Let the River Run

Ariel was having an off day. The normally happy, bubbly baby had woken up early this morning, crying and chewing on the silky edge of her blanket toy. Groggy and still half asleep, Dorian had plucked the little angel from her cot and cradled her in his arms as he strolled around his flat, moving into the kitchen to get a teething ring from the freezer. Ariel already had three teeth; the bottom front two, and one on the top. Making an appearance today was the second top tooth, causing the blonde cuddlebug to cry and reach out to grab at her uncle Dorian’s face, pleading for him to make the pain go away. As if the day wasn’t going to be tough enough on its own.

Ariel on his hip, Dorian knocked on the door to his brother’s flat just down the hall from his own apartment. After a minute without a response, Dorian knocked again as Ariel let out a horrible wail. Dorian pressed her against his chest and kissed the top of her head, stroking her blonde curls gently before a chubby hand reached out and took hold of his index finger, shoving it into her mouth to chew on. Dorian winced as two sharp teeth pressed into the pad of his finger and he carefully pulled his hand away from her mouth and swapped it for her teething ring which hung attached to her romper by a ribbon. “Come on, love. Uncle Julian will meet us there.” They turned away from Julian’s apparently empty flat and headed down the corridor towards the stairs. He didn’t blame Julian for wanting some time alone today, but his brother had not explicitly told him he would be leaving for Godric’s Hollow before them.

Sun shinning on the street, Dorian and Ariel headed to a nearby florist. If they were to pay their respects to Ariel’s mum, they would do so properly. He purchased a small bouquet of three pale peach roses tied with blue ribbon, and stuffed teddy holding a heart that said “You’re beary special” that was meant to go atop a large arrangement but that Ariel had spotted and fussed wildly until she got it. The florist smiled and gave Ariel a pat on the head as the pair thanked the older man and headed out of the shop. There were no other tasks to be done. It was time.

They appeared in a designated area shielded from the muggle population behind a church, a pop sounding their arrival. Dorian inspected Ariel who was gnawing on the ear of her new teddy and then headed in the direction of the field. It had been almost a year since that horrible night when the Death Eaters attacked the carnival, killing dozens, River and Bert among them, and Dorian had only returned a small handful of times. Every visit, until this one, had been in an official capacity for the Auror Department in some way or another. As his first personal visit to Godric’s Hollow in nearly a year, this was not a joyous occasion. What was a birthday without someone to grow a year older?

The slender figure of Julian holding a single balloon could be seen in the distance. Dorian adjusted Ariel in his arms and headed over the grassy field, a blanket of green dotted with patches of dying yellow grass or plots of dirt. Julian grew larger as they approached and Ariel let out another screeching cry, tiny droplets of tears spilling from her eyes as she chewed furiously on her teddy, attempting to soothe herself. Today would not be an easy one for any of them.

His crying niece was not the way Julian should have been greeted. Not today. Dorian couldn’t begin to imagine the pain the man must have been feeling and he wasn’t daft enough to try. There was no possible way he would ever understand the anguish Julian would feel in having lost River for they were true siblings. They had grown up together, faced challenges and trials together. Dorian was related to them by blood, but Julian and River were an actual family with shared memories, heartaches, and laughter. Dorian had lost that relationship for them when he failed to keep River and Bert alive and now, on what should have been River’s birthday, Dorian was presenting Julian with a crying infant.

A yellow balloon stalled the tears on the chubby cheeked blonde and Dorian gave a solemn smile as he watched his niece momentarily made overjoyed with such a simple gift. Her blue eyes sparkled with left over tears as she bashed the balloon back and forth. Julian seemed almost surprised by Dorian’s presence in the field outside of Godric’s Hollow today, despite knowing very well that he had plans to join him. “Of course,” he replied, neither in an offended tone nor a taunting one. He was sincerely pained at the loss they shared between the three of them and he wouldn’t have missed this for all the gold in Gringotts. Ariel, oblivious to the sorrow surrounding her, shook her balloon with delight, dropping the teddy that had been clutched in her arms. Dorian reacted quickly, catching the bear before it reached the filthy ground and having to shift Ariel’s weight in his arms to manage her, the teddy bear, and the bouquet of roses. “She has a new tooth coming in today, so watch your fingers. She’s already gotten me a few times this morning.” Dorian held Ariel up, offering her to her uncle Julian in the hopes that a good cuddle would help to ease the pain of the day.

His hands free of the child, Dorian situated the flowers and teddy more sturdily in has hands, no longer feeling as though he were about to drop them. He would, of course, drops anything and everything, wand included, if there was ever the chance that his sweet baby niece was going to fall from his arms. There were so many positives to having Julian in Ariel’s life – even if Dorian was still mildly weary – but an extra set of arms was quite low on the list. Dorian smiled at Ariel as she played with her balloon in her uncle’s arms, his jaw tightening only slightly as Julian made a comment about Ariel biting him. Were they at the point in their relationship for teasing? Dorian didn’t think so but he also wasn’t overly fond of teasing as a show of affection. In most cases it seemed meanspirited but there were times, rare as they may be, where Dorian partook. Did Julian think they were at that level now? Was he a big teaser? He seemed the type.

Informed of more mourners, Dorian followed Julian’s gaze to the edge of the field where a woman with a child stood. Dorian didn’t recognize them. He watched as the woman bent down and spoke to the child and then the child turned and began running in their direction. It didn’t take a skilled detective to figure out who this young lad was but it was shocking nonetheless, as Julian had never made mention that he had any children. Were there more? Where had this boy been for the better part of a year that Dorian had known Julian? The man lived – obnoxiously – directly down the hall from him and yet Dorian had seen neither hide nor hair of this happy little boy or his mum. It played into the notion that Julian was unfit to care for Ariel full time, seeing as how he had apparently abandoned his own child and not ever bothered to mention his existence once. River was right to worry about her brother but without the bond and affection the deceased witch held for Julian, the meeting didn’t make Dorian think more of his brother. It did the opposite and there was pity in Dorian’s heart for the little lad, though he kept his emotions well hidden.

A bit of trust. An interesting way of putting it. The little boy clung to his father’s leg and Julian introduced him. Dorian smiled, squatting down to the child’s level and looking him in the eye. “Hello, Tristan. My name is Dorian. It is a pleasure to meet you.” The boy as all Julian, from his mop of curly blonde hair to the dimple in his chin. Had Dorian’s biological mother raised him, this might have been the face he had played with while growing up. Ariel was a mini version of River, so it made sense that Tristan looked the spitting image of his father. The Blackthornes had strong genes. “That is your cousin, Ariel,” he said, gesturing to the baby in the boy’s father’s arms. “We are both so excited to meet you.” Excited… caught off-guard. It was one in the same at this point, really. Thousands of questions sprang to mind but now was not the time.

Questions continued to spring to mind as Tristan opened his mouth to greet Dorian politely, and an unmistakable Irish accent popped out. Julian, nor River for that matter, had even the slightest hint of an Irish accent. He’d heard no tale of the family moving to Ireland for a spell, nor of Julian having spent much time in the country on the many occasions he abandoned his parents and sister to bum around like a wild child, though to be fair, he’d not heard much about what Julian got up to when he was away. River’s stories tended to focus on his return from his misadventures and how wonderful it was to have him home for a short time. Dorian’s gaze lifted to look at his half-brother for only a second as Tristan spoke, before turning his eyes back to the young lad.

Their relationship explained, Tristan moved closer to Dorian who waited to be evaluated by the little blond. “I’ve never had a nephew before. It’s fun, isn’t it?” The boy asked about a sleepover and Dorian blinked at his straight forward nature. “Well,” he started carefully, “I think you ought to talk to your father about that first. I bet he has plans for the two of you and you don’t want to miss out on any fun.” A bit of trust went a long way, but surely Julian wouldn’t put so much trust in Dorian on the first day he’d learned that Julian was a father. And truly, with the boy having been absolutely nowhere to be seen for the past eight months, Julian had to be planning to spend some quality time with the child. Dorian would have to create some plans of his own for the evening, because this shocking revelation needed some thinking through, and Andre seemed the perfect person to help Dorian come to grips that he was now an uncle twice over.

Feeling like an intruder at a family reunion, Dorian stood, his hands in his pockets as he watched his niece stare wide-eyed at her new cousin and babble happily while bopping the boy in the head with the balloon. There was a striking family resemblance between all of the Blackthornes that Dorian had met thus far. Their fair hair and light eyes were a drastic difference to Dorian’s darker features. They might have shared a bloodline, but it was evident that Dorian was not a Blackthorne, nor did he want to be. He was a Humbert, despite having no biological connection to his parents, and while he wouldn’t push his newfound family away, he certainly had never been looking for them. Were there more estranged family members Julian was hiding from him? Dorian couldn’t be certain, though if there were at least any more nieces or nephews out in the world, he suspected this handsome little tot stealing Ariel’s heart would probably spoil the secret and thus it was safe to say he likely did not have any brothers or sisters. You couldn’t trust young children to keep any sort of secret.

Dorian took one of the freshly duplicated balloons from his brother and watched as the man gave instructions to the children. His face seemed brighter now. Dorian understood this. Seeing Ariel after a long day of work often made the Auror’s spirits brighten, he could only imagine the effect one’s child could have after any substantial time apart.

One. Two. Three. Yellow balloons drifted into the sky and Dorian looked upwards after them, as they floated away. “Happy Birthday, River.” It had been nearly a year since River and Bert had passed. Ariel’s birthday, which was coming up next month, would be much more difficult of a celebration, he suspected. Ariel’s birthday would forever share the anniversary of her parents’ death. The pudgy little blonde would have no concept of the tragedy this year, or likely the next few years to come, but there would be a day when Dorian and Julian would be faced with explaining to their niece why their expressions on her birthday mirrored the ones they wore today. A happiness that didn’t quite reach the eyes.