Who: Mackenzie Goldstein & Caradoc Dearborn
When: now
Where: her house!
It might seem trivial, but Mackenzie had agonized for the last hour over what to bring to Caradoc as a 'surprise' snack that would lure him into talking to her longer than a sentence worth at a time. Cookies had originally been her weapon of choice, because what better tell-all, whimsical food was there? But she then soon realized that he had returned much thinner and unhealthier than she had ever seen him, so providing something that wasn't nutritious was not practical. She wanted to give him something good, something that would make him feel better and---
well, she wanted to see him fat again! Not
fat, he was never fat, just--- healthy. Physically and mentally. And cookies did not do that.
It was further upsetting, embarrassing even, when she realized she had trouble remembering any of Caradoc's favorite foods. It had only been a year... and it wasn't exactly like her welcome to him had been very warm. In fact, she had held him at wand point demanding to know who he was until he recounted facts concerning the both of them that if Sebastian had been in the room Mackenzie would have felt wildly embarrassed. From that point on, she had made it her goal to feed Caradoc as much as possible, leaving him be--- until now.
Toasted cheese with tomato in the middle would have to do. Holding the plate carefully, she walked quietly through the house checking his normal spots as she went. Anthony and Elijah were both sleeping upstairs (being such good children, they knew when it was time for them to be especially good), and Sebastian had left for the day for various errands, leaving it obvious they were the only two in the house.
Mackenzie didn't know why she felt so nervous about talking to him, but it took a few moments for her to speak up. "I brought you something," she spoke softly, raising the plate up slightly before placing it in front of him.
Caradoc looked up from his hands, putting down his wand once Mackenzie entered the room. He hadn't been holding it in a defense way, no, now more than ever it had become a form of entertainment. Either by simply staring at it, flipping it through his hands or practicing spells, with little to do during the days, Caradoc found himself in need of some form of low entertainment.
"Thanks," he replied thickly, waiting a few moments before grabbing the plate in front of him. The fact that he hadn't had a properly cooked meal by another person in a long time washed over him, and Caradoc took larger bites because of it.
A small smile pushed through onto Mackenzie's face as she watched him eat, though it quickly dropped. "I thought you might be hungry, with everything that's going on." Caradoc had yet to sit down with them for a meal, something else she was bent on changing.
With an open mouth, Mackenzie took a deep breath of air, her eyes never leaving Caradoc as he ate. This image of him, sitting in the study eating tomato and grilled cheese was something she had never thought she'd see. Her left hand held onto her right arm tightly as she floundered for a few moments.
Still chewing, Caradoc looked up at her in an emotionless manner. He would have let her continue, but that didn't really feel right. Despite their close relationship before, neither of them had overcome this awkward, the last time we saw each other, we were completely different people, feeling in the room. "You can tell me about all the things that happened while I was gone," he supplied in a passive manner, as if speaking about nothing important.
"Oh!" Thank Merlin. Smiling encouragingly, Mackenzie clapped her hands together. "So much has happened!" She dropped into the chair across from him, her face lighting up as she began to list everything she could remember from the past year and a half.
"--- and then there's Anthony and Elijah, of course. And---" she faltered for a second, having to take a moment to think of something else that wasn't negative. So many horrible things had happened, so many people had died... "But with the war going on, Sebastian and I have been trying to lay low. Especially because of Sebastian."
Caradoc breathed slowly as he watched Mackenzie speak intently. He didn't respond to her, holding back his question as to
why Goldstein would join the Order in the first place if they were trying to "lay low." Because of this, the room filled with awkward silence for a couple of minutes once again.
Thinking he was uninterested, Mackenzie tried with a different topic."Everything fell apart after you left," she began, her lips pulling together tightly as she spoke. "Orpheus is still in Azkaban. Then.... then Matilda and Emmet began to fight, and they completely disappeared off the face of the earth. I--" Mackenzie closed her eyes at the moment, remembering how angry she had been at them. "I said some things, so with that, now no one talks anymore."
Mackenzie fell silent for a few moments, her head dropping as she thought back to how long ago that seemed. She hadn't spoken a word to Matilda since then... or Emmet. A frown began to form on her face, but she shook her head as if to warn it away.
"Evan's dead. He killed the Minister."
Upon hearing this Caradoc's head rose slightly, showing obvious interest. "Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised. He had assumed that returning to England would come hand in hand with having to deal with Evan. But, apparently, that would not be the case. Instead of relief, which he would have expected, Caradoc felt a twinge mourning. Regardless of the things they had done to each other, Evan had still been his loyal friend to the end.
"It was in the paper. Sebastian was there," Mackenzie spoke slowly, being careful to stay as emotionless as possible during this conversation. Caradoc's brow rose higher, finding it
very interesting that she of all people could talk about Evan's death the way she was, and Mackenzie jumped on his attentiveness before it slipped away again.
"What happened to you?" she asked in the gentlest of tones. Her head tilted to the side, and if Caradoc hadn't been so caught off guard by her question, he would have saw through her innocent facade.
He bristled. Thinking about those few months after being dragged out of the UK was not something he enjoyed. It had been--- messy, very messy, and not in the good way. Painful, chaotic... to this day, everything still didn't add up. Taking a deep breath, Caradoc redirected his gaze to the ground to collect his thoughts. This answer was safer to give.
"I woke up--- Dumbledore forced me up. He was there, and told me I couldn't come back here. I had to be dead, I got lucky. Then he gave me a portkey and--- I was in Panama," Caradoc began, his head nodding slowly as he talked. "I don't--- the first few months I don't remember much. But I had my wand and eventually learned how to be an animagus so... " Trailing off, it was the best answer she was going to get. The last thing he needed was Sebastian on his back about getting Mackenzie involved in anything related to the Order. He didn't want to drag her in anyway.
"Why did you come back?" Her voice came out small, but she wanted to know. It had been something running through her mind ever since Sebastian had told her Caradoc had returned (even while she had vehemently denied believing him).
Why? Why now? What was so important that had spurred him to go directly against Dumbledore's orders? Wasn't losing his life once enough?
Caradoc did not respond, and by the looks of his face would refuse to again and again when she asked. Her watch on him stayed sharp for a few moments but--- even in his state, Caradoc would always be better at outlasting things like that.
Knowing it was better not to push, Mackenzie nodded slowly. It was quiet for a few moments, and she pulled back her lips as an outward sign of holding back any further questions she had. There was just one more thing... Her voice started off small, almost offhandedly as she watched his face carefully.
"Have you seen---"
"No."
"Do you----"
"No."
"Well I could---"
"
No Mackenzie."
Caradoc made eye contact at that point, instilling such a look at her that Mackenzie shut up quickly. She nodded, and he reclined again.
"Well...." Mackenzie stood up, ready to give up for the day. She had, at least, gotten him to eat and talk for more than three sentences; that was progress. Just as she turned to leave the room, Caradoc interrupted her.
"Mackenzie---" Caradoc started. By the time she had turned back around Caradoc had stood up, a determined look on his face. But that face soon fell, and he quickly picked up the plate from the table. "Here," he spoke lamely, his tone void like it had been for the past few days.
Sighing, Mackenzie took the plate from him.
