing hard at his failure to copy Miral. His laughter only quieted long enough for him to look over at Miral through eyes that glistened with joy, “You’ll never be able to get away from me!” He exclaimed. Little did he know that the statement was something that would apply to far more than their childish broom races. As she pushed him his laughter picked back up again and he held his stomach as it cramped. “I—-can’t—laugh—anymore—“ he managed to get out. He glanced at his own wardrobe and shrugged. He had plenty of other outfits. Her question made him look back over at her. “Never better.” He answered. “Are you?”

Alistair handed Ludwig the drink once he poured it, leaning against the side of the desk as he listened to him talk. He nodded a bit as he considered it, sipping the whiskey, "To be frank, it sounds like I should assist you regardless of the implications of how it could help Miral, because if you were to get caught in these dealings, I have a feeling from how you've phrased this, it wouldn't end well for many people," he said, looking over at Ludwig, "For the sake of.... plausible deniability," he said, waving his hand, "We can leave this exchange at you telling me where they plan to meet and I'll make sure no one from my end goes there," he said, "Don't tell me anything about what's going on there. The less I know the better it is for all involved."

Beatrice glanced over her shoulder towards the office before setting her tea down, "Aurora. I’m sure, being in your position, you're... aware of the unfortunate burdens our children bear because of our histories. It wasn't even our branches of the families getting into trouble outright, but the names are notorious, nonetheless. Miral might get some sort of leniency bearing my husband’s name instead of mine, but that only lasts so long. And I'm sure poor Laguna gets the brunt of it. So, what say we do what we can to protect them? That no matter what comes, you and I will protect those two children from whatever storms we can," she smiled at her, her concern for the children clear. Laguna might not be her child, but she was fond of him and knew how much he mattered to Miral.

Miral got up slowly, testing herself, before dusting herself off and offering him a hand up, "Yeah, I've definitely had worse from the trees," she laughed a little, "Though maybe we shouldn't practice that while moving until you get the hang of it," she teased again, shaking her head.

There was a smug grin on Ludwig's face as he stared at the face of his newest ally. Between the two of them, they were certain to succeed in their dealings. Perhaps Alistair didn't wish to involve himself in the details surrounding the business transactions, but Ludwig didn't need him for that part of it. He was perfectly capable of handling that part on his own. "I knew you were a reasonable man." Part of this arrangement felt like it had been one long in the making, as Beatrice had always managed to forge meetings between the families. Perhaps she'd been able to visualize this alliance all along. Or maybe it was a pleasant surprise after simply trying to secure connections for her family name. Either way, the deal was in the making now and there would be no stopping the momentum or the event to follow. "I believe this will be the best thing for both of our families. We take care of our own, Alistair." Ludwig raised his glass of whiskey. "To family."

In another section of the home, Aurora sat with Beatrice, knowing that at some point the small talk would turn into a more serious topic. As much as she knew Laguna loved getting to see Miral, these meetings were never for the sole intention of finding their children's playmates. She sipped her tea as she listened to Beatrice. Her eyes only glanced toward the window where the children played for a brief moment. Growing up, she always knew where she stood with her family and loyalties. Somehow, bringing a child of her own into the world made it all much more frightening. "Yes, I'm aware of the troubles our children will undoubtedly face." Aurora looked Beatrice in the eye, a silent teardrop falling down her cheek. "It's only a matter of time before they face things, they have no say in. Choose sides in a war they know nothing of." The matter was even with the war "officially" over, there were still plenty of people out to cause uprisings. "You know I love Miral as a daughter," she said quietly, "And so whatever must be done to protect them, we shall do it." Aurora put her tea down and rose to her feet, then extended her hands to Beatrice. "What say we make the vow...?"

Outside, the two children were oblivious to the dark business deals and the vows being made by their parents. Laguna was still laughing even as Miral offered a helping hand. He took her hand and climbed to his feet. "Maybe you're right..." He agreed, covered in leaves and dirt. He was quiet for a moment before something came over him. He didn't know what or why, but he suddenly turned to Miral with a serious look on his face. "Miral," he said softly, his blue eyes reflecting light from the lake. "You're my very best friend..." He extended his little arm and held a pinky up to her. "Promise no matter what...we'll always be friends..?

Alistair raised his own glass in response, not sure if being called reasonable in this case was truly a good reflection of himself, but perhaps he needed to be a bit more involved in these things to assure the Valtoris and Malfoy names kept some sort of dignity, "To family," he said, "And protecting our own," he added before taking a long swig of the drink. For better or for worse, this was the path they'd take.

Beatrice stood, snapping her finger. A house elf appeared, and she looked at it, "Tell Ryford to come," she said. The elf nodded and disappeared again. She set her own tea down before taking Aurora's hands, "As mothers, we will be the fiercest storms to propel our children out of these tempests and into a better future," she smiled softly, squeezing her hands before looking as the young Ryford came into the room. He was about 18 and raised a brow seeing how the two were standing, "Come here, dear boy, we need a bit of a hand with something," she smiled weakly at her nephew. He nodded and walked closer to the two women.

Miral seemed a bit surprised at his serious tone before smiling brightly, "Of course!" she said before locking pinkies with him, "No matter what, you'll be my best friend," she nodded, but smiled still, "And if you try to forget it, I'll just have to remind you," she giggled a little

As the two fathers shared a toast and the children made a pinky promise of a future they had no real idea about, the two mothers made a much more serious vow to one another--one that very well may have been sealing the fates of the two families together more than any of them could have ever imagined. For should one of them break this vow, there would be no return. Aurora held Beatrice's hands in her own, giving her a reassuring squeeze, before getting to her knees with the woman. As Ryford joined, it would not be long before he knew the seriousness of the matter before him. And once the vow was made, Laguna and Miral shared a bond in which they may never quite know the extent of