Post by Sebastian Nott on Feb 5, 2012 9:51:24 GMT -5
[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 460px; background-image: url(http://i44.tinypic.com/34fb0ns.jpg);-moz-border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px; border: 4px ridge #7a9aa9, bTable][tr][cs=2] william joseph archer. eighteen. employee. jack o'connel. |
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Bobby Archer and Angeline Parker were the furthest thing from a match made in heaven; Bobby was highly obnoxious, seemed to fancy himself the king of the earth, and never did a scrap of work unless he really had to. Angeline, although not wealthy, always had the best clothes with immaculate make-up and nails glossed until they were shining. Bobby and Angeline met through a friend - Bobby initially was very much taken with Angeline's best friend, but throughout the time span he was trying to win her affection he and Angeline became close and eventually started dating, much to everyone's surprise. Angeline already had a six-year-old son, Joshua, and felt certain Bobby would bolt when he found this out, but he stayed with them, gratifying Angeline immensely. Because of this, she felt she could tell Bobby about her being a witch. He roared with laughter at her until she hoisted him into the sky by his ankle with her wand. At first it was a shock, but soon he became proud: "My girlfriend the witch." He couldn't say it to his friends - she'd been stern about that - but he said it to himself as often as he could, spoke it just to hear it aloud.
Bobby even managed to find work, and they lived in a relatively small but very clean and pleasant apartment. Two years later, they had a son together, naming him William Joseph Archer. Although Bobby and Joshua had gotten on fairly well - Josh wasn't the type to complain and Bobby was trying hard - Bobby adored his biological son. Will was a boisterous toddler and Bobby approved of this greatly, roaring with laughter at Will's antics. Angeline, however, was not so amused, often pursing her lips at the mess Will would make. Angeline was not a mumsy-mum; she didn't go a bundle on wiping snotty noses and running baths. She treated it all with a weary, I'll-do-it-if-I-have-to attitude.
The years rolled on. Will was a happy child; he trailed after his older brother, caused a load of trouble, and often was so boisterous and aggressive Angeline had other mothers knocking on her door demanding she apologise for her son as he'd made her child cry or something of the sort. Angeline treated these women sarcastically, often rolling her eyes as she made an obviously fake apology. While Will was generally in trouble, Josh was seen for years as 'a dream'. Josh, of course, had to go to Hogwarts when Will was three, and the reports back from his Professors was that he was a likeable, humble, if somewhat unnervingly confident boy. It was mostly unknown to many people that Josh was one of the biggest partiers in his year; Angeline suspected it, but let it slide. Josh was hugely popular both in Hogwarts and when he came home for the summer in the muggle world, although he did get teased for going to boarding school. Friendly teasing, though.
When Will was four and Josh twelve, Lisbeth was born. Angeline made sure Will didn't go near her baby, knowing he'd probably hurt her if he came near her, accidentally or otherwise. Angeline, for once, was acting motherly. She'd always wanted a daughter. Will's dad would take Will out often, putting him on his shoulders, introducing him proudly to all of his mates. Angeline was with Lisbeth and Bobby was with Will - Josh was more or less left on his own, and joined a muggle gang of sorts. They weren't a hugely bad gang - and even when they divulged in illegal activites, Josh generally steered clear of them. He was just there because it was sort of cool, really. He tried drugs, of course, and shop lifted a bit, and was arrested twice between his third and fifth years. In contrast to this, at Hogwarts he was generally well-behaved, even though his grades were slipping.
Will, as a young boy, was hugely inspired by his older brother. He'd often threaten people that his brother would beat them up and he became known quite well as having a fierce temper. Although other children used to be a bit wary of Will, they began realising how amusing it could be to wind him up and thus began the taunting. They knew that while Josh was away at boarding school, they were safe to treat Will as they liked, and that they did. They'd pretend to be friendly to him and run away; they'd snigger about him; they'd kick balls at him; they'd yell insults. Bobby was around less and less and whenever Will reported someone being mean to him Bobby would look faintly disappointed in his son, as if he was being a wimp. Will, driven to prove to his dad and brother how strong and cool he was, got increasingly angrier at all the other kids as the weeks went by. He had little to no friends at primary school. He was an outcast, the older kids' entertainment.
When Will was seven and Josh was fifteen, Josh was home for the Easter Holidays, which he rarely was. Usually it was just the Christmas and Summer he'd return for. Not knowing this, the older lads invited Will to play football with them and once he realised it was another wind-up and launched himself at them, Josh came to his rescue. Although Will was often laughed at, Josh was an older boy, he was fifteen, he was cool, he could handle himself, everybody knew him. They knew he'd been arrested before, they knew he was part of a gang, they knew he could fight if he wanted to. When the older boys retreated and Josh told Will that if he was ever in trouble to come and get Josh, Will really felt for the first time that he wasn't fighting on his own. He felt like he had back-up.
Will began, for the first time in his life, to properly make friends after that. Although he was still capable of losing his cool over the slightest thing, he became friendly first with a boy who had never really joined in on the Will-taunting, and then slowly cultivated more and more friends as the years went on. Although Will was dangerous, a boy always on the cusp of losing control, the attitude had changed towards him. Perhaps it was because his attitude had changed towards other people. For years he'd never cared about other people - he was often selfish and rude and rarely thought of others. He'd never wanted anyone except Josh and his dad. But now that Josh and his dad were both disappearing far more frequently, Will began forcing himself to care and the other kids started to see him as fun. A trouble-maker, the sort of boy the mothers didn't want their kids knowing - but that's what made it alright to know him. By the time he was eleven, he wasn't the coolest boy on the block, but he had earned the nickname Archer and was often seen lounging around with a particular group of loud, boisterous lads.
Josh had already left Hogwarts by the time Will started attending. Much to the surprise of everyone, Josh had knuckled down and gotten himself ten Os in his NEWTs, an astonishing feat. When Will met Josh during the holidays, he'd changed. He was still beyond cool, but there was something about him - it was as though he was an adult. Much to Will's surprise, Josh had matured. He was quieter, more thoughtful, more precise, and he simply didn't have time for any of his old friends. He began training to be a wizarding lawyer. Will's mother had never been more proud in her life, and it was the first time Will had ever seen her cry - he wasn't even aware that she could cry, and it disturbed him. She should've looked happy, but she didn't.
Although Will had been hoping Bobby would see him off to Hogwarts, he didn't, and he was instead brought to the Hogwarts Express by his mother, Josh, and Lisbeth, who was then seven and often spent hours in her room by herself playing imaginary games, much to Will's distaste. Will hopped onto the train like he owned it, without much of a farewell as his family were not the sentimental sort. Angeline waved at him absent-mindedly, warning him to be good and clutching on to Lisbeth as though she would get lost in the masses. Josh scuffled his brother's hair and stood on the platform with his hands plunged in his pockets, looking sort of bewildered. This was the last Will saw of his family before his first year in Hogwarts. And, amazingly, Will fit right in.
Will established a firm friendship with Neil Pereira and they've been best friends since, although Will would describe him as more of a brother. Will was a holy terror, but managed to reach popularity with his classmates. He'd grown up to be a guy more than able to handle himself, and so no-one gave him any bother, although he still managed to get into arguments with people no matter how hard he tried. The point was, though, he'd come so far that he didn't really try to control himself anymore. He did develop one love other than making the most of everyday, and that was music. He'd sneaked into a gig once and watching the people on stage, he knew that's where he wanted to be. He somehow managed to save up and buy himself a guitar and much to the surprise of everyone he began to learn how to play - it was even more of a shock when he started singing, because he was actually sort of good at it. His two most treasured possessions at that time were his guitar and his dog back at home, Leggit - a completely mad dog that would only calm down in the presence of Lisbeth.
By the time Will was twelve and Josh was almost twenty, Will's dad was appearing less and less. While Will was alright with this, Josh wasn't, and when Bobby turned up out of the blue one day in the summer after having been gone for weeks, Josh was less than impressed. An argument started; Will, Lisbeth, and Leggit were ordered out of the room. While Lisbeth simply left, Will was far more stubborn, yelling at his mum (whom he often blamed for the majority of things that he didn't like), and then Josh. His dad was finally here, and he wanted quality time with him. He was furious at the rest of the family because he felt like they were all ganging up on his dad, whom he loved even more than Joshua. Eventually Josh managed to get him out of the room, and Will ended up raging in the living room on his own. He never really knew what went down between his parents and Josh, but the result was that Bobby was leaving for good. Will wanted desperately to leave with his dad, but Josh wouldn't let him. Will's mum didn't even speak, she was just leaning against the counter, looking out the window and taking a drag on her cigarette. While she was deeply upset, all Will could see was that she was just the same at any other day, and he unleashed all of his fury on her, telling her that it was her fault his dad never showed up anymore, and why would he, anyways, why would he want to come and visit her? He was so angry his magic caused the coffee cups on the shelves to slide off them and shatter onto the ground.
Throughout the course of that summer, Will attempted running as much as he dared. He'd stay out at night. He constantly fought with his mother, and it became a part of their new routine; him raging at her and her wearing a mask of indifference. Something had been broken between him and Josh, as well. Because now he wasn't angry at some kids on a playground, he was angry at his mum, and Josh wasn't going to back him up, Josh wasn't going to save him. Josh was quieter, shutting himself up in his room for hours on end. Only during the last two weeks of summer did Will and Lisbeth find out that Josh was moving to America. Will swerved around to look at his mum when Josh announced it, and yet Angeline barely blinked, making Will sure Josh had already told her, probably months in advance. Will took it the hardest; although he and Josh had been getting less close as time rolled on, Josh was still his brother, and in Will's opinion still the coolest brother ever - he needed him. Josh left anyway.
Will was fourteen when his mum got a new boyfriend, Samuel Hawes. He hadn't even been aware that she'd been seeing anyone, he just came home at Christmas and Samuel was always around. Lisbeth, who still had another year left before going to Hogwarts, was interrogated by Will. While Will's mum was sure Lisbeth liked Samuel, Lisbeth was quite contemptuous of her mum's new man and made it very clear to Will. Samuel they both found arrogant and patronising; Will, however, was much more open about his dislike for Samuel than Lara. While everywhere else he was loud and always seemed to be laughing and causing a racous, at home he was sour-faced and stubborn. Whenever Samuel tried to talk to him the response was, "whatever," or "I don't care". He managed to keep this up for a few days before Samuel made a comment to Will's mum about Will's dad. Will was so furious he almost threw the plate he was holding at Samuel's head, storming right up to the man and getting right up in his face, yelling cuss words and daring him to hit him. In Will's eyes, it wasn't just an insult to Bobby, it was a thinly-veiled insult made for Will. After this outburst, Will and Samuel no longer pretended to like each other. Will, however, did not have much of a go at Samuel again, because Lara had come to his room and asked him directly not to. Lara rarely, if ever, talked to Will directly, and she never asked him to do things for her. Wanting to be like Josh, he promised he wouldn't - at least not for the rest of the holiday. Before Will left for the Hogwarts Express, he told his sister that Leggit was hers, now, and to mind him, and not to take any crap from Samuel.
His mum, surprisingly, accompanied him to the platform. They didn't speak at all on the way there. She was chewing gum, gaze locked somewhere far away from Will, arms crossed over he chest. When they reached the platform, she told Will to be good, and to take care - it was the closest thing to "I love you" he'd gotten from her in a while. He told her he would, and for a moment they were almost civil, almost felt like comrades, until Will asked her not to go out with Samuel anymore. Angeline's nostrils had flared and she'd refused to immediately, shutting herself away from her son yet again.
Will went back to Hogwarts for the rest of his fourth year, and things had changed. Girls now showed interest in him wherever he turned, attracted to his bad-boy image. He worked out frequently and because of that had managed to acquire a rather decent body, but that wasn't just it. Girls liked something about him, and while no one could quite put their finger on it, he wasn't complaining. He was never a shameless flirt the way other guys were, though. He rarely showed interest in a girl before she did him. And he never acted like he liked them mor ethan he did, nor did he ever come out with cheesy pick-up lines. He wasn't smooth, he wasn't flirty. Towards the end of fourth year, he was attempting to get the kitchens tipsy and failed spectacularly, missing a step and ending up with a broken nose. He got a letter, but it wasn't from his mum, it was from Samuel - saying how disappointed they were in him. He was furious that Samuel was acting like he was Will's dad.
And then the worst thing Will could imagine happened; they were moving in with Samuel. Samuel was a bigshot at the Ministry and the house he lived in was big and spacious and grand, and yet Will couldn't think of a worse place to live in during the summer. The moment he was in, he was like, "right, fuck this," and he ended up crashing in a mate's for a few nights, and then another mate's, and then another. Much to his chagrin, however, he was forced to return to Samuel's. He had another go at his mum the night he was brought back; she was sitting in the living room, and he marched right in and started yelling at her, yelling at her because he thought she was just with Samuel because she wanted fancy things, yelling at her for never writing to him, yelling at her for not letting him do what he wanted to do. Samuel went to rest his hand on Will's shoulder and Will hated being touched when he was angry, and so he hit out, nearly smacking Samuel in the face. Before anyone could say anything, Will's mum had gotten to her feet, for once showing any kind of emotion as she ordered Will to his room. He left, all the fire in him distinguished.
The rest of Will's summer was spent in his room, playing guitar and singing. The rest the house left him alone except for Leggit - although Will had officially given Leggit over to Lara, the dog stayed with him most days, curling up next to him as he strummed on his guitar and sang. Will was learning how to do a thing he'd never done before; he was learning how to relax. Towards the end of summer, he began going on Leggit's walks with Lara. This was when he first began to learn things about his sister; the shyness he had always associated with her had never been there. She was just quiet. Self-contained. And really, really smart. He wondered if maybe she was so quiet because of him and Josh - Josh who had been the sociable, cool one, Will the almost-deliquent. She was also tough. Didn't put up with bullshit. They didn't exactly grow close, but an understanding grew. He promised her that he'd never leave her alone with their mum and Samuel again. Lara had only shrugged, but he still felt good about himself.
One day, disaster struck - as he and Lara had been walking Leggit out in the park, Lara had unleashed Leggit and while Will had been joking around, throwing his weight about, talking and laughing and messing around, Leggit made it towards the road and was hit by a car, killed instantly, their big, mental dog suddenly gone from their lives. Lara cried more than he'd ever seen before, real crying, and it disturbed him just as it had when he'd first saw his mum crying, and he came to the starting realisation that Lara was just like his mum, forever wearing a mask until it became too hard to. Will refrained from crying in front of anyone, firstly because Lara was bawling and he wanted to be strong for her, secondly because he felt sure that Samuel would sneer at him for doing so. But in his room that night, he left his guitar in the corner and lay in bed awake for hours, just thinking. It felt as though a puzzle piece was lost forever, and now they had no chance of fitting together at all.
This time, he and Lara both were going to Hogwarts. He'd told her to get in touch with him if she had any trouble, but he didn't think she'd get in any trouble with anyone, and neither did he. It was the first year he didn't bring his guitar to Hogwarts. Ecstatic to see his mates, he was louder than ever, hurtling all the way up and down the trainn to see everyone, tackling people in hugs, yelling that he was back, that Archer was back, and this was going to be a year of all years. Fifth year was the least eventful; he got fairly decent OWL results, barely acknowledged by his mother. He celebrated by getting thoroughly pissed and having sex with a girl about three years older than him. Sixth year was another year that went by like a shot. During these years, he did have his first and only girlfriend, and the only sort that had any impact at all on his life, a girl he often ran into at Samuel's parties in the Manor, a girl whom he'd never expected to like. Their relationship was slightly tumultous, and yet aside from Neil she was the only person able to calm Will down when he was in a rage and although their personalities differed greatly they got along in the oddest of ways, and seemed to affect the other's life even when they weren't together.
Summer after sixth year, things were tense at home. Something had changed. And then Will's mother gave him a choice that he felt sure was fuelled by Samuel; either Will started behaving differently or he had to leave. Furious with this, Will searched the house for his dad's address, finally making his way into his mother's room, a room he hadn't set foot in before that, and scrabbled through her things, finally finding a diary of hers and flicking through it unashamedly, muttering "dad" under his breath repeatedly as he searched for the address, the place where he thought he would finally be totally accepted. A slip of paper fell from the diary; the word "BOBBY" was printed over a hastily-scribbled adress. Will nicked twenty pounds from his mother's wallet and his dad's adress and slammed from the house, taking a bus to his dad's and going his way without even considering being turned away. This, of course, was a mistake.
Will's dad was with his new girlfriend and he didn't seem very pleased to see Will. He, grudgingly, let Will into his flat - which smelt of booze and was a right tip, with the furniture arranged clumsily and his washing draped over chairs and sticky plates lying on the floor - and they talked for a few minutes, but Bobby made it clear he didn't want to see his son, much to Will's shock. It was the most shattering moment of his life - to be standing in his dad's grimy kitchen, with his dad's new too-young girlfriend waiting impatiently in the next room, a bottle of alcohol balancing on her lap, and to see his dad for how everyone else saw him. A pissed wanker. A layabout. A thoroughly unimpressive man, unshaven and wearing unclean clothes, lazy and disrespectful, careless, not even man enough to take care of his own wife and kids.
He left Will alone in the kitchen, clearly expecting Will to see himself out. Will stood there for a couple of minutes, unable to move, rooted to the spot, but upon hearing his dad refer to him as a "screw up" to his girlfriend, he flew into the corridor and struck his father without even thinking, fury rushing through his body and propelling him towards the man who'd hurt him more than anyone else could. He was too upset to properly hurt him, however, and fled before the girlfriend called the police - she was shrieking her head off, grabbing at Bobby and trying to inspect him, fussing at him with her too-long fake nails and screeching at Will to leave. Finding himself crying and homeless, he walked the streets for hours before returning to his mother's and packing up, slowly. He didn't say a word to his mother or Samuel, appearing far more subdued than he ever had before. He tentatively bid goodbye to Lara, only realising afterwards that he'd promised he wouldn't leave her alone with his mother and Samuel. He made his way to Neil and Jade's apartment and asked them if he could sleep on a patch of floor - anyone who knew Will could see when he was in a particularly bad place, and it was obvious to the both that he was not fit for much else other than sleeping. Before long, he was living there, and he couldn't be more thankful. Neil and Jade became another family to Will, a different sort of family, but what he felt was the right sort of one; they treated each other right, stayed together, laughed together, enjoyed each other's company. It was something he'd never experienced before but loved more than he could ever begin to explain. A week into living with them, he wrote a letter to Josh and a letter to Lara. Neither replied.
When Will finished school, he realised that he was more or less on his own; his mother and Samuel obviously had no intention of granting him anymore money and he had no intention of going back to them, having too much pride for such a thing. He sank deeper into despair, going from his usual reckless, passionate self to a brooding, withdrawn guy, feeling the weight of everything he'd ever done on his shoulders. In an act of trying to cleanse himself, he supposed, he managed to get a job in a cafe in Diagon Alley, the Tamarisk Tree, and even though it wasn't the best pay in the world, he felt that altogether it was something to be proud of. Soon after this, however, he ran into his younger sister Lara, and was overcome with guilt by the fact that he'd left her. They ran into each other in muggle London, and by much pleading Will managed to get Lara to accompany him to a cafe nearby. There, they talked - perhaps not the sort of talk Will really wanted but he felt that it was progress despite it all. He confessed to Lara about Bobby, about how he had visited their father and he had been cast away, and he realised that he wanted to be a better brother to Lara, that Lara was just like him - Lara had been let down by every man in her life as well. He realised that even though he and Lara couldn't exactly be called close, there was a certain bond that siblings had that couldn't exactly tear them apart, and he knew then that he had to be there for his younger sister.
Not long after this, Will recieved a letter from Josh. At first, he simply gaped at the letter, open-mouthed, unsure of whether or not he was imagining it, and then a rush of emotions seethed through his body. They came quick and every time he recognised one for what it was it melted into another. The build-up of these emotions caused a small explosion, Will ending up in a rage and smashing a vase, because he had expected more than that, more than six years of hurt and then just a letter from his brother. He considered shredding it, considered storming all the way down to the Hawes Manor and punching his brother on the nose. Eventually he managed to write back, but the letter was full of fury and hurt. He wasn't happy Josh was back; that simply wasn't enough, to leave them all for six years and then to come waltzing back and start bossing everyone around. The last six years Will had been yearning for his brother, and yet when Josh came back Will hated him with every fibre of his body - although, of course, he loved him as well.
With Josh back, Will has been summoned back to the Hawes Manor, but he's reluctant to go, his only motive at the moment being to save Lara from the demons that have been destroying him from the inside out since he was her age. Not only is Will reluctant to see Josh, but facing his mother again is going to be a battle and a half for Will.
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Bobby even managed to find work, and they lived in a relatively small but very clean and pleasant apartment. Two years later, they had a son together, naming him William Joseph Archer. Although Bobby and Joshua had gotten on fairly well - Josh wasn't the type to complain and Bobby was trying hard - Bobby adored his biological son. Will was a boisterous toddler and Bobby approved of this greatly, roaring with laughter at Will's antics. Angeline, however, was not so amused, often pursing her lips at the mess Will would make. Angeline was not a mumsy-mum; she didn't go a bundle on wiping snotty noses and running baths. She treated it all with a weary, I'll-do-it-if-I-have-to attitude.
The years rolled on. Will was a happy child; he trailed after his older brother, caused a load of trouble, and often was so boisterous and aggressive Angeline had other mothers knocking on her door demanding she apologise for her son as he'd made her child cry or something of the sort. Angeline treated these women sarcastically, often rolling her eyes as she made an obviously fake apology. While Will was generally in trouble, Josh was seen for years as 'a dream'. Josh, of course, had to go to Hogwarts when Will was three, and the reports back from his Professors was that he was a likeable, humble, if somewhat unnervingly confident boy. It was mostly unknown to many people that Josh was one of the biggest partiers in his year; Angeline suspected it, but let it slide. Josh was hugely popular both in Hogwarts and when he came home for the summer in the muggle world, although he did get teased for going to boarding school. Friendly teasing, though.
When Will was four and Josh twelve, Lisbeth was born. Angeline made sure Will didn't go near her baby, knowing he'd probably hurt her if he came near her, accidentally or otherwise. Angeline, for once, was acting motherly. She'd always wanted a daughter. Will's dad would take Will out often, putting him on his shoulders, introducing him proudly to all of his mates. Angeline was with Lisbeth and Bobby was with Will - Josh was more or less left on his own, and joined a muggle gang of sorts. They weren't a hugely bad gang - and even when they divulged in illegal activites, Josh generally steered clear of them. He was just there because it was sort of cool, really. He tried drugs, of course, and shop lifted a bit, and was arrested twice between his third and fifth years. In contrast to this, at Hogwarts he was generally well-behaved, even though his grades were slipping.
Will, as a young boy, was hugely inspired by his older brother. He'd often threaten people that his brother would beat them up and he became known quite well as having a fierce temper. Although other children used to be a bit wary of Will, they began realising how amusing it could be to wind him up and thus began the taunting. They knew that while Josh was away at boarding school, they were safe to treat Will as they liked, and that they did. They'd pretend to be friendly to him and run away; they'd snigger about him; they'd kick balls at him; they'd yell insults. Bobby was around less and less and whenever Will reported someone being mean to him Bobby would look faintly disappointed in his son, as if he was being a wimp. Will, driven to prove to his dad and brother how strong and cool he was, got increasingly angrier at all the other kids as the weeks went by. He had little to no friends at primary school. He was an outcast, the older kids' entertainment.
When Will was seven and Josh was fifteen, Josh was home for the Easter Holidays, which he rarely was. Usually it was just the Christmas and Summer he'd return for. Not knowing this, the older lads invited Will to play football with them and once he realised it was another wind-up and launched himself at them, Josh came to his rescue. Although Will was often laughed at, Josh was an older boy, he was fifteen, he was cool, he could handle himself, everybody knew him. They knew he'd been arrested before, they knew he was part of a gang, they knew he could fight if he wanted to. When the older boys retreated and Josh told Will that if he was ever in trouble to come and get Josh, Will really felt for the first time that he wasn't fighting on his own. He felt like he had back-up.
Will began, for the first time in his life, to properly make friends after that. Although he was still capable of losing his cool over the slightest thing, he became friendly first with a boy who had never really joined in on the Will-taunting, and then slowly cultivated more and more friends as the years went on. Although Will was dangerous, a boy always on the cusp of losing control, the attitude had changed towards him. Perhaps it was because his attitude had changed towards other people. For years he'd never cared about other people - he was often selfish and rude and rarely thought of others. He'd never wanted anyone except Josh and his dad. But now that Josh and his dad were both disappearing far more frequently, Will began forcing himself to care and the other kids started to see him as fun. A trouble-maker, the sort of boy the mothers didn't want their kids knowing - but that's what made it alright to know him. By the time he was eleven, he wasn't the coolest boy on the block, but he had earned the nickname Archer and was often seen lounging around with a particular group of loud, boisterous lads.
Josh had already left Hogwarts by the time Will started attending. Much to the surprise of everyone, Josh had knuckled down and gotten himself ten Os in his NEWTs, an astonishing feat. When Will met Josh during the holidays, he'd changed. He was still beyond cool, but there was something about him - it was as though he was an adult. Much to Will's surprise, Josh had matured. He was quieter, more thoughtful, more precise, and he simply didn't have time for any of his old friends. He began training to be a wizarding lawyer. Will's mother had never been more proud in her life, and it was the first time Will had ever seen her cry - he wasn't even aware that she could cry, and it disturbed him. She should've looked happy, but she didn't.
Although Will had been hoping Bobby would see him off to Hogwarts, he didn't, and he was instead brought to the Hogwarts Express by his mother, Josh, and Lisbeth, who was then seven and often spent hours in her room by herself playing imaginary games, much to Will's distaste. Will hopped onto the train like he owned it, without much of a farewell as his family were not the sentimental sort. Angeline waved at him absent-mindedly, warning him to be good and clutching on to Lisbeth as though she would get lost in the masses. Josh scuffled his brother's hair and stood on the platform with his hands plunged in his pockets, looking sort of bewildered. This was the last Will saw of his family before his first year in Hogwarts. And, amazingly, Will fit right in.
Will established a firm friendship with Neil Pereira and they've been best friends since, although Will would describe him as more of a brother. Will was a holy terror, but managed to reach popularity with his classmates. He'd grown up to be a guy more than able to handle himself, and so no-one gave him any bother, although he still managed to get into arguments with people no matter how hard he tried. The point was, though, he'd come so far that he didn't really try to control himself anymore. He did develop one love other than making the most of everyday, and that was music. He'd sneaked into a gig once and watching the people on stage, he knew that's where he wanted to be. He somehow managed to save up and buy himself a guitar and much to the surprise of everyone he began to learn how to play - it was even more of a shock when he started singing, because he was actually sort of good at it. His two most treasured possessions at that time were his guitar and his dog back at home, Leggit - a completely mad dog that would only calm down in the presence of Lisbeth.
By the time Will was twelve and Josh was almost twenty, Will's dad was appearing less and less. While Will was alright with this, Josh wasn't, and when Bobby turned up out of the blue one day in the summer after having been gone for weeks, Josh was less than impressed. An argument started; Will, Lisbeth, and Leggit were ordered out of the room. While Lisbeth simply left, Will was far more stubborn, yelling at his mum (whom he often blamed for the majority of things that he didn't like), and then Josh. His dad was finally here, and he wanted quality time with him. He was furious at the rest of the family because he felt like they were all ganging up on his dad, whom he loved even more than Joshua. Eventually Josh managed to get him out of the room, and Will ended up raging in the living room on his own. He never really knew what went down between his parents and Josh, but the result was that Bobby was leaving for good. Will wanted desperately to leave with his dad, but Josh wouldn't let him. Will's mum didn't even speak, she was just leaning against the counter, looking out the window and taking a drag on her cigarette. While she was deeply upset, all Will could see was that she was just the same at any other day, and he unleashed all of his fury on her, telling her that it was her fault his dad never showed up anymore, and why would he, anyways, why would he want to come and visit her? He was so angry his magic caused the coffee cups on the shelves to slide off them and shatter onto the ground.
Throughout the course of that summer, Will attempted running as much as he dared. He'd stay out at night. He constantly fought with his mother, and it became a part of their new routine; him raging at her and her wearing a mask of indifference. Something had been broken between him and Josh, as well. Because now he wasn't angry at some kids on a playground, he was angry at his mum, and Josh wasn't going to back him up, Josh wasn't going to save him. Josh was quieter, shutting himself up in his room for hours on end. Only during the last two weeks of summer did Will and Lisbeth find out that Josh was moving to America. Will swerved around to look at his mum when Josh announced it, and yet Angeline barely blinked, making Will sure Josh had already told her, probably months in advance. Will took it the hardest; although he and Josh had been getting less close as time rolled on, Josh was still his brother, and in Will's opinion still the coolest brother ever - he needed him. Josh left anyway.
Will was fourteen when his mum got a new boyfriend, Samuel Hawes. He hadn't even been aware that she'd been seeing anyone, he just came home at Christmas and Samuel was always around. Lisbeth, who still had another year left before going to Hogwarts, was interrogated by Will. While Will's mum was sure Lisbeth liked Samuel, Lisbeth was quite contemptuous of her mum's new man and made it very clear to Will. Samuel they both found arrogant and patronising; Will, however, was much more open about his dislike for Samuel than Lara. While everywhere else he was loud and always seemed to be laughing and causing a racous, at home he was sour-faced and stubborn. Whenever Samuel tried to talk to him the response was, "whatever," or "I don't care". He managed to keep this up for a few days before Samuel made a comment to Will's mum about Will's dad. Will was so furious he almost threw the plate he was holding at Samuel's head, storming right up to the man and getting right up in his face, yelling cuss words and daring him to hit him. In Will's eyes, it wasn't just an insult to Bobby, it was a thinly-veiled insult made for Will. After this outburst, Will and Samuel no longer pretended to like each other. Will, however, did not have much of a go at Samuel again, because Lara had come to his room and asked him directly not to. Lara rarely, if ever, talked to Will directly, and she never asked him to do things for her. Wanting to be like Josh, he promised he wouldn't - at least not for the rest of the holiday. Before Will left for the Hogwarts Express, he told his sister that Leggit was hers, now, and to mind him, and not to take any crap from Samuel.
His mum, surprisingly, accompanied him to the platform. They didn't speak at all on the way there. She was chewing gum, gaze locked somewhere far away from Will, arms crossed over he chest. When they reached the platform, she told Will to be good, and to take care - it was the closest thing to "I love you" he'd gotten from her in a while. He told her he would, and for a moment they were almost civil, almost felt like comrades, until Will asked her not to go out with Samuel anymore. Angeline's nostrils had flared and she'd refused to immediately, shutting herself away from her son yet again.
Will went back to Hogwarts for the rest of his fourth year, and things had changed. Girls now showed interest in him wherever he turned, attracted to his bad-boy image. He worked out frequently and because of that had managed to acquire a rather decent body, but that wasn't just it. Girls liked something about him, and while no one could quite put their finger on it, he wasn't complaining. He was never a shameless flirt the way other guys were, though. He rarely showed interest in a girl before she did him. And he never acted like he liked them mor ethan he did, nor did he ever come out with cheesy pick-up lines. He wasn't smooth, he wasn't flirty. Towards the end of fourth year, he was attempting to get the kitchens tipsy and failed spectacularly, missing a step and ending up with a broken nose. He got a letter, but it wasn't from his mum, it was from Samuel - saying how disappointed they were in him. He was furious that Samuel was acting like he was Will's dad.
And then the worst thing Will could imagine happened; they were moving in with Samuel. Samuel was a bigshot at the Ministry and the house he lived in was big and spacious and grand, and yet Will couldn't think of a worse place to live in during the summer. The moment he was in, he was like, "right, fuck this," and he ended up crashing in a mate's for a few nights, and then another mate's, and then another. Much to his chagrin, however, he was forced to return to Samuel's. He had another go at his mum the night he was brought back; she was sitting in the living room, and he marched right in and started yelling at her, yelling at her because he thought she was just with Samuel because she wanted fancy things, yelling at her for never writing to him, yelling at her for not letting him do what he wanted to do. Samuel went to rest his hand on Will's shoulder and Will hated being touched when he was angry, and so he hit out, nearly smacking Samuel in the face. Before anyone could say anything, Will's mum had gotten to her feet, for once showing any kind of emotion as she ordered Will to his room. He left, all the fire in him distinguished.
The rest of Will's summer was spent in his room, playing guitar and singing. The rest the house left him alone except for Leggit - although Will had officially given Leggit over to Lara, the dog stayed with him most days, curling up next to him as he strummed on his guitar and sang. Will was learning how to do a thing he'd never done before; he was learning how to relax. Towards the end of summer, he began going on Leggit's walks with Lara. This was when he first began to learn things about his sister; the shyness he had always associated with her had never been there. She was just quiet. Self-contained. And really, really smart. He wondered if maybe she was so quiet because of him and Josh - Josh who had been the sociable, cool one, Will the almost-deliquent. She was also tough. Didn't put up with bullshit. They didn't exactly grow close, but an understanding grew. He promised her that he'd never leave her alone with their mum and Samuel again. Lara had only shrugged, but he still felt good about himself.
One day, disaster struck - as he and Lara had been walking Leggit out in the park, Lara had unleashed Leggit and while Will had been joking around, throwing his weight about, talking and laughing and messing around, Leggit made it towards the road and was hit by a car, killed instantly, their big, mental dog suddenly gone from their lives. Lara cried more than he'd ever seen before, real crying, and it disturbed him just as it had when he'd first saw his mum crying, and he came to the starting realisation that Lara was just like his mum, forever wearing a mask until it became too hard to. Will refrained from crying in front of anyone, firstly because Lara was bawling and he wanted to be strong for her, secondly because he felt sure that Samuel would sneer at him for doing so. But in his room that night, he left his guitar in the corner and lay in bed awake for hours, just thinking. It felt as though a puzzle piece was lost forever, and now they had no chance of fitting together at all.
This time, he and Lara both were going to Hogwarts. He'd told her to get in touch with him if she had any trouble, but he didn't think she'd get in any trouble with anyone, and neither did he. It was the first year he didn't bring his guitar to Hogwarts. Ecstatic to see his mates, he was louder than ever, hurtling all the way up and down the trainn to see everyone, tackling people in hugs, yelling that he was back, that Archer was back, and this was going to be a year of all years. Fifth year was the least eventful; he got fairly decent OWL results, barely acknowledged by his mother. He celebrated by getting thoroughly pissed and having sex with a girl about three years older than him. Sixth year was another year that went by like a shot. During these years, he did have his first and only girlfriend, and the only sort that had any impact at all on his life, a girl he often ran into at Samuel's parties in the Manor, a girl whom he'd never expected to like. Their relationship was slightly tumultous, and yet aside from Neil she was the only person able to calm Will down when he was in a rage and although their personalities differed greatly they got along in the oddest of ways, and seemed to affect the other's life even when they weren't together.
Summer after sixth year, things were tense at home. Something had changed. And then Will's mother gave him a choice that he felt sure was fuelled by Samuel; either Will started behaving differently or he had to leave. Furious with this, Will searched the house for his dad's address, finally making his way into his mother's room, a room he hadn't set foot in before that, and scrabbled through her things, finally finding a diary of hers and flicking through it unashamedly, muttering "dad" under his breath repeatedly as he searched for the address, the place where he thought he would finally be totally accepted. A slip of paper fell from the diary; the word "BOBBY" was printed over a hastily-scribbled adress. Will nicked twenty pounds from his mother's wallet and his dad's adress and slammed from the house, taking a bus to his dad's and going his way without even considering being turned away. This, of course, was a mistake.
Will's dad was with his new girlfriend and he didn't seem very pleased to see Will. He, grudgingly, let Will into his flat - which smelt of booze and was a right tip, with the furniture arranged clumsily and his washing draped over chairs and sticky plates lying on the floor - and they talked for a few minutes, but Bobby made it clear he didn't want to see his son, much to Will's shock. It was the most shattering moment of his life - to be standing in his dad's grimy kitchen, with his dad's new too-young girlfriend waiting impatiently in the next room, a bottle of alcohol balancing on her lap, and to see his dad for how everyone else saw him. A pissed wanker. A layabout. A thoroughly unimpressive man, unshaven and wearing unclean clothes, lazy and disrespectful, careless, not even man enough to take care of his own wife and kids.
He left Will alone in the kitchen, clearly expecting Will to see himself out. Will stood there for a couple of minutes, unable to move, rooted to the spot, but upon hearing his dad refer to him as a "screw up" to his girlfriend, he flew into the corridor and struck his father without even thinking, fury rushing through his body and propelling him towards the man who'd hurt him more than anyone else could. He was too upset to properly hurt him, however, and fled before the girlfriend called the police - she was shrieking her head off, grabbing at Bobby and trying to inspect him, fussing at him with her too-long fake nails and screeching at Will to leave. Finding himself crying and homeless, he walked the streets for hours before returning to his mother's and packing up, slowly. He didn't say a word to his mother or Samuel, appearing far more subdued than he ever had before. He tentatively bid goodbye to Lara, only realising afterwards that he'd promised he wouldn't leave her alone with his mother and Samuel. He made his way to Neil and Jade's apartment and asked them if he could sleep on a patch of floor - anyone who knew Will could see when he was in a particularly bad place, and it was obvious to the both that he was not fit for much else other than sleeping. Before long, he was living there, and he couldn't be more thankful. Neil and Jade became another family to Will, a different sort of family, but what he felt was the right sort of one; they treated each other right, stayed together, laughed together, enjoyed each other's company. It was something he'd never experienced before but loved more than he could ever begin to explain. A week into living with them, he wrote a letter to Josh and a letter to Lara. Neither replied.
When Will finished school, he realised that he was more or less on his own; his mother and Samuel obviously had no intention of granting him anymore money and he had no intention of going back to them, having too much pride for such a thing. He sank deeper into despair, going from his usual reckless, passionate self to a brooding, withdrawn guy, feeling the weight of everything he'd ever done on his shoulders. In an act of trying to cleanse himself, he supposed, he managed to get a job in a cafe in Diagon Alley, the Tamarisk Tree, and even though it wasn't the best pay in the world, he felt that altogether it was something to be proud of. Soon after this, however, he ran into his younger sister Lara, and was overcome with guilt by the fact that he'd left her. They ran into each other in muggle London, and by much pleading Will managed to get Lara to accompany him to a cafe nearby. There, they talked - perhaps not the sort of talk Will really wanted but he felt that it was progress despite it all. He confessed to Lara about Bobby, about how he had visited their father and he had been cast away, and he realised that he wanted to be a better brother to Lara, that Lara was just like him - Lara had been let down by every man in her life as well. He realised that even though he and Lara couldn't exactly be called close, there was a certain bond that siblings had that couldn't exactly tear them apart, and he knew then that he had to be there for his younger sister.
Not long after this, Will recieved a letter from Josh. At first, he simply gaped at the letter, open-mouthed, unsure of whether or not he was imagining it, and then a rush of emotions seethed through his body. They came quick and every time he recognised one for what it was it melted into another. The build-up of these emotions caused a small explosion, Will ending up in a rage and smashing a vase, because he had expected more than that, more than six years of hurt and then just a letter from his brother. He considered shredding it, considered storming all the way down to the Hawes Manor and punching his brother on the nose. Eventually he managed to write back, but the letter was full of fury and hurt. He wasn't happy Josh was back; that simply wasn't enough, to leave them all for six years and then to come waltzing back and start bossing everyone around. The last six years Will had been yearning for his brother, and yet when Josh came back Will hated him with every fibre of his body - although, of course, he loved him as well.
With Josh back, Will has been summoned back to the Hawes Manor, but he's reluctant to go, his only motive at the moment being to save Lara from the demons that have been destroying him from the inside out since he was her age. Not only is Will reluctant to see Josh, but facing his mother again is going to be a battle and a half for Will.
ella. seventeen. three roleplaying. gmt.
[/td][/tr][/table][/center]ROLEPLAY SAMPLE HERE. DO NOT FORGET IT.