Post by Callan Urquhart on Jul 12, 2011 10:40:54 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] callan iain urquhart. thirty-one. auror. jude law. | |
[rs=2] | Callan Iain Urquhart was born on a sweltering evening on the nineteenth of August to Grainne Urquhart nee McNally, a woman of no particular beauty but a certain light that drew people towards her due to her cheery nature and lovely smile. Although it had been no picnic, Callan's entrance into the world had been far smoother than his three older brothers, who came along to the hospital with their father not an hour later, racing into the room and elbowing each other for the best view of their Mother. Their little brother did not call for the sort of attention that their mother did - they reached up with chubby hands, fingers spread wide, trying to grab their mother's attention and fill her in on what had happened since she'd last seen them until their father, Iain, ordered them to shut up and calm down in his deep voice, and they subsided, giggling. Iain drew a chair up beside his wife's bed, pulled the now second-youngest at four, Garrett, up onto his knee and pointed at Callan. "There you go," he'd said, and the boys all quietened down, as their father rarely sat one of them on his knee. "That's your brother. Callan." The first photograph of the family plus Callan was taken by a young nurse who offered to get a snap of the whole family. The photograph remains framed on Grainne's mantelpiece - in it, she is smiling in a tired yet triumphant manner, eyes full of love for her son, Iain is looking chuffed, although in a far more understated manner than his wife, never being one for "mushiness" or dramatic shows of affection. The three boys - Aodh, at eight, Connor, at six, and Garrett, at four, are beaming toothily up at the camera, Aodh pointing at his younger brother proudly, almost as though Callan was a trophy he had won. Callan is a small tuft of dark hair over a soft blue blanket in the photo, wrapped in his mother's loving hold. After the photo was taken and the camera handed back over to Iain - who wasn't saying much, due to, as only Grainne knew, being a bit choked up - Aodh, Connor and Garrett began clamouring to hold Callan and had to be rebuffed, gently but firmly, by Grainne. By the time Callan was four, he had gotten very much used to trailing after his older brothers. By that point Garrett was eight, Connor was ten and Aodh was twelve, and on holidays or weekends they'd race off out into the countryside before Callan had even gotten his shoes on his feet, not wanting a four-year-old they'd have to take care of stumbling around after them. This would, of course, upset and anger Callan greatly, but as he was never particularly babied by his mother or father, any sort of tantrum he had was mostly ignored. He would go into the kitchen, sniffing, and recount the latest tales about how his nasty brothers left without him and wouldn't wait, with only one trainer on, and his mum would cluck sympathetically and yet absent-mindedly. She'd pick him up from the ground and sit him on the kitchen table beside her and tell him not to mind his brothers, and when they finally returned for dinner in high spirits, faces streaked with dirt, she'd berate them, threaten not to feed them ever again, and then dole out big portions of hearty meals to everyone. Callan's brothers didn't always leave him out, however. When they'd trail home after school on weekdays, Callan would rush out to greet them from the sitting room, yelling about his day and demanding a piggy-back ride from Aodh, who would mostly comply, and Aodh would constantly be in deep shit from their mother after swinging Callan around boisterously in the sitting room and nearly breaking something. Connor was the nastiest to Callan, although he was never truly malicious, merely too cocky from being a big brother to let the fact that he was stronger and quicker than Callan slide. He was surprisingly kind to Callan as well, however, at times, and once Callan hit four a three months Connor, the best footballer in the family, decided it was high time that Callan learned how to play. One evening before dinner Connor brought Callan out to the back yard and taught him, very earnestly, everything he knew about football. Callan still remembered that day fondly well into his teens, most particularly because their father joined them. It was always a special treat when Iain joined the boys in football. He was a very good footballer, and had the love of each one of his sons - although he and Aodh could sometimes be at odds - but he was not the most hands-on father. He was a bit gruff and intimidating and didn't kiss or hug them very much, in stark contrast to Grainne, who was constantly fussing over them. He was loving and always paid attention to them, but he was blunt and didn't give out praise unless the person truly deserved it. He did have a soft spot for Callan, however, and sometimes when everyone else was out Callan would be sat on his knee and Iain would sing, softly, to Callan, in his very gruff, off-key voice. By this point, Grainne was expecting another baby. Their house was a tip, dealing with four boisterous young boys prone to messy eating and throwing things around and playing football indoors, but Grainne was comfortable with the thought of another baby. Iain shrugged and went along with it, knowing that they had just enough money to support a house of seven although it might prove a bit difficult. Aodh was most blase about the whole affair of Grainne being pregnant again; he'd lived through her having three boys so far and was thus unruffled. Connor, who had taken to either arguing furiously with or copying everything his older brother did, was secretly quite excited but feigned the same amount of nonchalance. Garrett and Callan, however, were both very excited and showed it, racing around in glee after their mother told them. Callan became, during the months his mother was pregnant, a follower of his older brothers, becoming quicker as he got himself ready in the mornings and racing after them to play football. Because he was the youngest they'd often stick him in the goals or when they went out 'exploring' - although Aodh was not impressed with the term exploring - they'd make Callan carry the bottles of water or race on ahead. Although generally he was quite eager to do things for his older brothers - particularly Aodh, whom he considered the coolest of the cool - his mother often warned her 'wee baby Callan' to stick up to his troublesome older brothers. Callan soon became as mischevious and boisterous as his older brothers, however, and he, too, was being threatened about not being fed before long (the threat was never carried out - every evening massive portions of food would be practically inhaled by each boy). When Callan was still four, his mother gave birth to Jennifer Urquhart - the first girl of the family, which caused quite a stir. When they went to the hospital to visit her, they were simply awed by the fact that they had a sister called Jenny, wrapped in a pink blanket. Aodh was trying to act like his father, cool and detached and mature, but even he found it difficult not to coo at his sister, and when Grainne ordered Aodh to pick Jenny up, Aodh only hesitated a moment before nervously taking his new baby sister into his arms, looking around in a panicky manner as to whether or not he was holding Jenny right. Soon he relaxed, however, growing used to the feeling of this new human being in his arms. Grainne and Iain, after sharing a look - Grainne looked smug and Iain thoughtful - announced that they had something to tell Aodh. Iain cleared his throat, clapped Aodh gently on the back, and asked him if he wanted to be Jenny's godfather. It wasn't the usual sort of arrangement - generally people's siblings were not their godparents, but Aodh, very quietly, looking straight at his baby sister, accepted. Callan was elated by the fact that he wasn't the baby of the family anymore. For the first few weeks, the boys clamoured to hold Jenny, to play with Jenny, to put Jenny to bed, and Aodh was especially tender towards her. Although he was turning thirteen soon and had become moodier than ever he was always especially gentle with Jenny, and whenever Jenny was snoozing and one of the younger ones was being loud or bold Aodh would threaten to wallop them, reminding them that his godchild was trying to sleep. After the first few weeks, the boys grew used to Jenny - although she was still something of a novelty and they enjoyed showing her off to relatives and friends - and continued on their usual outings during the weekends and holidays. Aodh participated less, as did Connor, both of them opting for going over to friends' and playing footie at their houses, and Aodh getting the bus to the nearest town with his mates every now and again, but as they lived in such a remote area they were basically stuck with each other and as they all grew older their games became more and more tough and violent. To make it fair, when they split into teams Aodh would be on one and Connor the other, unless they were both in crueller moods and decided to team together and kick the ball at Garrett and Callan, making sure to hit them as hard as possible. Whenever their father caught them at this he'd call Aodh over and ask him what the bleep, exactly, he though he was doing, picking on his younger brothers, and Aodh and Connor would both calm down after that. By the time Callan was seven, Jenny had turned three, Aodh was fifteen, Connor was thirteen and Garrett was eleven. Aodh had shot up in height, and although still a wee bit gangly had gotten considerably burlier and looked quite the man. He sounded like a man, as well - his voice had broken when he was nearly fourteen and he'd been prey to much teasing from his entire family when his voice would rocket upwards suddenly and then go down. He could be quite moody, but was generally a pretty good teenager, although he did drink a fair bit every now and then and still played rough with his brothers and when he played footie matches in school. Every now and then he got sent off for fouling someone, and he generally took this quite badly - Callan has many a memory of Aodh scowling as Grainne lectured him on being a terrible loser. Callan was still a fierce admirer of Aodh, however, even when Aodh was mean to him, and even looked a lot like Aodh had when he had been seven - sandy haired, with a cheeky grin and long legs for a seven-year-old. Callan was lumped quite a lot with Jenny after school, when the others had a lot of homework, although sometimes he could get terribly over-excited and knock over all of Jenny's toys pretending to be a dinosaur. Jenny, of course, would clonk Callan over the head with something in return, shouting, "No, Callan!" Callan vividly remembers appearing in the doorway of the kitchen and telling on Jenny the first time she'd walloped him, sniffling, and his father saying, "You're complaining that a girl hit you?" Since then, Callan only reported Jenny's offences to his mother. Callan was a fairly popular boy - really, at seven years old, nobody cared that much. All the boys played football together constantly during break-time and chatted in class, sometimes driving their teacher demented although ultimately Callan was one of the better boys in the class. The only thing odd about Callan were certain unusual occurences that happened every now and then - for example, once when they were in PE and playing football Callan accidentally kicked a ball up onto the roof, where it got caught and stayed stuck up there. The teacher and other students turned away, groaning, having to use the other ball, when Callan yelled at them to look. They all whipped around to see the ball lift into the air and then float into Callan's arms. The teacher was positively bemused, but shrugged the occurence off. Another time, when Garrett was being snide to Callan, the bowl of porridge Garrett had been eating from suddenly shattered, leaving the table covered in shards of the bowl and the remnants of the porridge and Garrett flabbergasted. Connor, Aodh and Callan had roared with laughter, and Jenny joined in simply because she had begun to copy everything Callan did, watching Grainne take Garrett by the ear and order him to clean it up immediately. Even Iain cracked a smile, shaking his head at Garrett, who scowled at them all but did what his mother ordered - none of the boys dared disobey their mother in that sort of humour. And so, if you fast forward to Callan's eleventh year, there wasn't anything that seemed particularly special about him, unless of course you were Grainne. By that point he was moderately handsome - the sort of boy you knew would be a looker in years to come - good at sport, adventurous, and able to argue the hind leg off a donkey if he had to. He'd grown up confident and unafraid to encounter someone, capable of talking to anyone due to the ages of his older brothers. He was anticipating going to the secondary school all three of his brothers had attended. Garrett was still there, as was Connor, but Aodh had finished a couple of years previously, managing to finally pull his socks up and achieve good grades and get into a nice enough college. This, however, all changed when a Ministry Official came knocking on the door of the Urquhart's, ready to explain that Callan was, quite frankly, different. That very day was a Saturday. Connor was upstairs with his girlfriend Andrea, who had blonde hair and wore flowery leggings and who all the family except Jenny and Iain took to - Iain neither liked nor disliked her, and Jenny seemed to think that her brothers were like her own living, breathing toys and was not at all amused by the thought of sharing. Jenny was seven at that point, and just as the Ministry Official was rapping on the door Callan had set Jenny on the kitchen table where she was swinging her legs and he was preparing 'a sandwich of all sandwiches', as he called it, for her, dancing around the kitchen and chucking in every ingredient he could find, putting on a terrible French accent as he pretended to be a chef, making Jenny giggle. This, of course, was something Callan never would've done in front of his brothers or father but as none of them were in sight - Aodh was away and Garrett holed up in his room on his computer - Callan had freedom to act as silly as possible. He spent time with Jenny quite a lot, although he often found her annoying, although when he was in good humour he'd teach her swear words and how to play football and giving her piggback rides around the house and up and down the stairs. Jenny, being in a house full of boisterous boys who rarely took her delicate frame into consideration, was constantly being injured; Callan would be swinging her around and she'd end up colliding with a piece of furniture; Garrett would bring her around on his bike around the garden, brake suddenly, and she'd tumble onto the ground; she'd be jumping from one piece of furniture to the next and when Connor wasn't paying attention she'd miss one of them and end up sprawled on the ground, wailing. Callan and Jenny had heard the bell ringing, and the visitor be ushered into the sitting room, and the low buzz of conversation, but Callan had continued with his act, eventually finishing up with a flourish and handing the plate to Jenny, who took one bite, spat it out again and passed it back to Callan, who laughed, just as his mother called for him. Grabbing Jenny, and hoisting her onto his shoulders, Callan procceeded jauntily to the sitting room. The guest was sat across from Callan's parents, perched on the edge of the sofa and looking slightly worried, probably because Iain was scowling at him so ferociously Callan was taken aback. Iain prided himself on manners, often clipping one of the boys over the ear if they forgot to say 'please' or 'thank you'. Jenny clambered down and raced over to her father, climbing onto his knee - Jenny was the only of the children who'd ever actually sat on his knee, the boys always waiting to be pulled on and generally disappointed - while Callan stood self-consciously in the middle of the room, as the guest had turned his attention to Callan and was gazing at him keenly. Grainne was pouring three cups of tea and had already set a plate of untouched biscuits on the table. Callan dithered about asking what, exactly, was going on, when his father said, suddenly, in a low, grumbling voice, "This is bollocks." Grainne, although seeming unpeturbed, rapped Iain on the knee (Jenny had begun giggling, recognising the word) and said, mildly, "Iain." Callan, meanwhile, rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, and the visitor explained, rather earnestly, that, no, it wasn't bollocks, not at all. Iain insisted that he didn't believe it, while Grainne seemed totally unexcited by the situation and sipped at her tea, an absent expression on her face. Eventually, Callan piped up, asking if they wanted him or not. He'd realised that this was probably something to do with bills or plumbing or something boring like that and it'd be best to take Jenny and go. The guest, however, told Callan to sit down. Iain cut in, crankily, saying, "I'll give the orders in my house, thanks very much," before gruffly directing at Callan, "Sit down." Callan sat, widening his eyes at his mother, who offered no further explanation. And then everything was explained. The fact that Callan was a wizard; the fact that there were lots of wizards; the fact that they had schools and hospitals and a Ministry and absolutely everything else. Callan thoroughly believed he was dreaming for a good ten minutes, before coming to realise that his father was right, it was bollocks, and then coming to the conclusion that this was a big practical joke. Seeming to sense their hesitation, the Official got to his feet and turned the then-empty teapot into a rabbit. Iain had roared at the man to return his teapot and then turned on his wife, demanding why they were paying attention to a crackpot magician. What followed was one of the most vividly remembered afternoons by Callan, Jenny, Iain and Grainne; it was the first time any of them had witnessed magic before, and the Official performed quite a lot, until it was foolish to deny it was all a lie, a joke, a send-up. Grainne headed upstairs and explained, very politely, that Andrea had to go home. Although Connor protested Andrea left immediately, being the polite sort, and then Connor and Garrett were both wrenched from their rooms and brought down to the living room, where the entire family was briefed on the magical world. They even, at some point, included Aodh in the conversation, ringing him up and putting him on speaker, although Aodh was unamused, believing it all to be a send-up, and hung up every time they rang him until Iain barked down the phone that Aodh had better stay on or he'd have a bone to pick with his dad. Other than that, Iain barely said anything, staying seated in his armchair, cracking open beer after beer and drinking deeply. To cut a long story short, the family accepted Callan was a wizard, although it was mind-boggling to say the least. Garrett, particularly, was jealous of Callan, which was only shown by Garrett's completely ignoring Callan at dinner and holing up in his room even more frequently. Jenny had to be trained not to blab on Callan, although Connor pointed out that no-one would believe her, anyways. Callan himself was shocked, but also excited, thrilled to be part of a different world where his brothers were but also weren't, thrilled to be just Callan, not Aodh's or Connor's or Garrett's younger brother. And so, needless to say, Callan Urqhuart began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the official story to everyone other than the immediate family being that he had gotten a place in a very posh boarding school further up the country. This was met with slight confusion - surely Callan could just be sent to the nearest secondary, like all the other Urquhart boys? - but was only hot gossip for about a week or two before it died down and their neighbours latched on to something else. Iain didn't accompany Callan and Grainne to the train station - he'd not escorted them to Diagon Alley, either, or taken any interest in Callan's books or wand or uniform, the only time he'd put in his opinion about his school supplies being the time he forbade Grainne to buy Callan an owl - and Callan was deathly scared that he'd offended his father. The night before Callan left he was unable to sleep and padded down to the kitchen to get some orange juice. There was his father, drinking a glass of water and looking far older and wearier than Callan had ever seen him before. They had a short, whispered conversation, in which Iain encouraged Callan not to be nervous and clapped his hand on Callan's shoulder, which was generally the closest thing to a hug you could extract from Iain. Callan was touched by this, and realised then that his father was not angry about him being a wizard; he was out of his depth. On September first, Grainne and Callan left the house very early in the morning, having to catch a train to London, yawning widely and barely awake. Grainne had given the lecture she usually gave to all of her children before they went back to school the night before as opposed to her usual slot, September first. They'd sat in a line on the sofa, Jenny wriggling around excitedly, Callan, Connor and Garrett slumped down, arms folded, replying to everything Grainne said with a "Yes, Mum." Iain had sat in the corner and tacked onto any command he saw fit to add to, but mostly kept quiet, letting his wife take the floor with that one. The rules were mostly simple; do your homework, be good, shut up if the teacher's talking, don't resort to violence if someone annoys you (this was always followed by a pointed look at Garrett), remember you are representing your parents so don't make us look like idiots who can't raise children, etcetera, etcetera. It felt odd, tip-toeing out of the house so early in the morning, carrying a heavy suitcase full of clothes and essentials and books. They gathered up a bag of snacks to take with them, pocketed their tickets and money, and hopped into the car, Callan falling asleep almost immediately. It was no surprise to anyone except Callan that he got on marvellously in Hogwarts; the train journey had some slightly dodgy moments, including when Callan, high on nervous energy, got engaged in an argument with a boy in his compartment that started off as joking and ended up rather vicious. The other first years in their compartment attempted to laugh it off and steered the conversation to a safer place but tension hung between Callan and the boy regardless and when they got off the train Callan made sure to stay as far away from him as possible. They weren't in luck, however, as they got put into the same boat together to cross the river, and the journey across was spent in silence, the girl who'd been ushered in with them nervously chattering away to both of them in a high voice, never getting an answer to any of her questions and wringing her hands together. Callan, instead of feeling sympathetic towards her, thought very much that she ought to calm down, and almost told her so, before deciding he'd best keep it to himself - he knew from experience with Jenny that girls could be mad, and he didn't want to be chucked overboard. The sorting hat, sensing bravery and loyalty - although not overlooking Callan's rash nature and, at times, cockiness - slotted Callan into Gryffindor house, thus commencing Callan's career at Hogwarts, a very happy career indeed. The boy Callan argued with on the train was in Gryffindor, as well, and while for the first few nights they constantly engaged in arguments or debates, they soon began appreciating that the other one had the same sense of humour as them, that they were both witty and quick and ran on the same frequency. A week or so in, and they were friends. Callan, in fact, formed a friendship with most in his year and house - he was particularly close to the Gyffindors, and got on well with a couple of others from the different houses. He was on fairly good terms with most people, really, gaining a sort of status as one of the 'cool' boys in the year and generally well-liked by his Professors, often engaging in banter with them, although every now and then his homework could be shoddy from a lack of trying. The first years flew by; Callan adjusted surprisingly easily to being magical. He was a bit of a messer in the classroom, but only borderline cheeky, and only ever got detentions sparingly. He managed to recieve the first detention out of any of the firsts years, however, which won him loud applause from most of the other Gryffindors, his offence being that he had added a product he had purchased from Zonko's to one of the nastier Slytherin's potions while his back had been turned, a product that promised to call a small explosion - and a small explosion it did cause. Unluckily for Callan, he had been spotted and admitted to the deed when the Professor asked him about it. When Callan wrote and told his mother about it - he was always very honest with his mother - he got a letter back from her telling him that when he came home in the holidays he wouldn't be fed for a week, which made him laugh. He was, of course, fed, but he was told off loudly as he ate. And so Callan Urquhart seemed to have it all - well, most of it! He was popular, in a group of well-liked boys who, when they were together, all managed to be as cocky as one could imagine. He was well-liked by Professors, although, as he got older, he was told to pull his socks up every now and again. And he was also handsome - by the time he turned fourteen his voice had broken and he began looking like a man, developing faster than all of his friends and getting taller, stronger. He was also a reserve for the Gryffindor Quidditch team - when he first came to Hogwarts he was amazed at the sight of Quidditch, even the thought of Quidditch, and could barely fathom it. His pure and halfblood friends attempted to teach him throughout first year, and initially laughed at his rubbish balance and lack of skill on a broomstick, but as he grew used to Quidditch and being on a broom he got better and better, and eventually the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain recruited him as a reserve, even hinting that there may be a spot for him the next year when some of the players left school. He also kept in contact with his family, being very important to him. When he first started Hogwarts, he wrote quite a lot to his mother, and then sort of lost contact, distracted by Quidditch and pranks and girls and all sorts of other things, but his mother would not be forgotten and wrote constantly. Although sometimes Callan could forget to write back immediately, he always kept in touch, recieving frequent letters from his mother and sister, and every now and then one from Aodh or Connor. He was in a different world from his family, though, and sometimes it felt strange writing to them, as if he was betraying one world by connecting with the other. He never got homesick for home, exactly, but sometimes he'd yearn to be playing footie with his brothers or preparing Jenny a sandwich or being fussed over by his mother or sitting in the living room reading the paper as his father did the same on the other side of the room. He always returned home on holidays; sometimes he'd stay with a friend for a couple of days, and in the summer for a couple of weeks, but he liked being home. When Callan was fourteen, Jenny recieved a Hogwarts letter, which caused another big stir in the family. Callan wasn't sure whether or not his sister would be magical, and was, although he acted casual about it, quite pleased that she was, as she knew that she'd been hoping to be. As Callan was fourteen and Jenny eleven, he would often treat her in a patronising manner, making fun of her constantly and going out of his way to annoy her, but he also loved his sister dearly, and was very close to her. They had a fiercely competitive edge to their relationship, as well - growing up with four older brothers made Jenny competitive and strong and keen and sassy and in the summer Callan and Jenny would spend days on end playing football outside, although Callan would often cheat or use his superior strength against his younger sister. It seemed natural, to Callan, for Jenny to be attending Hogwarts - where else could she go? She belonged at Hogwarts, with him. In the magical world. Initially when Jenny started first year and Callan started fourth Callan would ignore her when she approached him or attempted to sit next to him at dinner or lunch or breakfast. He feigned the sort of too-cool-big-brother act until Jenny set him straight by marching over to him one day and kicking him on the shin. Callan's friends howled with laughter as Callan hobbled around, face screwed up in pain. Since then, however, Jenny gained the respect of her older brother's friends and Callan acknowledged Jenny's presence whenever she approached him, which she did regularly, and they became used to talking quite a lot throughout the day. Fourth year was the year Callan and his friends really began drinking - at parties or in the holidays - and the year he had his first girlfriend, the girl whom he and the boy he'd had a fight with on the train had sat with on the boat in first year. Not nervous anymore, she was a pretty, popular blonde with a high voice and a cheerful disposition. Callan truly liked her, and considered her one of his best friends - not to mention that she was a wicked snog and gave brilliant blowjobs. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that she was never a challenge - she never countered his opinions, never disagreed with anyone, and while any guy would kill to be with her, Callan broke up with her and they remained broken up for a brief period until the girl won Callan back after cornering him at a Christmas party wearing not very much and offering quite a lot. At the end of fourth year, a Professor that had always given Callan a hard time called him up as the class for filing out to lunch. Callan's friends sniggered, clapping him on the back sympathetically, and Callan sauntered up towards the Professor, smirking at him. While none of the other Professors had much of a problem with Callan, this Professor - a man with a wrinkled face and eyebrows drawn in a permanent scowl and salt-and-pepper hair - had taken a disliking to him immediately, and the two were engaged in a cold war of sorts, the Professor finding fault with Callan everyday and Callan going out of his way to give him something else to find fault with. And so it was much to Callan's surprise when the Professor leaned back, studied him intently for a moment, and then said, "Know what, Urquhart? You're smart." Callan was taken aback for a moment, but struggled not to show it, shrugging. "I know I am," he'd replied lazily. The response was that no, Callan didn't know; the Professor told Callan he could be anything - a healer, a ministry official, an auror. If he bothered himself to work, he could be anything, because he was one of the smartest kids in the class. Unfortunately, he was also unbelievably lazy and far too cocky for his own good. With this, the Professor dismissed him, and Callan, for lack of anything else to do, left the room, brow furrowed. When Callan returned to school the next year, he began working harder than he had before. He still went to parties, but not as frequently, and he still managed to have a social life; but during the evenings he would spend an hour or two focused on his books, much to the amusement of his friends. He'd broken up with his girlfriend for the second time, and although she continued to fancy him they remained friends, although Callan's mates berated him for letting such a hot girl go. Callan waved this away, not at all bothered by the teasing. His grades climbed; he was still cocky, but there was a certain amount of maturity that he'd gained during the summer between fourth and fifth year. He'd gotten more handsome, as well, and was definitely considered one of the best-looking guys in the year, although sometimes he was shadowed by the musclier guys as he was quite slight. Midway through fifth year, he began dating another girl, this one with hair dyed black and eyes rimmed with eyeliner who wore tight, sparkly tops and who was a year older than him and thus seemed to feel as though she was superior to him. Callan's OWLs went by quickly and he felt that, on the whole, he had done remarkably well. The night he finished his OWLs he lost his virginity to the girl he was going out with, and he spent the first week of the summer at her house - mostly in her room fooling around on the bed while her parents were out during the day. He and his girlfriend broke up towards the end of summer, after he found out from a close friend that she'd been cheating on him with a guy who'd already left school. Feeling more embarassed than devastated, Callan holed up his room for the last week of summer, until Garrett barged into his room and told him not to be such a pussy. Callan decided that yes, Garrett was right, he shouldn't be such a pussy, and readied himself for sixth year. He wasn't going to be the guy who got cheated on. He was Callan Urquhart, funny and popular and witty and cocky, and nobody was going to faze him. And that was how he entered sixth year; sauntering into the Great Hall, tie loosened, the first few buttons of his shirt undone, hands deep in his pockets, bantering with his group as they made their way towards the Gryffindor table. Only it seemed there was a new recruit in Gryffindor - a sixth year who'd transferred from Beauxbatons, by the name of Ellen Chaucer, who immediately caused a stir due to her good looks and long legs. Callan's interest was instantly piqued, watching her appreciatively as the other guys jostled around him. His anticipation for the new girl was short-lived, however, because instead of Callan waltzing up to Ellen and charming the socks right off her, their first conversation was, in fact, an argument, and quite a heated one. It was plain to by their very first encounter - Callan Urqhuart and Ellen Chaucer hated each other. Their personalities clashed. Their opinions differed greatly. While all of the other boys decided that they'd definitely do Ellen Chaucer, Callan had scowled in the corner, protesting every now and again that she was an uppity bitch with a stick up her arse. At any given opportunity Callan would attempt to rile Ellen up, being extra-annoying whenever he could, because that was how he rolled in those days. Despite this hatred of one another, they did end up having the occasional drunken snog in a broom cupboard, and Callan had always been very enthusiastic until they ended up rowing all over again and he got slapped. Then, of course, he would have to return to the dormitory, tail between his legs, and get teased horribly for the red mark on his face. His friends found it absolutely hilarious, how much he hated Ellen Chaucer, and did whatever they could to egg him on when he was in an argument with her. Callan went through two girlfriends in sixth year - he got back with the cheerful blonde he'd been with in fourth year, and then dated a new girl after that, another blonde, quieter and far more sarcastic. Sixth year passed without much of a hitch, aside from the bickering with Ellen which took up many hours, especially seeing as they were in the same dorm. In seventh year, Callan once again returned to the cheerful blonde, and she lost her virginity to him on her seventeenth birthday. Callan worked quite hard for his NEWTs, and felt he had done just as well as he had in his OWLs - and in his OWLs he'd recieved six Os and four Es. When Callan graduated from school, he kept in contact with quite a lot of people - the cheerful blonde, all of his doormates, and a scattering of people from other houses - but lost contact very willingly with Ellen Chaucer. Callan achieved five Os in his NEWTs - enough to be an auror, his secret ambition ever since the Professor had mentioned to him he could be one. Callan had researched aurors all through sixth and seventh year and his heart was set on it. He wouldn't be anything but an auror; it was his absolute calling. He planned to go straight ahead and train as an auror, but first he visited home again, as he still needed to sort out housing for himself, and told his parents of his plans. His father was not pleased with the idea of Callan working in the wizarding world; the longer Callan had been at Hogwarts the more his father had hated the idea of losing both Callan and Jenny to the wizarding world forever. Callan was flabbergasted at this, explaining to his father that he was still going to visit as much as possible, that he wasn't really lost. Grainne confided in Callan later on, while they were alone, that Iain wished for Callan to put all of the wizarding stuff behind him, to go to college, to live a muggle life. It was what Iain truly desired, and he wanted Jenny to do the same. Callan at once stormed in to confront his father, and thus an argument ensued, Callan's father angrier than he'd ever seen him. Grainne broke it up quickly, giving out to them both and ordering Iain to sit down. That night, Jenny, who was thirteen, sneaked into Callan's room and Callan whispered urgently to Jenny about what had happened, as she'd been at a friend's for the day. Jenny was just as angry and shocked as Callan - she'd always been Iain's favourite. Both of them felt as though their father wasn't accepting a part of them, which hurt Callan quite a lot. The next morning he very stoically informed his mother and father he was off to the Ministry to train as an auror, ruffled Jenny's hair, and apparated to Diagon Alley. He bunked at a friend's apartment for a week or so before finally sorting out his own living space, which he shared with a guy who was a great cook and the cheerful blonde - now simply a very good, platonic friend. They went out for coffee in the morning together, cooked together in the evenings and had friends over almost every single night. Many of these friends hinted at Callan and the cheerful blonde - Holly - about them becoming a couple again, but they both had come to the conclusion that their relationship had never really been a relationship - it was more of a friendship, and they co-existed very peacefully. Auror training was difficult, but Callan excelled at almost every level, his only real trouble being potions. He struggled through this, however, getting every friend he could to help him out, and by the time he was eighteen he had gotten into the Department under Dennis Creevey, another auror and his boss, whom he admired and respected very, very much. Callan was one of the hardest workers out of all the other aurors and although he was also one of the youngest he got lots of praise and he was often given jobs that people as young as him weren't honoured with. He had to keep in great physical shape as well, of course - lots of running and swimming and just general excersize to stay fit. He barely saw Holly or the other guy they lived with, and crashed reasonably early every night, amusing both of his flatmates very much. Fast forward two years to a twenty-year-old Callan, somehow having managed to be a supervisor over a certain group of aurors - although Dennis Creevey was still his boss. Callan didn't think much of getting a new recruit when someone reported it to him, but his jaw almost dropped when he saw who was undoubtedly Ellen Chaucer in his Department. Holly had told him that Ellen was a journalist in the Prophet - not that he'd cared, but Holly hoarded gossip and reported back regularly, whether or not anyone was listening being beside the point. After feeling shocked, though, Callan felt a tidal wave of smugness wash over him. He was her boss. She had to report to him. And so Callan swaggered over towards her and, perhaps a bit unprofessionally, did what he had always done best - try to rile up Ellen Chaucer. The two consistently clashed, arguing constantly and managing to bring out the worst in each other's personalities but also the best in each other's professional side, their results whenever they worked together being excellent. Callan found, much to his unamusement, that his friends in the office were constantly cracking jokes about his and Ellen's arguments, which they believed to be only a mask over the sexual tension between them. Callan protested strongly against this, which was met by even more amusement. And then, the icing on the cake; Callan and Ellen were to be partners. The boss decided it, saying that there were too good a pairing not to be partners - despite the fact that their personalities clashed they could crack a case in no time. Callan considered protesting but knew there would be no sense to; besides, it was true. He did his best work with Ellen, much as he hated to admit it. Callan still kept in touch with his mother, but his father had not spoken or contacted him since he had left when he was seventeen. Callan simply couldn't understand what his father's problem was, had never truly realised how uncomfortable his father had been with the idea of him being a wizard. He was also angry at his father for never speaking up while he was at Hogwarts, for leaving it so long. To make up for the separation from his parents, Callan sought out the company of his brothers. He regularly saw Jenny, as they had grown closer and closer since they were the only magical two in the family, but he didn't see Aodh or Garrett as much as he'd have liked. They all got together at Aodh's - Aodh was twenty eight at the time and married - and had a laugh, the Urquhart brothers together again. Callan was surprised, at the end of the night, when Garrett revealed he was getting married and asked Callan to be best man. Callan excepted, thrilled at the offer, and the three brothers toasted to each other's health and happiness. Callan brought Holly as his plus one and the two had a good laugh, carefully ignoring when people nudged them and asked them if they were together. Callan also spent a good portion of the night with Jenny, and saw his parents for the first time in an age, which he'd been dreading. His father shook his hand, and his mother pulled him into her arms, hug him so tightly he almost stopped breathing for a moment. She then transferred her hugging over to Holly, who looked surprised but appeased by such affection from a woman she'd never met before. Callan got incredibly drunk that night, as did the other three brothers, the bride, the bridesmaids, and Grainne, leaving only Jenny and the children and teenagers sober. At three o'clock in the morning Holly took Callan by the arm and Jenny took him by the other and they escorted him up to his room before going to theirs, and Callan burrowed under the covers and snoozed peacefully for hours on end. He awoke with quite the hangover and was dragged out of bed by the same two blondes, and forced to get dressed for the barbecue they were having with the bride's family. Callan still recalls that weekend as one of the best he's ever had, the only shadow being the fact that his father seemed to resent his choice to work in the wizarding world still. When Callan returned to work, he and Ellen Chaucer were ordered to pose as a couple whilst going undercover on a job. Callan found himself, by this point, not exactly hating Ellen anymore - he wasn't sure how to label what he felt, exactly, and was puzzled by this. He didn't know how to not hate her. It was Ellen. He owed what happened next to the fact that he was confused, and the fact that he hadn't had any sex in quite awhile - and what happened was that during the two being undercover as a couple they eventually ended up kissing passionately against the wall, and in no uncertain terms did Callan feel any hatred towards Ellen then - he wasn't even thinking, simply full of lust and attraction for his partner. After their kiss, Callan was never quite able to treat Ellen how he always had before, as that kiss felt different from the ones he'd experienced with her before, although he wasn't sure how, exactly. Although he denied it to Holly, who suggested it when he confessed later to her, he was beginning to develop feelings for Ellen Urquhart. Jenny came to the same conclusion after Callan had told her, which irritated him greatly. After Callan had turned twenty-one, he moved into his own apartment, explaining to Holly that he needed his own space, which Holly took very gracefully, but ordered him to visit as much as possible. Honestly, he'd felt as though he'd been intruding, as Holly and their other flatmate, Jacob, had begun seeing each other romantically and he was not mad about hearing them going at it like rabbits through paper-thin walls every night. Holly was still one of his best friends, though, as was Jacob, and so he agreed to visit as much as possible, although he far preferred living on his own, despite the fact that his new flat was smaller than the previous one. Callan had regular updates from Jenny and Grainne about Iain, who was remaining stubborn and not wanting either Callan or Jenny to work in the wizarding world. Callan had to bump into his parents again, of course, when Aodh had a baby girl who he named Samantha and the family were invited to the Christening. Callan had asked his father to accompany him to Aodh's study and tried to explain to his father that this was his ambition, that his job was brilliant, that he was getting lots of money, that he was happy, this was what he wanted. Iain did not seem angry; he seemed resigned, and explained that he wasn't happy about it, but he saw no point in trying to reason with Callan any longer. Callan pointed out that there was no reasoning, but Iain shook him off, left the study and returned to the party downstairs. Nothing was resolved that day. The next year, at the office Christmas Party, Callan and Ellen ended up, yet again, kissing passionately. Both had been in denial for the past year or so but they finally succumbed to each other under the heavy influence of alcohol and Ellen spent the night at Callan's, leaving the next morning with her cheeks flaming. The next day, of course, rumours were running wild about Callan and Ellen, the partners who many people suspected to have more than a friendship going on. They finally managed to become civil to one another, and even had a sort of a friendship, although they still managed to argue and clash and Callan sometimes forgot who, exactly, Ellen was, and found himself slipping into daydreams about the night she'd spent at his. The next year, when Callan was twenty-three, he was ambushed by his mother and Jenny. His mother wrote to him saying there was a get-together at their house and he was to come. When Callan did arrive, the only people there were Jenny, Iain, and Grainne, and Iain looked surprised as hell when Callan came in the door, clutching a bottle of red wine. Jenny was nineteen by that point, and had already started working in the wizarding world, but was far more persistent about getting her dad to see why he was being stupid about it all than Callan had been and thus did not have the same tension between her and her father than Callan and Iain did. Grainne ordered Callan to sit and Jenny ordered the both of them to have it out, as it was silly for everything to fall apart over something like that. The four - parents and youngest children - sat in the sitting room for hours, trying to sort out their problems, the fact that Iain was uncomfortable with his children being magic, the fact that he didn't want them to be magic and pretending they weren't by wanting them not to work in the wizarding world was just silly. Mainly because of Jenny and Callan's determination, the issue was sorted out. Iain relented and apologised, and Callan and his dad and Jenny spent the night discussing football. That year at the Christmas Party, Callan and Ellen finally got together officially. This delighted many of their co-workers and was a shock to their ex-classmates, although Holly and Jenny both claimed they knew that it'd happen all along. Callan found himself falling in love with Ellen, thought that perhaps he'd been falling in love with her all along - she was gorgeous and leggy and smart and fiery and an absolute challenge, that was for sure. They still argued something fierce if they disagreed with each other but arguments always ended in a kiss or a cuddle or a trip to the bedroom. Callan never would've believed it when he was seventeen, but two years later, at the age of twenty-five, he was married - to Ellen Chaucer. Or Ellen Urquhart, even. His entire family was invited to the event, plus all of their friends and a scattering of other people, and it was a fantastic event. Callan, who'd thought he'd never get married until he was about thirty, knew that he was absolutely making the right decision, never having been sure of anything in his life. The next year, they had a beautiful baby girl they named Eilidh, and Callan doted on her something incredible, forever playing with his baby or rocking her to sleep or preparing a bottle for her. He would show off his baby proudly to his friends, thrilled at being a father. He was also thrilled by the fact that when he took Eilidh to meet his own father, Iain was so much more affectionate than he'd ever been with his own children, even crawling around alongside Eilidh and playing peek-a-boo with her for hours. Callan loved his father, but he didn't want to be the sort of father he was; a bit like a grizzly bear, really. The intimidating sort of father, the one you wouldn't expect hugs or kisses from. The sort who didn't praise you regularly. The sort you were a bit afraid of. Since Eilidh's birth, Ellen has had two miscarriages, misfortunes only Callan knows about, both of which absolutely killed him. Callan and Ellen are still very much in love six years into their marriage, both at the age of thirty-one, with their five-year-old daughter Eilidh and another baby, a boy this time called Alfie, just born, although the baby is surprisingly small and underweight which thus calls for some panic. Callan's biggest wish is that baby Alfie is fine, that Eilidh and Ellen will continue to be fine, and they will grow together as a happy family. His biggest fear, of course, is losing his family, as he truly loves them more than life itself. He'd still count Jenny as one of his best friends, getting on even better with his sassy little sister than he had when he was younger. On the whole, he's a very happy man, and he's got his fingers crossed that everything will remain that way. |
ella. fiveee hundred. loads. gracious i don't know!. |
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