January 28, 1888 — Hogwarts Courtyard

Moving to Hogsmeade following his mother's death had always seemed like a sour idea to him, but nothing confirmed the thought more than the way it spoiled Hogsmeade weekends. While living in Irvingly, going to Hogsmeade was not something that happened everyday. The bustling High Street (and the happy memories it brought from his childhood) had always been a refreshing sight, but now it was just... boring. Drab. Full of memories that was living with his Grandmother, and that he was living with her because his mother was dead and he was an orphan.

He'd spent most of the weekend out and about with his friends, though had never managed to run into Maddie after they'd originally parted ways with some of the other prefects. When he did see her, they were in the wave of students returning inside the castle after the weekend was coming to a close.

"Miss Backus!" he called as he snaked his way through the students to catch up to the pale blonde. Students watched as he passed, but he didn't care; it wasn't a secret that he was friends with the Hufflepuff, even if the more intimate details of their relationships were unbeknownst to them. He reached Maddie just as she was parting ways with other girls, and he resisted the urge to place his hand on her shoulder (or any sort of touch that would be deemed inappropriate).

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were avoiding me all weekend," he teased, a smile stretched across his face. Maddie, as independent and spunky as she could be, would never avoid him — would she?

  

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— set by MJ —

It was crisp day, cold but bright and fresh and Hufflepuff house had joined the other houses on their way down to the village for the afternoon. Maddie hadn’t spent all that much time with her fellow students, instead she had gone to her parents home where Maggie, and the very severe Russian gentleman waited for her to arrive. The man was her late grandfathers lawyer, he had apparently come all the way from Russia by portkey to speak to the Backus girls and he insisted on doing so alone.

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Later, as she headed back to the castle, falling in behind the other students she was lost in thought not really speaking to anyone as she thought about all that the lawyer had said. It was only when she heard a familiar voice calling her name that she looked up, realising it was Handsome. Her face broke into a smile, relieved, because at least she would be able to talk to him about what had happened. ’Mister Whitledge’ she greeted with a smile, and as they reached the large ornate gates that separated Hogwarts courtyard, from the winding track that led down to village, and officially marked the entrance to school grounds, she stopped. They could speak here, and pretend that they were waiting for any stragglers due up from the village below.

’Something very odd has happened’ she admitted, not beating about the bush. She needed to tell someone, to see if this was normal and to be expected in every day life. It didn’t seem normal to her to be sure. ’You know my Granpa Kozlov died 6 months ago?’ she said, prompting his memory, he had been the first to know then as well. ’Well I had a visit from his lawyer today, in papas shop’

  

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Well there was definitely no avoiding the subject at hand from her. Maddie had never struck him as dishonest or especially secretive, but he had to confess he was surprised that she quickly jumped into her concerns. He at least expected to exchange quiet pleasantries — not that he was complaining. He listened carefully, trying to figure out where she was going with this spiel. Had the lawyer come to tell her that someone else had died? She she was being whisked away from school before graduation to return to Russia? Why then would she wear a smile?

Perhaps he'd do best to remember his past actions and not jump to assumptions.

"Of course I remember," he responded. "What happened?"

  

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— set by MJ —

Maddie took a piece of paper from the pocket of her skirt, a letter written on expensive paper with a deep blue wax seal. ’It was my grandfathers solicitor’ she explained and unfurled the paper, a small gold locket falling from the paper into her hand. ’He wanted to speak to Maggie and I about my grandfathers estate’. Her voice was strained, like she was fighting back emotion. She was still shaken, disbelief at what had occurred in the small parlour of her parents modest home.

She looked up at him meeting his eyes, her own eyes large and searching, as though she might find some information on his face. ’he’s left Maggie and I everything.’ she said after a moment, the words coming out in a rush of breath, as though saying them could make the whole situation evaporate. ’money, land, houses, everything, to be split between Maggie and myself’. It felt old, she wanted to smile, she knew that this meant something amazing for her future, possibilities and chances that she would never have had access to were now within her grasp, but it was only possible because her grandfather was dead – and it felt perverse to smile under those circumstances.

’It’s a lot of money, more than I could have dared dream of, I will be an independent woman of means!’ she explained, ’With an income of my own.’ she finished taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly as she looked at him, waiting for a response!

  

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Handsome listened carefully, his mouth agape as the words she spoke registered in his mind. It was difficult to believe that a grandfather who had so adamantly pushed her family away... would just lead Maddie and her sisters everything. It was unusual at best, and fraudulent at worst. It just seemed unlikely.

"Do you have proof that it's real?" he asked, uncharacteristically cynical for him. He didn't want to see Maddie get crushed by the thought of having freedom from her own financial situation without the help of someone else. He didn't want her to find out that it was all a scam — or worse, a ploy to harm her and her family.

"There has to be some catch, you know? It doesn't seem likely that, after years of refusing contact with your family, he'd leave everything to you instead of some great-grand nephew or something," he reasoned, trying to glimpse down at the parchment Maddie held.

  

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— set by MJ —

Maddie’s smile faltered a little at his lack of obvious joy. She had expected him to be as excited and overwhelmed as she and Magge had been, after all he was the Gryffindor! ’It’s real Handsome’ she said, her tone more than a little hurt. ’It was the solicitor who sent me all the paperwork when I was trying to get back into school over the summer’ she explained, ’He handle grandpa’s estate.’ she fingered the paper dropping her gaze to the parchment clutched in her slim fingers.

’The boys got nothing, apparently because they will be Backus men forever, but Maggie and I will not always bear the Backus name’ she paraphrased the long explanation that had accompanied the caveats to the will. ’If we change our name to Kozlova, we will access the funds now, otherwise we will receive a small stipend until such time as we change our name.’ Her mother had been torn about the outcome of her fathers will, heartbroken that her own father had not acknowledge her existence even by his words, but happy for the girls that they might aspire to better than she could offer them now. Her father, well he had said little, her mother had said that all men accept that their daughters will change their names, but it is hard to have it thrust upon them as an insult.

Maddie hadn’t fully decided what she would do. ’I don’t know how quickly it will all happen, but at the start of the summer we will go to Russia to see the lands and houses, and my school income will start immediately.’, a small smile twerked at the corner of her lips, at the thought of it.

  

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Handsome liked the idea of Maddie getting money, as it might grant her the opportunity to not only rise in wealth, but status, too. At the very least, the restrictions seemed a little unfair to her brothers, who she assumed needed it just as badly as Maddie and her sister did. The details of it all just seemed very fishy — at least by his sense of logic.

"So you can change your name and inherit... but your brother's can't? No Herb Kozlov?" he asked with a raised brow. Perhaps it was just his mediocre legal knowledge, or perhaps their grandfather just had a vendetta against every male in existence after one of little wealth had married his daughter, but still.

Perhaps he just needed to straighten out his priorities and worry about Maddie. Perhaps it was his own wired prejudice against women that made the thought of Maddie being independent from her family or a man — from himself even — leave a sour taste in his mouth. Women with their own money and way of living had no need for marriage or families, right? They were selfish and had the wrong priorities in life... right? That's at least what society had taught him, and he was now facing a battle between what he was taught about women and what he knew about Maddie.

  

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— set by MJ —

'we could', she admitted, her tone a little hesitant, 'But Maggie and I both agree that it would break Papa's heart if we dud ut any way other than when we get married.' she explained, it had seemed logical to both girls, after all, all fathers expect their daughters will eventually change their names when they join the family of another. she and Maggie had both said that if when papa died they were not married they would then change their names so they would be able to be independant, even if they were spinsters. It was a bit odd saying all of this to Handsome, mentioning marriage to someone with whom you shared some sort of romantic connection seemed very strange.

'I think Grandpa took the idea that the sons were BAckus in a way that Maggie and I would never be.' she shrugged, 'or perhaps because he was estranged to a daughter he thought to replace mama with Maggie and I?' she wasnt entirely sure, and while she was sure her brothers were a little hurt, especially Herb, who was a second son and who would inherit nothing but his wits.

'I dont know what I shall do really,' she added turning the letter over and over in her hands, 'but I shall have clothing and an allowance while I am in school, and money for a debut, and all sorts' she explained to him, her smile picking up at the thought, 'and then whatever comes I shall be comfortable, and Maggie shall have her own business!'

  

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Maddie seemed to be making sense, but Handsome obviously wasn't hearing any of it. Just the thought of her being independent was ugh. Young ladies weren't supposed to be independent — but at least she wasn't poor anymore? That really didn't mean society would treat her like that though. They'd likely always treat her as the girl who went from the bank of a baker, rather than a well-bred woman who'd associated with money since birth.

"Just - Just be careful, Maddie," he prompted, lowering his voice so passersby couldn't hear. "Once people find out, they'll without a doubt try and manipulate you. Get things from you. Get you. I don't want that," he warned, wishing they had some level of privacy right now so he could at least touch her hand (which seemed awfully chaste considering some of their previous touches) to show that he cared.

  

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— set by MJ —

To say that Maddie wasn’t a little hurt by his reticence to rejoice with her would be untrue, she dearly wanted him to revel in the fairy tale that her grandfathers legacy was offering her, even if he wasn’t thrilled about it, but she could appreciate the pragmatism and sense in what he was warning her, even if now, in this moment she didn’t really want to worry about the pragmatics of what they were discussing. She wanted to revel in the lovely dream of nice gowns, a debut, and all that that meant. The sting of Mister Lyttons rejection of her as ‘not good enough’ to wear one of his gowns still hurt her, even if he hadn’t been as cruel as her damaged pride remembered. She dearly wanted to be the girl who wasn’t Cinderella but rather the refined lady, of good education, and good manners that her mother had tried to raise both Backus girls to be.





’We have agreed,’ meaning herself and Maggie, ’That for now at least we wont say too much about it, I will have some comforts while in school, clothing, and a small stipend to keep me comfortable’ she said ‘small’, and it was in comparison to what she would inherit but she would have more now than she had ever dreamed of having before. Her Hogsmeade weekends had previously been spent just walking with friends, or spending the afternoon with her parents or sister, but now she might be able to afford some new books when she liked, and maybe some pretty things that took her fancy – not extravagant but plenty for her own modest needs. ’I don’t know how long it will stay a secret’ she admitted, after all the change to her dresses, her suddenly nicer wardrobe would doubtless be noticed by some people in the school, if any took any sort of notice of the lower class prefect. ’But the only person outside of our family who knows about it now is…well you’ she admitted, dropping her head, suddenly feeling a little self conscious, and glancing at the ring he had bought her for Christmas, the colour changing stone responding to his nearness.

  

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Handsome wanted to reach out and touch her, since that seemed to be the only way he was capable of coming across as sensitive at the moment. He was still internally conflicted, and being the comforting sort wasn't easy when he was trying to comfort himself. He liked their relationship dynamic. He liked being the knight in shining armour, and her the damsel in distress. He wasn't worried about her not caring anymore, but rather her not needing him.

"You won't have to worry about me telling anyone," he promised with a paranoid glance around them. "Be mindful of how you act as well. If you start spending like crazy, people will figure it out," he warned.

As the last of the students passed by them, it became apparent that remaining in place would make them stand out to any passing professors. He gave her a Handsome-esque wink before motioning in the direction of the castle.

"I'll see you later. I have to talk to MacFusty about quidditch practice," he said, this time raising his voice so their conversation to any passersby would seem more casual. With one last smile, he went on his way.

  

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— set by MJ —