Illusory § Order of the Phoenix

X. PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY

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     During his stay at Grimmauld Place, Antares learned that time passed slower if you were angry. It had been a week since he and Sirius traded scathing remarks, and neither had spoken a word to the other. Since none except the Black lineage bore witness to the argument, others were clueless about the sudden drop in mood.

Remus Lupin had it the worst. One day, the three of them were laughing and sharing memories at the table, and now it was as if it never happened. Sirius had taken to staying in his room or the family room, locking himself away in self-imposed isolation. Antares, on the other hand, was rarely at the house. He'd leave in the morning, making excuses about keeping up appearances, and return in the dead of night or often later. Of course, Remus only knew this because he had caught the boy returning to headquarters at an ungodly hour. He'd guessed it was somewhere close to five o'clock in the morning. Remus himself had been returning from a night of the full moon, so naturally, he was curious.

When asked about it, Antares would brush him off.

'Oh, just some pureblood families wanting to catch up. You know they love their gatherings.'

'I was at a meeting with some fellow duelists to discuss the Ministry's proposed ban. I'll get you a signature next time.'

'I've been researching possible ways to keep tabs on Harry while at Hogwarts.'

Remus might not know Antares that well, but he knows a lie when he hears it. There were many times when he had come up with similar excuses during his time at Hogwarts. Though, he doubted Antares was trying to hide a sudden case of lycanthropy.

Due to Order meetings, Antares and Sirius found themselves forced into the same room. It was civil at best. Antares ignored his uncle the entire time, engaging in conversation with anyone else. His overall contribution to the meetings hadn't faltered at all. If anything, he was more insightful, offering strategy and avenues of information. It shook Sirius' anger the first time it happened. Later the man confessed that it startled him that Antares seemed to do it with such ease. It gnawed at him, poking at the wounds of their argument. He expected Antares to be affected by their now strained relationship, to exhibit some visible sign of discomfort. But instead, his nephew carried himself with a cool and composed demeanour, as if their altercation had never occurred.

The one morning Antares found himself at home, he sat in the kitchen with Peri perched gently on his shoulder and a sprawl of letters in front of him. Judging by the sharp messy lettering on one of the envelopes, Antares knew it was from Cole.

Ares,

Please, for Circe's sake, stop referring to me as 'Colette' in our letters. Devon was here when I got the letter, and he burst out laughing the second he saw it. Now Dad won't stop asking why you called me that, and I'm not about to tell him about that midnight trip to Sydney.