March 18th, 1891 — Crouch Home

Presumably, Aldous was going to try and talk him out of it, and Ben had no desire whatsoever to be talked out of it. He wasn't going to ignore a summons from his oldest brother, though — particularly not when the alternative might be to get another howler or to have Aldous show up at their home. Ben was trying to shield Melody from the worst of this, which meant if there was anything he could do outside of their home, that was preferable.

He didn't think this was really as dangerous as Aldous probably believed it was, either. Ben was a cursebreaker, retired but all the same. Macmillan was a weasel. There was no chance he'd be able to get the better of Ben magically, and even if he did, there'd be a healer on hand. Ben also didn't think there was much chance of Aldous talking him out of it, because Aldous didn't know what Macmillan had said to him in the street that night. When he knew, he'd surely be just as incensed as Ben was.

"Hey," he said on stepping out of the floo. It wasn't that late, but he looked obviously tired; he hadn't slept much since Monday, waiting for Melody to wake up.

Aldous Crouch

  

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Aldous had two principal hopes:

1. That his brother would realize the error of his ways, and,
   
2. That he would arrive before Aldous spent all night staring into his half-empty brandy wondering why he didn't just storm the Swallowbury house.

The latter, at least, bore fruit when Reuben arrived not long after Aldous had sent his missive.

"A duel?!" he demanded incredulously, though he did not rise from his seat—he was too riled up to risk the imbalance.

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

This was, so far, better than the howler. Aldous was clearly not pleased, but two words was at least more concise than a paragraph.

"Yeah," he said diffidently, as though Aldous was the weird one for reacting so strongly. "It's not that big a deal. I'll keep it quiet."

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   Minty Scrimgeour [Sofia]

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If looks could have killed, Aldous Crouch would have been a master duelist, and Reuben probably would not have lived to finish his third decade anyways.

"Not a big deal?!" he demanded, glad (for once) that he did not have a wife to trouble with his shouting. "You're bloody dueling, Reuben! Even if it's a gentleman's arrangment—" given it was borne from brawling in the street, Aldous somehow doubted it "—what in the hell do you expect to happen if you're caught?!"

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

"I'm not going to get caught," Ben replied, almost flippantly. He really did think there was very little chance of it, because no one he told was going to turn him in, and if Macmillan tried to do so he'd first have to admit to what he'd done to provoke the challenge. Which — actually was possible, but Ben didn't think he would. What was he going to say to the Ministry officials? That he had every right to make lewd and unwarranted comments about married women, whenever and wherever he liked?

Also, if he did get caught, he thought the most likely answer was that Aldous would find a way to get him out of it. He knew better than to say that to Aldous, though, particularly since he was already livid enough.

"Anyway, it might not even happen," he said, a little defensively. "He hasn't accepted the challenge yet." Ben hadn't actually even issued the challenge yet, if they were getting technical, but he thought the fact that he would was sort of a foregone conclusion. He wasn't going to let Macmillan think he could just say that sort of thing about November, much less to her family, and certainly not in public. The audacity of any one of those points would have been worth a duel on its own; together, he thought it was really the only reasonable thing that could happen next.

  

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"Thank goodness for small miracles," Aldous muttered under his breath. More audibly, he countered, "You will rescind your challenge then. I am prepared to do many things, Reuben, but looking after your snake of a wife while you toil away in prison is not one of them!"

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Ben's eyes flashed angrily at the word snake, but he tried to remain composed. Aldous was already irate, and Ben responding in kind wasn't going to help them get through this situation. His line set in a tight mouth for a moment. He clenched and relaxed his fist quickly, as though the physical motion would help him discharge the desire to defend her.

"I won't," he said firmly. "And if you'd heard what he said, you wouldn't ask me to."

  

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"And what could he have said about your character," Aldous snapped, "that is not at least slightly rooted in truth?!"

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   Reuben Crouch

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

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Ben's cheeks flushed at the insult, which must have been intended to sting — because Aldous knew better, since January, than to assume Ben was really the heartless rake that everyone believed him to be. He didn't really have so low of an opinion of Ben as that, Ben didn't think — but it still stung slightly to hear him say it.

"It wasn't about my character," he said, as levelly as he could while suppressing the irritation that had been growing steadily since the beginning of this conversation, each of Aldous' comments adding a bit more fuel to the fire. "It was about Nova."

  

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Aldous paled, the air leaving him.

"What did he say?" the wizard asked softly.

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   Reuben Crouch

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

The energy in the room had changed immediately, as Ben had suspected it would. Aldous might very well make disparaging remarks about his character, particularly in the heat of irritation, but no one in the family was going to take kindly to disparaging comments about November. Ben hesitated only half a second before continuing; while he didn't relish the idea of repeating the remark, Aldous was hardly a blushing debutante, and perhaps actually hearing it would make him realize how inevitable this duel was.

"He said he wanted to fuck her," Ben said in a measured tone, watching his brother's reaction. "Not my word, his. 'Fuck.' And he said that to my face. In public." The implication, of course, was obvious. If this was the sort of thing Macmillan would say to November's own brother, what might he be saying elsewhere?

Wanting, of course, didn't mean anything — but there was something about the way Macmillan had said it that had given Ben the impression there was something behind it besides just a lewd remark. Not that Ben thought November would ever entertain the idea, but — well, someone who didn't know her so well might, if Macmillan went around talking like that.

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   Arthur Pettigrew

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The wizard was silent for a long moment as he digested the words. He knew his brother far too well to even consider that Reuben might be exaggerating—love for their sister was one of the great uniting forces in the brothers' lives. That a man, especially one who claimed to be a gentleman would utter such crudities about a lady, a wife, a mother, their sister was as grave a slight as any that Aldous would believe imaginable.

"I will kill him with my own two hands if it comes to it," he said with a false stillness.

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

That was — honestly a bit more extreme than Ben had been expecting from Aldous, who was not the sort of person who regularly threatened violence. The sentiment, however, was hardly a surprise; Ben had been confident that if Aldous knew, he would have agreed the duel was necessary.

"I'll handle it," he said brusquely, feeling a slight twinge of... something... in the center of his chest. It was not often that there were any family problems Ben could solve, and he was far more likely to create them than to handle them, but this was squarely in his realm of expertise. He felt — proud? — useful? — something — that he and his brother seemed to be on the same page and that, for once, Aldous wasn't scolding him about how Ben had decided to react.

"I'm a better dueler than you," he pointed out, not critically; just a statement of fact. "And he said it to me."

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   Arthur Pettigrew

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That much, Aldous could not deny.

"Use Roman as your second," Aldous suggested, too distracted by his ire to recognize how abruptly he had changed his tune. Anyone but Art Pettigrew, a wizard who was a loyal friend to Reuben but generally useless as a human being.

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   Camilla Lytton, Reuben Crouch

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

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Ben's eyebrows arched in surprise. He hadn't ever considered Roman as an option, though he suppose he should have. Of course his brother would have agreed. He wasn't the sort to duel, but it was Nova. Of the three of them, however, he was probably the most likely to suffer career implications if they were discovered, and Aldous couldn't keep both of them out of prison while still maintaining his position in the Ministry or in society.

"Has he ever done this before?" Ben asked. "Negotiated terms?"

Being a second wasn't just a nice title, was what Ben was getting at. It was a job, and the success of the duel hinged on it being preformed well. Roman might have agreed if asked, but Ben needed more than just someone to agree — he needed a good second. Which meant he needed Art Pettigrew, much as Aldous might not like the idea of getting someone else involved in what ought to have been a family affair.

  

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"I am sure he is more than equal to the task," Aldous answered dismissively, now pacing as well as his leg-and-cane situation would allow. "What's more, he is well-poised to lessen certain problems, should they arise."

Roman could hardly make a murder charge go away, but a dueling charge could be kept quiet if he was willing to use some of his social currency.

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —