Who: Wadcock Brothers
What: Seth fixes things.
Where: Three Broomsticks
When: Now?



For years, Seth had assumed Hogsmeade was always this bustling town, where you had to fight to get a seat at the Three Broomsticks and Zonkos’, well you got elbowed in the ribs just trying to walk around. It wasn’t until the first time he visited the little town outside a Hogsmeade weekend that he realized what a nice quiet town it could be. Then he found it dull and boring, opting for the more bustling Diagon Alley. Now he preferred it when he wanted to get out and not be hounded by fans. Not that it happened as much as it used to when he was in the papers every week.

Seth sipped on his firewhiskey as he stared at the rolled parchment sitting on the side table. He had no idea how Henry was going to take his method of getting the Tattler to not publish just which agent was making moves on his player’s ex. But at the end of the day, it had worked. Even if it made his stomach turn slightly at the thought of it.

His gaze drifted to the fire as he waited for his brother to show up. Not that they had planned to meet, but Seth was certain that after Henry got the owl he sent, ‘I’ve taken care of the Tattler issue, don’t worry about it anymore’, it would take the Slytherin approximately forty-five minutes to track him down and demand to know just what he did. Henry was good like that.

It had only taken Henry thirty-two minutes to find Seth. The bells to the Three Broomsticks jingled as he pushed through them, eyes wide with the frantic feeling that he was about to get hit with the worst publicity catastrophe he’d ever seen. Seth had taken care of the Tattler issue? Taken care...what, had he killed someone? Because that’s where Henry’s very-Slytherin-like mind had gone! He’d killed someone to keep quiet!

He’d never felt so stupid in his life. All because of a girl, a girl that he shouldn’t be seeing in the first place, but had---Henry had never thought he’d be able to feel that jolt of excitement at the thought of seeing someone, but the spark had been there, but it...it couldn’t happen. Professionally, personally, it simply couldn’t. And Henry had known that, he’d said as much to her, but he was the one who had visited Therese at St. Mungo’s, and he was the one that kissed her to try and prove--prove what? That he was willing to lose clients and his reputation over a woman? A woman who was still hung up on her ex even though she denied it and denied it, but Henry could see.

Henry let out a breath as he spotted his brother. He’d never been so foolish, and now look where it had landed him. His brother was probably going to be sent to Azkaban for trying to help him.

“What did you do?” Henry asked, ignoring the usual greetings as he dropped into seat across from Seth. He looked around the empty restaurant for anyone who could overhear; he would have to give his brother credit where it was due, Hogsmeade was the prime location for meetings that needed confidentiality.

Seth checked his watch as Henry sunk into his chair. His brother was getting faster and he wasn’t quite sure if he should be impressed, or concerned there was a tracking spell on him. “I bought you a drink,” he said in a way of greeting, pointing to the glass next to the parchment. Seth raised a brow looking his brother over, who looked very concerned. Not that Henry didn’t normally look concerned when it came to dealing with Seth, but this was more like he was worried he had gone and done something that would land him in jail. Again. (Twice was enough, thank you very much.)

“No need to look so panicked. You’d think I’ve killed someone with the look you’re giving me.” He eased back in his chair kicking his legs out. With what he just negotiated, he should probably be a bit more nervous about the fallout of the promise he had just made. He had been doing so well at keeping his private life private, and it wasn’t like he forgotten that he had Savannah to think about now. How much she hated the Tattler, the press in general nosing about in their lives did not escape him. This was for Henry though, and at the end of the day Seth owed him a hell of a lot more than this.

Reaching forward, Seth grabbed the parchment from the table, surprised Henry hadn’t taken it himself yet. Unrolling it, he checked for the hundredth time that all the signatures were in the right place and everything was worded just right. There was no possible way for loopholes or for the Tattler to say a word on either matter without Seth’s approval. “It was easy, I just gave them a story that would sell more magazines.” he commented handing over the agreement to his brother.

Henry muttered under his breath something about noble Gryffindors and took the parchment. His eyes scanned it quickly, verifying all the legal jargon that he was fluent in. It wasn’t until he reached the actual contents of the agreement that his eyes widened in surprise. Surely---

He quickly looked up at Seth, biting his lip before looking back down. From this standpoint, everything was sealed so tightly that the Tattler would go to Azkaban for breaking the agreement. Who had Seth hired to---why would he...Henry shook his head, rolling up the parchment.

“Seth…” he started, feeling...it was almost ashamed, it was a mix of shame and humility. His brother was doing something huge for him, something that Henry would most definitely have not asked him to do, no matter how desperate he did feel. “You don’t---this is too much. You don’t have to do this.”

It meant so many things. Henry’s reputation would be saved, Seth was turning a new leaf...His lips twisted as he tried to maintain his stern expression. He was still Seth’s agent, he should be furious that his client had gone and made such a huge decision without consulting him, but it was hard to not simply feel like Seth’s little brother. Henry shook his head. “You can’t do this.”

Seth squirmed slightly in his seat as he finished off the rest of his drink. He couldn’t count the number of times Henry had told him that he couldn’t do something, but this was one of the few times that it was said in that tone. Like he was making some sort of huge sacrifice to save face for Henry. It wasn’t that big of a deal, so Henry acting like it was made no sense.

“Well, obviously, I can,” Seth said, leaning over to take the contract out of his brother’s hands fearing he might just burn all of his hard work in some noble effort to stop him from doing something nice. “I think you forget sometimes, that I’m the older brother here. I’m supposed to be the one doing these sorts of things for you. Besides, its not like-- I’m not-- it is really nothing. They would have found out about it eventually, and published all sorts of stories they wanted about it anyways. Can’t exactly keep it a secret forever, can I? Now I have say on when and what they say so, really I was just doing myself a favor.”

Seth shrugged his shoulders, tucking the parchment back into his robes. Nothing really left to say, yet he could feel Henry’s stare. What else did he want from him? This was just how things were supposed to go. What was he supposed to do? Let his ickle brother’s reputation go to ruin over something that was so easily fixed? After everything, all the drama with Michal, and Therese, and now Henry, the last thing Seth needed was another headache just in time for the World Cup. It was selfish really.

“All that’s left is when,” Seth said to fill the silence, fearing he may have finally broken Henry. Perhaps he didn’t really approve. It was all rather sudden and it wouldn’t be the first time Seth had been accused of acting before really thinking through the consequences. “I have a plan, sort of, but I’d need some help. I can’t mess it up, especially now.” He ran his hands over his thighs nervously, resting them on his knees. “So, are we good? Will you help me with this, or are you sticking with ‘I can’t do this’?”

Henry stared hard at the table between them, listening to Seth’s rambling explanation. He knew that his brother’s heart was in the right place, and perhaps that was what had Henry so startled. It wasn’t---he knew his brother cared for him, especially after this past year, but Henry still found it so hard to believe that someone could be so selfless for him. To do something good for him. It was a rarity in his life, and to come from Seth, the one person he’d had conflict with since the moment he was born, was hard to swallow. It almost felt like he didn’t deserve it; Henry was the one that had acted foolishly, so why should Seth take the risks in fixing it?

He found himself nodding, silently agreeing that yes, he would help Seth. How couldn’t he? Even if Henry was still a bit wary about the whole situation, he’d grown to...he didn’t know if ‘trust’ was the right word, but he could not easily dismiss Seth’s ideas anymore. It was unnerving, but a good thing, he supposed.

“Thanks, Seth,” Henry said, finally managing to look up at his brother. In a year where seemingly every turn he’d made was the wrong one, his brother had managed to set him straight. He ran a hand through his hair and sat back. He really needed a butterbeer. “Where do we start?”