Quiet Passings ((Funeral Guests;details within))

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

((This post is open to anyone who is friends/acquaintances of Pyro or any of the other guests at the funeral. If you are just a fellow class mate but you have never actually talked with Pyro please feel free to join and pay your respects if you so wish. If you are planning on joining in on the post but just can’t come up with the post at the precise second but will within the next 2 to 3 days, please PM me so I can make sure not to move the post too far.))

The Discovery

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The soft glow of candles was all that illuminated the dark library of Blackfire Manor. Pyro easily cradled a book by its bindings and scanned its pages lazily. His mind was wondering though, in fact he couldn’t even remember which book it was he was skimming through. With a soft sigh Pyro gave up and snapped the book shut with one hand and easily slid it back into its place on the shelf. Pyro silently descended the ladder back down to the library proper.

The manor was quite, it was always quite these days. Lust had hung around for a bit after Charles’ death, but no more. It seemed like the depression had finally gotten to her. Lust was ill, had been for a few weeks now and it wasn’t looking good. The doctors told Pyro that she wasn’t really fighting it anymore, and every day saw a deterioration in her status. Pyro wasn’t quite sure how he felt about it. There was sadness there, his mother was dying, but there wasn’t nearly enough as there should be.

Pyro realized that he hardly even knew his mother. Sure she had been there during his childhood, but it was mostly on the sidelines. It had always been Charles who was in the foreground; Lust had remained quietly on the sidelines. Sure, she was there when Pyro was sick as a child, or when he got a small injury, but other than that Pyro had never actually gotten to know her. Charles had been to busy prepping his ‘heir’ for the throne, grinned as the thought at how successful Charles’ prepping had been.

Pyro somehow sensed it before it actually happened and halted his walking just as a house elf apperated in front of him with a large Crack!. The tiny creature was quivering and hiding its eyes behind its overly large floppy ears. Pyro eyed it curiously; this one had clearly drawn the short straw to deliver some bad new. “Well, out with it already.” Pyro stated evenly, tapping his foot to show his impatiens. The creature jumped in fright at the sound of Pyro’s voice. Illyiana, Pyro remembered, that was this ones name.

Illyiana slowly moved aside her left ear to half reveal the eye hidden underneath. “Master, it’s the Mistress. She isn’t responding when we knock on the door, and it is time for her to take her medicine.”

Pyro’s heart dropped a bit at the news, he knew that this couldn’t be good. He turned on the spot and disappeared with a loud crack of his own. Pyro reappeared outside of the large master bedroom of the manor. Even though Pyro was now the rightful patron of the manor, he couldn’t quite bring himself to take charge of this room yet; he didn’t believe that he would ever be able to sleep in this room. Pyro tapped lightly on the door. “Mother, are you awake? It is time for you medicine.”

He paused at the door, knowing that there wouldn’t be any answer. His mind denied the possibility but his heart knew what he would find inside the room. The door creaked quietly as he gently pushed it open and entered the vast room. The bed lay against the far wall, directly across from the door. Its curtains had been shut, but Pyro could still see the small silhouette of his mother’s laying form. Pyro approached it slowly and gently pushed aside the curtains.

Pyro had seen death only once before. The day that his father had died Pyro had witnessed the violent death of life being robbed from a living vessel. He had seen the shock and hatred, etched permanently in his father’s lifeless eyes. This was different, quite the opposite. His mother looked peaceful, almost as if she was sleeping. The only indication that she was no longer alive was the paleness of her skin and the stillness of her chest.

Pyro didn’t even have to check any vitals to know she had passed. Pyro smiled, glad that she had finally passed and wasn’t in pain any longer. Pyro dipped down and planted a kiss on his mother’s forehead. “Farewell mother. Know that our family will know glory that we never even dream was possible.” Pyro reached down and pulled the sheet over his mother’s head and replaced the curtain. Pyro left the room to make the proper arrangements.

The funeral
(A few days later)

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No matter how much any man had in this world, there was one thing that was always out of his control, and that was the weather. Pyro wasn’t much of a sentimental or religious, but today he thanked whatever god was listening for the beautiful weather, his mother deserved at least that much. Pyro turned away from the window, he didn’t really have to hope, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, this weather would hold.

The first part of the funeral was held in-doors. Sort of a viewing/service for anyone that decided to show. After that they would move outside to the family crypt, Lust would be placed into the empty hovel next to Charles and than the Crypt would be sealed up again. Pyro glanced around the room; it was the size of a large ballroom and decorated appropriately for a funeral. The walls projected large images of his mother during her life, the images moved like all wizard photos, waving and smiling to those gathered.

One wall held a long table of snacks and refreshments, nothing to give the impression of a giant banquet party, but enough to keep small children satisfied and quiet throughout the service. A small stage had been set up near the coffin and rows and rows of benches lead away from that, plenty of space for guests to sit. Pyro sighed, everything seemed to be in place and going smoothly. Running a hand through his hair and quickly checking to make sure his dress robes were smooth Pyro moved toward the doors to greet any guests arriving. Already there were many guests, most distant cousins to Pyro, some of Lusts uncles, aunts and old friends.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass had taken the news of Lust’s death hard. Lust had always been kind to her. She had never looked at her with a sneer on her face or scorn in her eyes. No, Cassandra had always enjoyed being with her Aunt. Charles’ death had affected the woman in a way that was almost hard to describe. There were many times when Cass had attempted to see her Aunt the months following his funeral. She was always told by a house elf at the door that she was not well enough for visitors. Cass couldn’t help but blame herself for not spending more time with her. Pyro’s owl telling the news still laid on her kitchen table in her London flat. It was never a good thing when an owl was pecking on your window at midnight; bidding you to get out of bed. She could still remember the queasy feeling in her stomach as she had watched Julian get out of bed to let the bird into the bedroom. Cass knew what the letter said before Julian had even opened it.

The lights of the funeral home were ablaze as Julian and Cass made their way up the drive. They had both apparated from the back alley behind her flat. She could already tell that most of the family had arrived already. It was all distant family though, and it soon dawned on Cassandra that Pyro and she were the only true Blackfires left. It was true that most pureblood families were related to each other somehow. Julian was technically their fourth cousin by marriage, but things like that happened when you tried to keep your family tree pristine. At least Cassandra wouldn’t have to worry about the angry stares that would follow her around at this family reunion. She had married a respectable pureblood. There was no fear that she would sully the family tree by marrying a mudblood or a blood traitor.

An usher opened one of the oaken double doors for Cassandra and Julian as they walked in. Julian took her wrap and placed in on a nearby coat rack. “See, I told you we would be the last ones to arrive. Every Blackfire funeral is a family reunion. We aren’t the most cozy and loving family in the world.” She pointed to her second cousin, Egon, that was standing glumly in the door. “Before we leave, you might want to talk to him. He’s really big into stocks, and the goblins at the bank love him. I need to go find Pyro.” Leaving her husband to the mercy of her family, she made her way into the parlor.

Lust was lying in her coffin at the end of the room. The pink and white flower spray that she had sent stood near the head of the coffin as if it was standing sentry over the woman. Pyro stood near the coffin looking down at his mother. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to him. Most of the family was talking politics and money in various huddles around the room. Cass looked over to one of those little crowds to see Julian shaking hands with someone who she thought was one of Lust’s brothers. They acted as if they were old friends, and she was pretty sure the man referred to Julian as ‘cousin.’ Cass ignored everyone and walked over to stand beside Pyro. He didn’t even look over at her, and she was pretty sure he didn’t even know she was there. Cass wrapped her arm around Pyro’s back. He jumped slightly. He was at least a half a foot taller than her now. It was funny to be standing as adults together over Lust’s coffin. “Hey, cousin. We’ve got to stop meeting like this. It seems that we only get together at funerals now.” She gave him a warm smile. “I think we’ve stood like this at least three times before. I see that the vultures are already out.” She motioned to most of the family that was standing around them. “You haven’t let Alazar convince you to hand over the family fortune to him, have you? I’m pretty sure he tried to catch Julian’s eye as we came in the door. In fact,” she pointed towards Julian, “he’s already started in on Julian.” Alazar was already trying to talk him into contributing into one of his crazy money schemes. The Fallons were an incredibly wealthy family. They owned a string of onyx and diamond mines in South Africa. “Do you think we should go save him, or should we make him suffer a bit?”

((All gmoding approved by their character's owners.))

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

After running the family business for more than a year Pyro had perfected his fake smile quite well. The last thing Pyro wanted to do now was grin like an idiot and make polite conversation. This was a funeral for heaven’s sake, people should be mourning the passing of one of their own. Pyro’s eyes slowly scanned the quickly filling room, he couldn’t catch most of the conversations, but he saw happy faces, smiles and laughs all around.

Pyro had had enough of this meet and greet and politely excused himself from the conversation that one of his great aunts had sucked him into. Pyro moved quietly through the throng toward the only place that seemed to be absent of people, his mothers coffins. Pyro didn’t have to listen to the snippets of conversation around him, or the looks on most of the people’s faces to know what they were hear for, the will. Every one here was nothing less than a simple vulture, gathering around the dead to see what they could pick away as their own by the end of the night.

Pyro reached the coffin, it seemed to have its own radius that no one would penetrate, and moved toward the open lid and looked down at his mother. “Well mom, at least I managed to get everything to look nice for ya.” Pyro’s eyes lifted momentarily to once again scan the room and look at his distant family, none really caring that their own flesh and blood had left the room. “I suppose you wouldn’t be much surprised at the behavior of our supposed family.” Pyro fell quite.

The place looked great, Pyro had spared no expense, and that was all that mattered. Lust knew how the family was, as a child she had probably been dragged away to many funerals like this one by her parents, and she had probably gone to a few of her own free will. Pyro sighed and looked down at his mother again, loosing himself in thought. What would his own funeral be like? Probably much like this one, would he even have single mourner in the group? Pyro chuckled at the thought of anyone actually being sad at his passing.

There would be vultures at his funeral to, many of them. Especially if he didn’t have a proper heir. Even now, while he was still alive, he was being hounded to turn over the family fortunes to more capable hands. Just than something quite rare happened, someone managed to get next to him without him noticing. Pyro jumped slightly as he felt a warm arm wrap around his back. Startled Pyro turned his gaze at the new comer and noticed Cass standing next to him.

Pyro recovered his wits quickly, even managed to smile a bit at her words. “Why? Don’t you just love meeting under such happy occasions, and surrounded by such a warm and loving family?” He asked sweeping his arm out to indicate the people milling about the room. Pyro curled his other arm around Cass’s shoulders, hugging her close to his body. “If I ever wanted the family coffers to run dry in less than a day I will be sure to let Alazar have it. As it is, though, I have use for it and even wish to expand it so his blundering hands will never touch a single knut.” Pyro couldn’t help but shake his head.

“My house elves have to carry out three large bags worth of ash from his letters alone. I can’t seem to burn them fast enough.”

Pyro’s eyes scanned the room until he spotted Julian chatting with Alazar. Pyro couldn’t hide the grin as it curled onto his face. “Nah, everyone in life needs to be tested. Lets watch for a little while and see if Julian can defend his money well enough.”

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

"I'm glad to hear that. You don't want your money turning into ash like those letters." She sniffled a bit. "It's sad to see her like this. At least she is finally at peace. She was never the same after Charles died. At least they will be together now." Pyro's face fell at the mention of his father. He was visibly upset. She understood fully what it was like to lose a parent in a violent act. The Ministry still hadn't found out what happened to her Uncle that night. It was just another unsolved mystery for the Blackfire family. A loud voice drew her attention to the large crowd of men. Alazar had now pulled out what looked like a pie chart to show to Julian. "Oh, god. We are being quite cruel to my husband, aren't we?" Julian's face had turned a deep shade of red as he tried to get away. "I guess I should have given him a warning, but I thought it would be more fun this way." She gave Pyro a wicked smile.

"They have got to be the most uncouth people in the world. i can't believe that they are doing business negotiations over your mother's coffin." It got silent quickly over this last statement by Cassandra. They stood like this for a few moments. One of Lust's sisters came over to the two of them and tried to make polite conversation before she excused herself for the evening. She gave Pyro a slight hug, and made sure to give her best wishes to the new Mrs. Julian Fallon before she made her way out. Awkward, she thought to herself. "So, I guess you have heard about Julian and I now? I'm dumbfounded that it hasn't been the worst news in the Slytherin common room since we creamed you last year in quidditch."

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro couldn’t help but smirk a little at that. “No, money is a good thing, and I wouldn’t want to waste it on one of Alazar’s schemes.” Pyro glanced back down at his mother as Cass mentioned her. He could feel his face cloud over at the mention of his father. His anger flaring up only momentarily before he managed to bury it once again. How long? How long would Pyro have to live with the shadow of his father looming over him? The ministry had investigated the death as far as they could and still hadn’t found any leads past the Nova hypothesis. If the buffoons at the ministry were going to figure out the true murderer they would have done so long ago.

It had almost been a year and still people were mentioning Charles and comparing Pyro to him. Even though Pyro had completely revamped the Blackfire Empire, and the Blackfire Company was making double profits now, people still found it pertinent to make a remark about Charles. Every time that name was mentioned it tore open that old wound within Pyro.

Pyro was pulled out of his thoughts as Cass once again spoke, drawing Pyro’s attention over toward Julian’s situation. Alazar was really getting into his little pitch, if he wasn’t stopped soon Julian would be steamrolled. “Yea, I suppose it’s time to rescue the lit……. Husband?” Pyro turned to look at Cassandra. He had noticed the Prophet article about a wedding, or more likely a drunken tying of the knot, but Pyro hadn’t quite known to believe the rumor. Cass had always been the subject of countless rumors ever since it was discovered she was a Blackfire.

“Oh god…Don’t tell me that Prophet article was true and you got married in a casino .” Pyro hardly waited for Cass to respond before moving on with his rant. “Who am I kidding of course its true. If it had been a real wedding I would hope that I at least got an invite, and seeing as I didn’t get one of those its quite easy for me to use the process of elimination.” Pyro turned back toward Julian. “Speaking of elimination.” Pyro moved to approach the Julian situation but was cut off by one of his aunts. Pyro once again planted on his fake smile as he was forced into a quick conversation with her.

Thankfully it truly was quick, a few words, a hug and the woman was gone. Pyro watched her leave, knowing full well he would probably never see the woman again in his life, and he wasn’t sad about that at all. “Well, I’d heard the rumors, but I hardly believed them. You’ve been swimming in rumors ever since I met you.” Pyro glanced over at Julian and Alazar. “Crap… He’s about to finish.” Without any delay Pyro moved them over. In one swift motion Pyro disconnected himself from Cass, wrapped an arm around Alazar and yanked him away into Pyro’s walk.

“Al. I’m going to make this nice, short, and simple for you so that I can be assured you will understand. I just received confirmation about certain rumors that I had hoped were not true. So I’m not in a playful mood right now. So, if I catch you attempting another sales pitch during my mother’s funeral, I will make you disappear. Got that?” Without even waiting for a response Pyro let go of Alazar and returned to where he had left Cass. He stared at the two for a moment in silence. “So, anything more you guys need to tell me?”