Family Dinner location: Noxley Estate date: July 12th, 2025 outfit: grey button up shirt, black pants mentions: n/a word count: 3,211 words speaking/thinking: 0042A9 / 80A7FF ooc notes: this takes place in summer before his first year at Hogwarts

The early morning sun shone brightly through the window onto Leo’s sleeping face, causing him to stir in his bed. With a confused look on his face, Leo slowly opened one eye at a time as he started waking up. He looked at the window and saw the blinds had been opened up even though he knew they were closed when he went to bed the night before. To his right he saw his mother standing in the doorway, “Good morning, Leo, I need you to get up and get ready.” She said and Leo slowly sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes before looking at her again. “What for? Are we going somewhere?” He asked, tossing off the blanket and twisting in the bed so he was sitting up and facing her. “We have guests coming tonight so we’re going to go out to the mart to get some food. Come on now, breakfast is ready and then we will go out.” She said before shutting the door behind her and leaving him to fully wake up.

Leo stretched his arms up over his head and then in front of him before looking at the clock that sat on his side table. 8:40 am. Usually he would sleep in until at least 9:30 or 10am. With a low groan he got up and went down the hall to his bathroom that he shared with his brother to take a shower. After he was done washing up and getting his clothes on, Leo went down to the kitchen where his mother was pouring a glass of orange juice. In front of her next to the glass was three plates of waffles and another two glasses of juice. His sister was sitting at the counter waiting and turned to him as he walked in. “Morning.” She said with a bright smile. “Morning,” he said softly before he went to sit at the counter next to her. “Eat up and then we will head out.” His mother said and placed the plates and glasses in front of them.

“Where’s Max?” Maya asked as she cut into the waffles to take a bite. “He should be down in a moment.” Their mother said as she placed the final plate and glass in front of the empty seat next to Maya. “Who exactly is coming this evening that we are going out to the mart and cooking ourselves a grand meal?” Maya asked and Leo looked up curious to hear as well who was coming. “You’ll just have to wait and see I suppose.” Their mother turned to look at them over her shoulder with a smirk as Max walked in and sat down to start eating. “Finally you’re here, mother won’t tell me who our special guests are today.” Maya immediately mentioned to him but he just ignored her and continued eating.

Once they were all done eating breakfast and cleaned up, Maya, Leo and their mother took them out to the local mart. Leo hated having to go out shopping, it was a boring task that took up too much time for no reason in his mind. It also meant that he would have to be around muggles for the entirety of the trip not that he minded but one slip up would cause a whole mess of chaos for him and his family. His mother grabbed one of the carts and led the two through the different aisles of food, picking out some produce, meat, and other odds and ends to take home for dinner. Maya wasn’t lying earlier, the amount of food was enough to feed a lot of people so they must’ve been having a lot of guests over. Maybe their family was coming for a visit? But why would she keep that a secret?

After they finished paying and took the groceries back home, Maya and Leo helped their house elf Poppy put the food away. Their mother came out into the kitchen and crouched down in front of the tiny house elf, whispering something to her. After their mother left the room, Poppy began running around grabbing pots and pans out and started to take ingredients out to prep. Even Poppy was now running around like crazy so this was definitely not going to be a typical family dinner by any means. Maya leaned against the counter and looked at Poppy before whispering to Leo, “I wonder if there is something going on that we are having this special family dinner, especially since dad will be home for it and even Poppy seems to be stressing out.” Leo nodded in agreement. Something must be going on. Sadly he would have to wait to find out at dinner. With his help no longer required, he went to the study with one of his new books and sat in his favorite spot on the sofa to read, happy to have at least some time to himself now.

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Later on in the evening, Leo’s mother had asked him to change into one of his nice button up shirts and his black dress pants. Now he was getting nervous because why did he have to get this dressed up for a family dinner? Usually this was reserved for when important guests were coming or if they were going out to a fancier dinner or party. But Leo did as he was told and changed and fixed up his hair before joining his sister downstairs in their large sitting room. “Where’s Max?” Leo asked as he sat down beside Maya, looking around the room for him. “I’m not sure, I haven’t seen him for like 20 minutes or so.” She said and as she finished her sentence their Uncle Caspian and Aunt Odette along with their cousin Bryce all walked in. They exchanged greetings as everyone sat down and now Leo was even more curious as to what was happening. His father’s brother, Caspian, and his wife and son were here? They hardly ever came by except for holidays and birthdays and the occasional event. Leo was half expecting his uncle on his mother’s side, Uncle Taeson, and that part of the family to show up next but they didn’t.

Instead his mother came in and ushered everyone out to the dining room. The table was set beautifully with white and gold place mats laid out, porcelain plates with gold details with a matching bowl sitting on top of it. The cutlery was placed precisely beside each place setting and Leo noticed there was twelve spots set up. He sat beside Maya and leaned in towards her, “If there is a spot for all of us, grandma and dad and Max, who are the last spots for?” Leo asked in a hushed tone so no one would hear them. Maya shrugged her shoulders but she seemed like she was deep in thought as she didn’t answer him. His grandmother came in and took the seat next to him, smiling at him and patting his head as she went behind him to her chair.

The room was still as the only noise came from Leo’s mother and Aunt Odette whispering to each other but he wasn’t able to make out what they were saying. Suddenly everyone’s attention shifted to the opening that led into the room where a tall man, a shorter lady with curly red hair, and girl with matching red hair came in along with his father and Max. Leo turned to Maya whose eyes were now wide as if she recognized them. Leo tried to get her attention by nudging her arm but to no avail. He turned to his grandmother as the five took their seats at the table but she just gave him a soft smile and looked across at the guests.

His father sat at the head of the table, with his uncle to his left and Leo’s mother to the right. The unknown man sat next to his uncle, the lady beside him and the girl across from maya with Max sitting across from Leo. His curiosity was growing by the second as he waited for some sort of explanation as to who these perfect strangers were at their dinner table that everyone else seemed less shocked by. His father, Sylus, stood up and smiled out at the guests that were seated around the table. “Thank you all for coming this evening, I’m so pleased to be able to share this meal with you all on this lovely occasion. Getting to enjoy this meal with our family and our lovely friends, the Whitfields.” Finally a little bit of clarity to the current situation in front of him. The Whitfields, who were they that they were joining them tonight?

His father sat down having completed his brief speech, their food appearing in front of them. Their meal featured some cooked vegetables, mashed potatoes, a piece of steak dressed with some sauce and some greens on top and some soup in the bowl as well as their glasses being filled with wine besides Leo’s which was filled with water. The smell alone had Leo entranced and he wasted no time digging in to the delicious meal that was in front of him.

Throughout the meal everyone was engaging in some light conversation. Leo was too busy scanning the guests that had joined them. The man seemed to carry himself well, he was dressed up in a blazer and dress pants and even donned an expensive looking gold wristwatch. The lady beside him that Leo presumed was his wife, was dressed in a long dark blue dress and had a fancy looking gold necklace draped around her neck with matching earrings. They definitely had to be some important rich friends of his father but that still didn’t explain their appearance here tonight. The girl was rather quiet throughout the meal, only speaking every so often when she was spoken to and even when she spoke it was soft and he could hardly hear her from across the table. She had wore a light blue dress with frilly short sleeves and had a locket on. The girl, whose name he had still not learned, continued to glance to her side where Max sat and occasionally they would talk quietly to each other and she would give him a small smile. Leo sat quietly in his seat and just focused on eating.

With the conclusion of their main meal, the dishes were cleared from the table and everyone sat awaiting their dessert. Poppy brought everyone a bowl with a layered trifle in it. A soft sponge cake at the bottom, fruit jelly above that, some custard on the next layer and topped with whipped cream and some fresh berries on top. As Poppy placed the dessert in front of Leo, he leaned to the side to her and smiled, “You outdid yourself tonight, Poppy.” The tiny house elf smiled at the compliment before placing the last one in front of his grandmother. Before anyone could even lift a finger to grab their silverware to eat, Sylus stood up at the head of the table again, everyone’s attention on him as he began to speak again. “Everyone, before we enjoy this lovely dessert I have a wonderful announcement to share.” He started and looked towards Max and the girl beside him. “Today we are joined by my dear friends, Henry Whitfield, his wife Mary and their lovely daughter, Serena as you know. But I am pleased to announce that, after some talks between us, Max and Serena are set to be engaged.”

‘Engaged? Max?’ Leo thought to himself as the news sent a shock through his mind. Max was only 18, just about to turn 19, why would he be engaged and to a girl who was just being introduced to them now? Leo couldn’t help but stare across at his brother and the girl, Serena. Everyone else around the table seemed happy, pleased by the news and clapped for them, all except for Leo. To his left, Maya forced a smile on her face and clapped once for the new couple before placing her hands back under the table in her lap. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking but she didn’t seem fully shocked or excited by the news of her twin’s engagement.

His father continued his speech and held his wine glass in his hand as he spoke, “This engagement we have planned for the two of them will bring both of our pure blood families together.” The rest of his words drowned out as Leo focused on the words he just said. Was this all set up? Were the two of them put into this relationship if you could call it that simply to secure the two family’s pure blood lines? Leo’s mind wandered and he found himself getting upset at this news. It didn’t make any sense. Max had girlfriends during his time at Hogwarts. He would tell Max and Maya about them but had never actually brought them home to meet the family, was this the reason why? How long had this been planned? Was Maya and Leo going to be the next ones set up? Sylus raised his glass up and others around the table were soon to follow, “Let’s cheers to the lovely couple, to Max and Serena.” Everyone repeated him as they toasted the two but Leo could see the uncomfortableness between them as everyone took a sip of their drinks.

Leo couldn’t listen to this anymore. The usually quiet and well behaved boy’s anger was at a level he had never felt before causing his eyes and hair to turn a fiery red color. He quickly excused himself from the table without a word and ran down the hall until he reached the doors to the backyard. He went outside and sat on the steps, pulling his knees up and resting his head on them while covering it with his arms. “I can’t believe this..” He said softly to himself and heard the doors open behind him followed by footsteps but he didn’t look up to see who it was. Luckily it was his grandmother that came out to join him, standing on the steps beside where he was sitting. “Leo, are you okay, 내 천사 my angel?” She asked him even though it was apparent to everyone probably that he wasn’t. “I understand this is probably coming as a shock to you.” She said and ruffled the top of his head. “They should have let you know sooner.”

“Sooner? How long was this a plan?” Leo looked up at her and asked. “I don’t understand the need for this? Why do they have to do this? Do I have to marry someone they choose too?” The questions were met with silence for a moment and seemed to confirm his fears. “Your parents feel it is necessary, yes, to preserve the family line.” His grandmother said and sat down beside him. “You know your grandfather and I were set up? Although it was a shock at first I think for both of us we came to love each other very much and because of it I have my beautiful children and grandchildren.” She smiled at him, gently caressing his cheek. “할머니 grandmother, I don’t want that.. I don’t want to do that..” He said in a whisper to her but she could only offer him a hug to comfort him. “Why don’t you take a moment to calm down and come join us for dessert?” She said and patted his head once again before going back in. Leo looked up at the sky, the evening sunset coloring the sky with blues and pinks with the white clouds rolling across it. He sighed and stood up, going inside and walking upstairs to his room where he decided to stay until the guests were all gone.

When everyone had left his father called him downstairs to the sitting room, where his mother was sitting beside Maya while Max sat in one of the other chairs. His father stood next to the fireplace, his hand on the mantle as he looked at the bricks. Leo slowly made his way into the room and sat down in a chair away from everyone. His hair and eyes had returned to their normal color but the air in the room was tense and he worried he would have another episode. “Why would you embarrass us like that, in front of our guests?” His father asked, his voice clearly angry and shifted his gaze to the family portrait hanging above the mantle. After Leo didn’t immediately answer his father turned to look at him and waved his hand in the air as he spoke. “Not only did you disrespect our guests and your mother and I, but also your brother with your actions. Even worse you let your ability get the better of you in front of them. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Leo kept his eyes down and spoke softly, “I.. I just don’t understand why you are forcing the two of them to be together..” Once the words left his mouth he immediately regretted it as his father’s face turned red and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the young boy. “This match has been set for at least four years, the Whitfields and us have discussed it for a long time and we agreed on it. Your brother and Serena agreed to it and were excited to announce the news. Luckily for you, they were understanding of you being younger and graciously agreed that the engagement would remain on.” Leo’s eyes glanced over at his brother who was trying hard to avoid his gaze. “Max, why would you agree to this? Maya you can’t think this is okay, right?” He said and looked back and forth between the two twins. Maya dared not speak up in front of their father but Max stood from his chair and marched himself over to Leo. “You don’t speak for me. I agreed to this of my own free will and Serena and I get along well. You don’t know anything.”

“Everyone, let’s calm down, Leo made a mistake and I’m sure he was just concerned about his older brother.” His mother chimed in finally, going over to Max and pulling him away from Leo. “Honey, why don’t we leave this here. No harm was done.” She said giving a pleading look to her husband as she tried to avoid any more fighting. “Very well, Leo, you are grounded for a week for your outburst.” His father said before everyone quietly left the room, going their separate ways.

Leo ran back up to his room and closed the door behind him. He didn’t understand why he should be punished for this and why Max was so heated about what he said when at the dinner table he clearly seemed to be feeling the opposite to what he just said. Leo laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and sighed. The events of the night replayed in his mind until he eventually drifted off to sleep.

stats: STA. 5, EVA. 5, STR. 5, WIS. 5, ARC. 5, ACC. 5 ——————————————— metamorphmagus