Post by Casey Winslow on Nov 23, 2011 22:48:54 GMT -8
__________________________________________________________
CASEY THOMAS WINSLOW
thirty-three. fugitive. order of the phoenix. former ravenclaw.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ALIAS(ES): Some people have called him Case.
BIRTHDAY: January 12, 1978
BIRTHPLACE: Wales
CURRENT: Order Safe House
FAMILY:
- Father-in-law: Thomas Price, murdered. Pureblooded status.
- Mother-in-law: Evelyn Price, murdered. Pureblooded status.
- Wife: Evelyn "Evie" Winslow, aged 33. Pureblooded status. Fugitive.
- Son: Julian Winslow, aged 14. Pureblooded status. Fugitive.
- Daughter: Lydia Winslow, murdered. Pureblooded status.
- Son: Oliver Winslow, murdered in womb. Pureblooded status.
- Daughter: Olivia Winslow, murdered in womb. Pureblooded status.
- Evie's Son: Alexander Williams, aged 6 months. Pureblooded status. Fugitive
- Father: Mark Winslow, deceased. Pureblooded status.
- Mother: Paige (Thomas) Winslow, aged 65. Pureblooded status. Slave.
- Brother: Christopher Winslow, aged 45. Pureblooded status. Slave.
- Sister-in-law: Sarah Winslow, aged 44. Muggle-born status. Slave
- Nephew: Jason Winslow, aged 21. Half-blood status. Fugitive, strategist for OotP.
- Niece-in-law: Jennica Winslow, deceased. Pureblooded status.
- Great Niece: Katie Winslow, aged 2. ¾-blood status. Fugitive.
[/li][li] Sister: Laura Travis, aged 41. Pureblooded status. Fugitive.
[/li][li] Brother-in-law: Michael Travis, aged 42. Half-blooded status. Citizen. Wizengamot.
[/li][li] Brother: Jack Winslow, aged 39. Pureblooded status. Fugitive, living in Switzerland.
[/li][li] Sister-in-law: Lily Winslow, aged 37. Muggle-born status. Fugitive, living in Switzerland.
- Niece: Anne Winslow, aged 17. Half-blooded status. Fugitive, living in Switzerland.
[/li][li] Sister: Millicent Cuthbert, aged 37. Pureblooded status. Slave.
[/li][li] Brother-in-law: Matthew Cuthbert, aged 38. Muggle-born status. Slave.
- Niece: Catherine Cuthbert, aged 2.5. Half-blooded status. Citizen, adopted out.
- Niece: Diana Cuthbert, aged 2.5. Half-blooded status. Citizen, adopted out.
[/li][li] Uncle: Leeroy Wallace, aged 64. ¾-blood status. Senior staff in Wizengamot.
[/li][li] Uncle: Casey Winslow, murdered. Pureblooded status.
[/li][li] Aunt: Darleen (Thomas) Smith, aged 61. Pureblooded status. Fugitive.
[/li][li] Uncle: Joel Smith, aged 63. Halfblooded status. Fugitive.
[/li][li] Aunt: Amy (_) Winslow, aged 61. Pureblooded status. Fugitive.
[/li][li] Uncle: David Winslow, aged 61. Pureblooded status. Fugitive
- Cousin: Michael Winslow, aged 38. Pureblooded status. Fugitive, Order.
- Cousin: Sam Winslow, aged 34. Pureblooded status. Prisoner of War, Order.
- Cousin-in-law: Lucy Winslow, aged 33. Muggle-born status. Fugitive, Order.
- Second Cousin: Isabella Winslow, aged 2.5. Half-blooded status. Fugitive.
BLOOD: Pureblood
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
WAND: Holly, 11” unicorn hair
DESCRIPTION: Casey stands at 5'10" and weighs in at about a light 150 pounds. His brown hair, once kept neatly cut, is now a little longer and more unkempt, blocking his vibrant blue eyes from view should he not brush it back. Most days, he sports some degree of a beard and mustache, seeing as he's a little too busy to bother with such trivial things. Casey’s chest is covered in wounds from years ago when Derrin White attacked him with Sectumsempra during the portkey battle as well as part of his neck from an attack by Lucius Malfoy towards the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts. He also has a scar from where the Dark Mark used to rest upon his left forearm from his time undercover for the Order as a Death Eater. Aside from that, he has the usual sorts of scars from battles, quidditch accidents, normal day-to-day accidents, and a few scars from self-inflicted injuries in a few places no one else sees. A man with his past can’t expect to have a pristine body.
PLAY-BY: James McAvoy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PATRONUS: What your character's patronus is/would be and if formed and/or attempted.
BOGGART: Considering he’s already had just about every bad thing that could possibly happen to him come true, there isn’t much Casey fears anymore. Death seems but a comfort. However, if push comes to shove, he fears losing his son either physically or emotionally or both. He also does fear the possible, realistic end. He feels like he’s caught in the middle of some modern tragedy, and he doesn’t like it.
MIRROR OF ERISED: If Casey were to stand before the Mirror of Erised, he would see himself and his son happy, maybe a wife for his son and grandchildren. Of course, the only way he sees this ever happening is if this current regime is beat back. So, at this point it seems like a distant dream.
HABITS: When extremely nervous, Casey tends to scratch the left side of his neck with his hand despite the lack of an actual itch. He also tends to ramble on when nervous, excited, or extremely stressed or worried.
PET PEEVE: People who don't do what they're supposed to/need to do.
STRENGTHS:
• Logical. As a former Ravenclaw, Casey knows how to logic things through. He tends to over think when he does try to do this and thereby overcomplicates things from time to time, but in the long run this does prove to be a skill. It’s what saved him in several occasions when he was a spy within Voldemort’s ranks many years ago.
• Athletic. His body may not be extremely well built, but it is toned and strong. He’s the sort of guy one would look at in a sports field and bet against, but his slender frame has served him well, both on and off the pitch. In the air, it allows him quite a bit of speed and agility that some bulkier players do not have, and off the pitch, it has aided him in dueling.
• Masquerading. Take your turn, take a ride/On the merry-go-round/in an inhuman race/Eye of gold/Thigh of blue/True is false/Who is who? In these days, it would seem not everyone is who they seem, whether they’re hiding their true intent or their true personality, beliefs, or even allegiance. Casey is no different. He has taken on the persona of his former Quidditch team mate and friend, Kevin Bristow, to achieve his own ends. This skill was originally perfected during his time undercover as a Death Eater; little did he know that it would be used at a later date. That time has prepared him for the atrocities he sees in the prison on a regular basis. Compared to what he helped with, most of that seems like nothing. In a way, putting on another’s face helps keep him focused and on track. He just dreads the day when it’s a friend or family member he sees tortured or imprisoned. It’s hard enough stumbling upon his sister and her husband as slaves within the Puxley Manor.
WEAKNESSES:
• Emotional. Almost as a paradox to his logical abilities comes Casey’s emotional side. It has always been his one weakness that he can’t seem to completely shake, and his opponents have picked up on it, too, in the past. Derrin White, for example, used his love he felt for his wife against him. Casey has improved his ability to hide his emotions immensely, however, so this is no longer his main concern at least if it were to be used in such a way. However, his emotional side seems to be able to win out in many instances. (Take, for instance, his actions in the thread “Lips of an Angel,” which ultimately cost him an early extraction of his wife.)
• Depression. While he is out of his former depression now, it is still a constantly looming dark cloud that he has to fight against on a daily basis. It’s hard to do, given the circumstances being what they are, with his family dead, enslaved, working for the enemy, or Merlin only knows where and his wife believing herself the wife of the enemy, but he’s been managing to keep his eye on the “prize.” However, being found out and being given one push in the wrong direction, and the delicate balance could be tipped off scale.
• Lack of faith. This is a major one. Casey doesn’t believe in anything at all in this world except perhaps love, and even his belief in that is faltering thanks to the death of his youngest child and the abduction of his wife. Everything he’s ever known or come to love has been stripped from him, and he feels life is all about pain, that nothing good can come from anything, and all good things come to horrific ends. Pessimism is his god, and it makes him hard to be around at times. Optimism just pisses him off, especially when it’s overboard. There’s nothing in this world right now that is worth being happy about. People are enslaved on a somewhat daily basis, prisoners are being tortured, Trevor is ruling, Death Eaters’ dreams are coming true, and the bastard gets his wife. Yeah, a loving god would do that. At least no one claims the fates to be nice, but no, even them? He likes to think he has some control over his destiny and life or he wouldn’t bother trying to get Evie back or exact revenge. He’d just accept fate and move along like a mindless drone, but he knows he’s not that. He has a brain, two hands, two legs, two eyes, and a brain—all he needs to succeed in his quest. His lack of a belief system in anything besides taking care of his family does affect his logic at times. It also affects his trust in his own abilities, though such a thing is mostly affected by a period of depression or constant failure.
TRAITS:
To find ten words and say they summarize perfectly the complexity of Casey Winslow's personality would be to fool yourself. Ten individual words might reflect a few aspects but to fully think you know him by them is rickety thinking at best. Years of life and the experiences it has brought have carried him through the tidal waves of life and transformed him from the young, reclusive bookworm he was before he met Evie Price to the lovestruck fool he was as a newlywed to the man he is now today. However, he would be the first one to tell you he wished he still was that young, innocent, and naïve. At least back then he hadn’t felt the ill effects of love. Back then, everything had still new and not yet experienced by him when it came to love and therefore rather romanticized when he had given thought to it. Back then, he hadn’t faced the harsh realities of life and the emotional pain that now seizes him almost every single day.
But, he has to accept that gone are the days of whimsical, carefree trips with Evie after finding a babysitter for the kids, and gone are even the not so whimsical, carefree days that they at least spent together even if they weren’t entirely enjoyed. However, while he acknowledges it, it doesn’t mean he accepts it. It’s too difficult for him to do that as it feels him with a deep sense of despair that’s almost too difficult for him to shake off, and considering that he has an almost thirteen-year-old son to raise, he chooses to ignore the gravity of his situation and the tough possible reality of the end all of his plan.
In some ways, Casey hardly recognizes himself anymore. The old Casey would have frowned down on polyjuicing as a dead friend, considering it meant disposing of the body so that the family wouldn’t find out. The old Casey would have never considered killing someone an option. The old Casey never would have dared consider allying himself with the Death Eaters even if it achieved his ends and was for the greater good. So, in so many ways he’s changed, and he’s not quite sure that it’s for the better. Yes, he does feel that in many ways he’s a stronger person, but at the same time, he feels he’s weaker in that recently he’s been having to question so many of his old moral code to explain away his actions to himself in a way that he can live with them. It lends itself towards a lot of personal grief, but such is life to Casey. Pain is one’s best friend; it lets him know that he’s still alive.
The part that has stayed that is also good in his eyes is his love for Evie and for his son. He’s just not quite sure whether his love is bordering obsession currently when it comes to Evie or not. It’s a fine line, and he doesn’t want to cross it, but he loves her, and he wants her back. He wants her safe. He wants her to remember, to truly remember, and to live a fulfilling, happy life. Arguably, she’s happy with Trevor now, but that’s only because of lack of knowledge, because of ignorance, and he can’t allow that. Still, he has to find the opportune moment when she trusts him to tell her the truth, and he’s not quite sure if he wants to consult a psychiatrist or a psychologist on the matter of the human brain or not. Working at Azkaban, he does have access to a psychologist by the name of Ike Malcolm.
Only time will tell what comes of Casey or even his plight, but he’s hoping for the best even if gut instinct from experience tells him hoping is only setting himself up for disappointment.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
HISTORY:
Childhood
Casey Thomas Winslow was born on January 12, 1978 at 4:32 a.m., 5 lbs., 11 oz., 18 1/2" long to Paige (Thomas) Winslow and Mark Winslow. He was the ninth and last child of the couple, brought into the world with 11-yr-old Christopher, 9-year-old Gladys, 7-year-old Laura, 5-year-old Jack, 3-year-old Chance, and 3-year-old Millicent in the waiting room with their Aunts Darleen, Marsha, and Amy and Uncles Joel, Leeroy and David as well as their cousins 1-year-old Sam and 4-year-old Michael and their Grandmothers Mary and Lauren and Grandfathers Logan and James, all but the youngest few eagerly expecting the announcement of his safe arrival. All but Chris and Gladys and the adults were asleep, Chris and Gladys keeping each other awake by playing, having to be told constantly to keep quiet, their baby cousin was sleeping and their younger siblings. Like a broken record, adults were.
Finally at 4:32 a.m., everyone almost nodding off, the door could be heard opening, and everyone who was still hanging onto consciousness practically jumped, some standing, the rest sitting. Chris and Gladys were the first to go in, being the new baby's siblings. Both were only allowed to look at the new baby, considering the time, but soon they had to leave and the adults took turns, holding him.
'He's not fussy, Paige; that's good,' his grandmum had told his mum while holding his newborn form in her arms.
His mum had been all smiles. She knew the work that would be involved, but that didn't matter at the moment. She'd enjoy her son, spoil him when she could. He was her baby boy.
Casey, however, ended up being the one baby that seemed to have all the problems. Colic, ear infections, caught nearly everything that went through the house. Usually she'd managed to keep the babies from catching things, but it seemed no matter how hard she tried, no matter what precautions, Casey caught everything. Therefore, he was pretty much her fussiest baby, but she couldn't blame him. This only caused her to be overprotective of him, made her take interest in every aspect of his life. Her baby boy wasn't going to suffer anymore after that tough first five years of life.
Growing up, Casey could get away with almost everything that happened between himself and a sibling, seeing as Paige figured he was least likely to be the instigator, as that was how it had often been between herself and her sister, Darleen. Seems she overlooked the fact that Darleen had often annoyed her. Though this would seem to give the tendency that Casey would have grown up acting like a spoiled brat, he didn't really. Instead, he chose to be pretty quiet, rarely really instigating any fights between himself and his siblings. It was better that way. Less of a chance of their ganging up on him. Plus, his dad was enough to scare anyone into a hole and make him refuse to come out, so he figured out that being quiet and submissive was more advantageous in the long run at a fairly young age.
Entering Hogwarts was an exciting time for Casey. He looked at it as a way to get away from his siblings and parents (mostly parents) and also learn how to do magic like they could. Get back at them after a year, he would. On the train he stuck close by his cousin Sam Winslow, who was a second year Ravenclaw, seeing as Milli and Chance’s friends were much more intimidating since they were so much older. In reality, he actually tried hanging out with Milli, but her friends had done the embarrassing ‘Aww…he’s so cute!' thing and they both had a mutual understanding that he had to get the hell away, even if they were for two very different reasons.
When they arrived at the Hogsmeade station, Casey followed Hagrid like so many others had done before him. Getting into the boat with a few icky girls, he felt squeamish and for more reasons than the fact that girls had cooties. Water wasn’t his thing. He was terrified of it and didn’t know how to swim and was afraid of drowning in it should he fall out or the Giant Squid Chance had told him liked to eat little first years with blue eyes and brown hair decide he looked like dinner. In fact, he even put on a hat made of aluminum foil that his brother had told him would ward the thing away. The girls had giggled at him, and he had turned red and shrunk down, taking the thing off and tossing it into the lake before resuming paddling, his head down and eyes staring at his black robes, or what he could see of them in the darkness, as he listened to the girls chatter.
By the time they reached the castle, Casey was too tired, cold, and hungry to care about the things the girls noticed about it, and he more or less stayed off by himself as he walked with the group behind Hagrid to the chamber where they waited outside the Great Hall. When a woman with a face that reminded him of a fish introduced herself as Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, also the Head of Gryffindor and transfiguration professor, his attention was drawn immediately to her, taking in every word of her speech with the sense that what she had to say was important or she wouldn’t be there right now. He didn’t want to be caught off guard and look stupid out there since he knew that he’d be before the whole school. That alone made his stomach do cartwheels. The thought of tripping over his own two feet or his robes, which were almost too long made it do back flips.
When told to line up, Casey moved to do so like some sort of loyal dog, being pushed out of the way by the group of forty amassing first years. He wound up second in line after all was said and done, much to his dismay. As he walked across the stage, a loud cheer rose from the Slytherin table from his brother Chance as well as something to the effect of, “Make me proud, baby brother!” His sixth year brother Jack and his fourth year sister Milli countered that cheer in favor of their own respective houses. He chewed back his lip, feeling his cheeks burn a bright red as he looked towards his standing brother before he himself slid up onto the tall stool and felt McGonagall put the hat onto his head. The thing contemplated Hufflepuff for a moment but quickly declared after a few “Hmm…I see” type of phrases, “Ravenclaw!”
The table cheered him on, and Casey walked towards the table, not looking anyone in the eyes as he searched for Sam and slid in to sit beside him. He rested his elbows on the table and his face in his hands. That had been the bravest moment in his life so far—at least that he could remember. He was glad it was over, and he had to recover from the shock. He could have sworn he would have a heart attack, the way his heart had been racing. But after a few moments of having his face covered, he brought his arms down and watched the rest of the ceremony, talking with Sam from time to time and wondering when it was that the meal would be served. He was famished!
His first class was potions with Professor Snape and it was Ravenclaws and Slytherins. When he rose his hand and got the answer correct and continued to raise his hand, ‘nerd’ and ‘show-off’ were the milder names that the Slytherins called him after class after pretending to want to be his friend. Chance hadn’t warned him about Slytherins being so mean-spirited. Milli had, but his brother had reassured him that Slytherins weren’t all that bad. Now he was sure his brother had been lying or was crazy. Rejected, Casey had made his way back to his common room for his free period.
He made a few friends that year, but he was mostly around his cousin, who likely didn’t mind it sometimes but other times felt him a tag-along. Casey couldn’t help it. He knew Sam wouldn’t be mean. They were cousins, and they knew each other, and during holidays and other times during the year they’d always got along. Grades had been excellent that year, but he excelled at flying, and his parents had sent him a few rewards. First, it was an owl, which had, unfortunately, been sent out only a few times before a larger bird of prey took it out. That, or it decided to run away and never returned. Now-a-days, Casey figures the prior is more likely than the latter.
His next year was about as interesting as the watching a cow for days on end eating grass, laying down, resting in the shade aside from Jack’s graduation at the end of the year. He made a few new friends, kept up his good grades, drifted a little more from Sam, and all was well and good in the world for him as he settled more into the school. He knew to avoid Slytherins, to look out for two of the red-heads in Gryffindor who were likely to pull some pranks, and what not to do in order to continue on his detention-free path. He also learned that no Defense teacher made it past one year, seeing as they had a new one this year and the last one had apparently ran for his life after an unfortunate accident in which his face was severely disfigured amongst other reasons.
During his third year, Harry Potter made it to the school, which intrigued Casey. After all, who didn’t know about the boy-who-lived? Even he was guilty of trying to get a glimpse of that scar on more than one occasion. It was like having one’s favorite superhero prove to be real and not fiction. Naturally, he had known Harry was real to begin with, but this was so strange to actually see him and meet him in person. The school was abuzz with the latest Harry had done, and Casey was guilty of keeping up with it even if he didn’t pass the gossip along. He knew how twisted some stuff could get.
This was also the year that he first joined the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as seeker. The try-outs were shaky, but overall he must’ve done the best job. It was probably due to his slender frame and generally smaller size, which gave him the edge of quickness and agility that his competitors couldn’t have. When first year Harry Potter gained the spot opposing him on the Gryffindor team, it did nothing for Casey’s nerves, and he dreaded the game with Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor all season long, and when it finally came, Potter was out of commission. He felt stupid then, worrying all that year. Gryffindor had to forfeit and the game was in their favor.
His fourth year was filled with fear as the deadly Basilisk was released from the Chamber of Secrets. The uncertain murmuring between the professors set him on edge, not certain what was going on exactly other than students and ghosts alike being found stunned. He never came face to face with the creature, nor did he do much to figure out what was going on. He simply traveled in groups with his fellow Ravenclaws to classes, meals, and other things, and spent a lot of time outdoors. He was scared, dreading what might happen to him, not giving much heed to the bloodlines of the people being attacked. For all he knew it was a professor or that creepy janitor Filch. Everyone always joshed that he was secretly a homicidal maniac seeking refuge under guise of a caretaker.
His mum, on more than one occasion, wrote to him to see if he didn’t want to come home and finish out the year under her instruction. His answer was always ‘no.' As much as he wanted out, he knew his mother would do him no good. He’d be worlds behind the rest of the students, and she’d baby him too much. Besides, Chance would call him a pansy, and he still lived at home. Pride? No, really? He waded through the year, keeping his marks up as he buried himself completely into the work he had to do to forget his own nervousness. Exams finally came around, his marks staying high as usual, and then finally the end of the year was approaching and the mystery was solved. A basilisk.
The very name of the creature made a shiver of excitement but at the same time of anxiety go up his spine. He knew about them. He’d read about them once in a Care of Magical Creatures textbook Jack had had. Snakes were his favorite creatures, and well, the idea of the basilisk was enthralling. One creature holding so much power to it despite being so venomous it shouldn’t require such abilities? It was humbling, all the same. He could have died, and he didn’t want his mum and dad to know, but his dad worked at the Ministry. He’d have heard regardless if any word was sent from the school to the parents. End of the year festivities ensued, feeling much more light-hearted now that the threat was gone.
He’ll never forget how tightly his mum clung to him when he arrived at the London station that year. It was embarrassing, and at the same time, he felt sorry for her. She’d had to sit all year worrying about him from the time of the first attack, and now she was here, holding onto him for dear life, sobbing tears of, from what Casey could figure, relief and happiness to have her baby boy home alive. For once in his life, he didn’t protest her hugs. It felt the same way to him, even if he was less expressive about it to her than the rest. Milli was equally as excited when he walked through the front door with their parents. She told him how worried she was, which he’d gathered by her lengthy letters that rambled—something he knew she only would do speech-wise if she was highly nervous about something.
Summer could not have ended any sooner for Casey. He loved his family and knew they meant well, but they were all over him and hardly would give him a second alone. He heard the words ‘I love you’ more often than he had ever heard them in his lifetime prior to that summer, and it was getting to the point that he was taking them for granted and saying them more habitually and out of duty than anything else. It was a fun trip through Diagon Alley that year. He received a new broom for Quidditch, and he knew had it not been for all that had happened the school year prior, he would never have gotten it. They wanted him to be as safe as possible, and he felt guilty as they put the broom up on the counter to be bought. He tried to talk them out of it. “Mum, really, I don’t need it.” Didn’t work. Why’d he have to say, “Yes,” when they’d asked him if he’d wanted it when they saw him stare at it? “Dad, I’d rather have that one,” pointing to a less expensive broom.
They hadn’t budged, and new padding had been added to the queue. If he could have insisted on wearing another sibling’s old robes and uniform to offset the costs, he would have, but none of his other siblings had been in Ravenclaw. Chance had been Slytherin, Milli had barely made Gryffindor, Laura had been in Hufflepuff, Jack had been Gryffindor as had Gladys, and Chris too had been Gryffindor. He, Laura, and Chance had been the odd ones out, though Laura at least had the house in common with their Mum. His dad had been Gryffindor, so even that hadn’t been possible. So, in the end he’d had to get new robes and uniforms. He’d grown some over the summer, though Casey hardly counted it as too much taller, but his mum had insisted he’d not be wearing floods to school and making people think they were poor despite living in a nice manor home.
So, new books, broom, padding, and uniforms in hand, the family had made it down the Alley to a safe place for the three of them to apparate. Of course, Casey had to do Side-along, but that was beside the point. The good-bye at the train station was painful. Not in an emotional way for him, but because of how tightly his mother was clinging to him and how low on the totem pole she was placing his reputation. He was already labeled a nerd. Did she really have to get him teased by the Slytherins for being a ‘mummy’s boy’? Of course, it took forever for even his dad to manage to pry her off their baby boy. He had given his son a quick hug with a pat on the back and sent him on his way onto the train.
He couldn’t find a secluded compartment at all in the train for him to sit in and read a book, but when he found the third year, blonde beauty that was Amie Seams alone in a compartment, he came in nervously, managing to drop his trunk as he opened it, dumping out everything, underwear and all. Quickly, he shoveled everything into his trunk, not caring at the moment whether or not it was tidy, and with what little sense of dignity he had left, he took out a book and closed the trunk. He then set the book down on the seat and lifted his trunk up to the rack above them and then sat down, turning so his back was against the wall of the train and his legs were sprawled across the bench.
He didn’t get much reading done that trip, far too caught up in trying to sneak glances at Amie. He talked to her a little here or there to find out how her summer went and stuff. He’d known her since they were both in Ravenclaw, but he had to say over the summer some things had changed in her appearance that he liked. He was much too shy to make a move. Much, much too shy. But, it was in trying to find the courage to ask her out before someone else did that he managed to ignore the escape of Sirius Black and become almost totally oblivious to it.
He finally found the courage with only two months left of the school year. Better late than never, right? Well, Amie accepted, which sent Casey’s self-esteem and confidence through the roof. They studied together, hung out in Hogsmeade together, and were practically inseparable. It was towards the last week of school when he decided to break it off. She was too young for him, he’d decided, especially as certain desires started to develop that she could fulfill but he hadn’t felt the urge to ask her. He wasn’t ready for commitment, and his dad had always stressed since they had the talk that girls considered it an emotional thing and not to take advantage. He’d put it as gently as possible.
That summer was boring and uneventful. Apparently an escaped criminal hadn’t scared his mum as much as a possible killer inside the school. Made sense to some degree, but not much. But, when had his mother ever made much sense? Anyway, he spent most of his time at the lake near their manor, swimming when it felt too hot for him, skipping rocks, and reading. It was a nice environment, so why not take advantage of it? Besides, it got him away from his parents and the few siblings that were still living at home all day practically unless one ventured out to his self-proclaimed spot. Usually they left him alone except to call him to lunch, which was usually, embarrassingly enough, by use of the Sonorus charm, but he still chose to spend his time there.
Sixth year: the year it all began. Rumors were spreading through the grape vine about something happening this year at the school as he boarded the train, heading off to find his cousin Sam with whom he tended to spend such rides to the school. He and his cousin briefly speculated before turning topic to predicting what the disaster would be this year, even as far out as alien abduction—obviously just messing around. After a while, Casey began to read, Sam having been discovered by some of his friends and lead out. That grew boring after a bit and his stomach begged for something to digest, so he left the otherwise empty compartment, planning on returning after getting something from the trolley.
Fate, however, had different plans. When two dogs of varying sorts raced out of a compartment chasing a frightened cat and then back in, Casey’s attention was removed from the nearby trolley and his curiosity won out as he entered the doorway of the compartment, his eyes settling on a dark-haired brunette, another brunette he had seen around the common room and knew to be in his year because of how often she was willing to answer questions in class, his ex-girlfriend, and some sandy haired boy with a yellow dog, and then returned to the hazel-eyed, brunette girl, obviously attracted.
“Hey, mind if I come in?”
The brunette had scooted over to make room for him to sit down beside her. “No, not at all.”
And with such an exchange, a friendship would form that would, over time, blossom into a powerful, unbreakable love was formed. Evie Price and Casey Winslow soon abandoned the others for their own compartment when the other boy wanted to sing. Neither were thrilled with that idea, each making excuses. After Evie nabbed something off the trolley, they were off to find somewhere to sit. Near the end of the train, they found an empty compartment and continued their conversation until a professor interrupted and they decided to ditch and change into their uniforms. They met up again before heading onto the carriages.
By the time they’d arrived, they’d agreed to hang out again the day following by the statue of the humpback witch. The feast that night brought in an early threat. Half veela Fleur Delacour sat beside him during dinner, and his attention was stolen away from the general flow of conversation with the Ravenclaw girls around him with whom he’d been speaking beforehand. Just one girl was all it took. He lost all evidence that he was aware of his surroundings or that he belonged to the house in the school known for its brains. No, he wasn’t quite reduced to a bumbling idiot, but it was obvious he was just as spellbound as the rest of the men in the room.
Before dinner was over, he’d arranged to show Fleur around the grounds, which they did the next day after classes. He had to contend with a French-speaking Slytherin who seemed to have hit it off quite well with the Beauxbatons beauty for her attention. Eventually Raven had had to return to the dungeons. ‘Too bright for her, probably,' Casey had thought, but he had gladly continued on his walking tour with Fleur, showing her the castle, all the grounds, even the Ravenclaw common room. She’d thought the door with the question quaint. Casey had always thought it pointless. Most anyone could get in that way, but it would later prove useful in later years.
During a Hogsmeade weekend, Casey had found Evie, the girl from the train with whom he was good friends by then, in The Three Broomsticks, Ginny having just abandoned her and Amie in a huff. Casey had greeted them, but Amie had got stuck on Death Eaters and something about her sister. He had been confused and had tried to clarify, though he pointed out that the Death Eaters were gone along with Voldemort, having no clue what Amie was speaking about. She had apologized for snapping at him that it was none of his business and they had made up, telling her that she could trust him. Amie had ignored it and left to find her boyfriend Cedric, leaving him and Evie alone.
He and Evie had further discussed the event, which happened to have been the Dark Mark being set off yet again, this time at the school where Amie had almost been killed by a snake. Jamie had been the culprit, but no one knew for sure then. However, he had expertly turned the focus of the conversation to the ball, stating the attention he’d been given and asking if she’d been asked to the dance yet. He was relieved that she hadn’t been. However, when asked if she had anyone in mind, her answer was Draco Malfoy. Casey had had to make a face. Little blond, snobbish weasel. That was her type? At least she had only been kidding. The jealousy there had been unlike any he had felt before.
Then, she had turned the attention back to him and whether or not he had anyone in mind for the ball. The obvious, classic dance between two people wanting to ask each other but being too afraid of rejection to ask.
“Hm? Oh, yeah, there's someone..”They had gone outside on a walk after a little more conversation. It wasn’t but a few moments before Evie decided she couldn’t handle this dance any longer.
Leaning forward, she had asked, “Oh really? And does this someone have a name?”
He had blushed and avoided eye contact because of the answer being right before him. His voice had even been higher pitched with the first word. “Yeah, she does..”
Leaning forward again, she had inquired sweetly, “Care to elaborate?”
“Um...” he’d said, his butterbeer mug becoming interesting again. “Not at the moment?” he’d offered lamely.
“Oh..ok then.”
She had sat back and there had been something about her demeanor that had made Casey feel sorry for saying what he had and need to explain himself. The unnaturalness of his voice only continued with each start. “I mean...um...there's just too many people around. Don't want everyone overhearing, you know? Too many Slytherins..”
“It's ok...Honestly..unless you want to go somewhere else that is.”
She had given him a weak smile, and he had spoken again. “Only if you want..” He downed the last of his butterbeer, nearly choking on it, he swallowed so fast. He had cleared his throat to get rid of the tickle.
Wrapping her scarf around her neck, she had huffed, “Well this is...oh nevermind”He had agreed, and the rest is history. Well, it would have been had it not been for the first struggle in their newly formed relationship: Fleur Delacour and Casey’s given weakness to veela. The girl had come along, carrying packages while Casey and Evie had been sitting on a wall talking that same day only minutes after Evie’s question and their getting rid of the twins, and they had been discussing how they’d have to find something for the ball. Casey had seen her and been distracted completely, offering to help with her packages.
He had looked at her curiously. “No, go on..” he’d said, glad conversation might go on semi-normally.
“Casey..do you uh...do you—?” she had begun, but she had seemed to nervous to go on.
Noticing she was just as nervous as he was as he’d looked over at her, Casey mentally kicked himself to just ask her, but all he said was, “Do I...?”
“Do..do..do you want...?” She had been blushing so fiercely her skin nearly matched her scarf; however, Casey had dismissed it as the cold as he had sighed and begun to take off his coat.
“I was wondering, Evie, if..” he had started.
“Casey, do you want to go to the ball with me?” Finally one of them had got around to it, and she covered her mouth, rather shocked, seemingly in Casey’s opinion, that she had even asked.
Jamie had come along, Evie had grown angry with Casey, who was smitten from the half veela’s flirtatious smile and words saying his presence was improving her day basically. He had taken the packages upon her request and asked where she wanted them toted. Evie had yelled out, “Unbelievable.” Jamie had replied that she’d be better off with Draco and left, and Casey had retorted with, “What?! Can't a guy give a girl a helping hand?” He had been distracted by Fleur again and taken her to The Three Broomsticks. He had shrugged off Evie’s outburst and walking off away from them and turned back to Fleur and gone back to escorting Fleur to the home of the best butterbeer in town.
It was as he walked off to get butterbeers for the both of them that Evie had stalked in as her animagus black cat self and warmed up to Fleur. She had begun to attack her, Casey’s attention had been drawn back, and Evie had been turned into a toy. The half veela was outraged. He came back just as Fleur screamed and did it, asking what was wrong, but soon Evie had turned back to her human self to get out of the charm that Fleur had placed on her. He was shocked to see her there, hadn’t dawned on him that she could possibly have been the cat that had been turned into the figurine until around then. Evie was irate.
Casey made the mistake of siding with Fleur, calling her reasonable. She began to leave, and Casey was further a git, asking her if she’d stay. She didn’t think it was wise, and the two were left alone to speak and flirt until they were interrupted by Ginny and then Fred and George. Kind of difficult to talk with so many people, especially two other lovedrunk guys, but they attempted to continue conversation until pixies were released and Fleur jumped into his arms. He helped her try to zap them.
Realizing the plan was going wrong, she nabbed Casey away, saying she had something to help him get rid of the pixies. Casey refused until the twins assured they’d help her, and then he followed Ginny, who lead him to Evie who’d been sitting outside the pub. He expressed his weakness to her; she expressed her concerns considering Fleur wished for him to ask her to the dance, and he assured her that he didn’t think he’d do that even under the charm but if he did, she could slap him back to his senses. He managed to get her to come with him into the pub to shake Fleur loose after making sure she was ok. He promised her a dance simply out of pity when he told her that he already had a date and she seemed upset about it.
All went without problems until one night not long after the events of Hogsmeade. Casey had been coming down from the common room to go to the library when he stumbled across Evie. He greeted her, but instead of a normal answer, he received a warning that she couldn't help it and found her wand being pointed directly at him. It definitely wasn't something he could let happen, her harming him, so he used Expelliarmus to disarm her. It wasn't long after that that he heard Jamie's voice casting the killing curse at them. He managed to knock himself and Evie out of the way but not without sustaining injury to the right side of his body. Angered and likely scared, Jamie fled the scene.
Casey had no clue really as to what had just happened, why Jamie was behaving the way she was, but he had his suspicions from the incident where Jamie attacked her twin sister and Casey's ex, Amie. The rumor had it that the Dark Mark had been found in the hall and Amie had been attacked. No one knew for sure who did it, but all the same, evidence seemed to point towards Jamie, but why? That's what got Casey, though his focus was on getting to Dumbledore before Jamie could get too far away. However, those plans were thwarted when Natalie Seams came along and made them go to the hospital and completely so when Evie fainted. He wasn't leaving her and he was sure he could have Dumbledore summoned to the hospital wing somehow.
He was right. After tending to their wounds (Evie's first, under Casey's insistence), Poppy Pomfrey made her way to find Dumbledore, leaving an upset Natalie, an unconscious Evie, and a troubled Casey to take care of themselves. Shortly after Poppy left, Evie came to, and Casey had to explain to her what had come to pass as she didn't remember anything beyond Jamie trying to get her to join Voldemort, which confirmed the suspicions Casey had in mind. After a bit of joking to lighten the mood, he asked on Natalie's behalf whether or not she believed Jamie to have acted of her own accord. Her nod was enough confirmation.
Dumbledore's arrival and discussion with Casey brought him mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was glad to know that a group of would-be aurors, known as the Order of the Phoenix, was stationed at the school now and putting up spells to disable the use of the Unforgivable Curses, yet on the other, he was disappointed that more wasn't being done to find Jamie before she could do something else to someone else. Casey felt there had to be some more direct and immediate repercussions, even if it was owling his father to get the auror department involved in the situation. Merlin knew they ought to. Ginny's arrival shortly after Dumbledore left left Casey thoroughly unsatisfied with Dumbledore's way of handling this situation, so he determined to do something.
With Mika, a girl in his year and house who had arrived before Dumbledore, and Evie, he set out to find Jamie. They encountered a klutzy Hufflepuff by the name of Valerie and Jamie's own best friend Elanor along the way. Elanor, concerned about her friend's wellbeing, agreed to help only to appear to turn on them once they were in the forest. Casey endured the Cruciatus Curse multiple times and even Valerie, who was placed under the Imperius, trying to kill him. They soon retreated after Jamie mysteriously fainted, leaving Elanor and the other girl alone in the Forbidden Forest.
The last week of the semester held a couple interesting classes. One was much more pleasant to Casey than the other. During Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid had the idea to bring in Fleur Delacour as an example of a veela. The girls, naturally, were all up in a huff about that as their boyfriends drooled over her. She targeted Casey in her display, kissing him, which he rather enjoyed, though he didn't say so to Evie. Evie stormed out on the class, and Fleur told Casey to meet her afterwards. He was too lovedrunk to really recognize what Evie had done, so afterwards he met up with the half veela, and they were merely talking, her trying to convince him to dump Evie, when Evie came around, giving Fleur a piece of her mind, eventually punching her. Jamie even had her piece in it, sending the Fernunculous curse at Fleur. Casey, distracted by Jamie's presence, forgot Fleur as he tried to run her off.
The other class was Defense Against the Dark Arts only a few day prior. Moody had decided to go over the Unforgivable Curses, and given the recent attack on their lives the subject was much too close to home. The result? Casey and Evie left the class after receiving detentions. It was then that they had their first kiss by the lake before class let out and they fled to the Ravenclaw common room. His cousin Sam delivered him a letter from his parents a while later, and Casey read it, discovering that his parents had invited Evie to spend Christmas with them since he had informed them her parents wouldn't be around. She accepted his invitation and wrote her parents about it.
The Yule Ball was not without event. It started off well enough, Evie and Casey dancing, a little side effect from the attack in Evie, Casey trying to offer Fleur the dance he promised her to no result, but then later when they were out on the balcony Skeeter found them and began her questioning. As soon as they managed to get away, Casey discreetly cast a spell and the reporter's notebook and quill burst into flames. One of his more daring moments, but it was a good feeling to see Skeeter so upset.
The rest of the year progressed as expected; however, it wasn’t meant to remain that way. It was nearly the end of the year when Casey and Evie served detention together with Jamie when Casey began to notice a change in Evie’s behavior that he could not explain, so he attempted to follow her and talk to her to see what was up, only to be bombarded by an attack from Lucius Malfoy and some other Death Eaters. Evie took the brunt of it as he carried her unconscious form away after turning Lucius into a chicken using the Pollus hex. One of his cronies turned him back and he attacked them both with Sectumsempra. Unfortunately, Evie had to be hospitalized in Mungo’s for a time, and Casey waited anxiously for word on improvement on Evie’s condition.
Word arrived after a few weeks, and Casey was allowed to go to Mungo’s to see her. Of course, her parents were soon there after Casey’s arrival, one of the few times they actually seemed to be there, and after being in the family a year or so later, he wondered if it hadn’t been for appearance’s sake. He went with Evie to the house and the two disappeared to her secret place near her family’s manor where they talked a while until the family house elf came to retrieve them for dinner.
Dinner was a disaster. It turned out the Minister was coming over, presumably to discuss politics, but Jamie Seams and her family showed up as well as Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and there was a lot of tension. Things escalated, and it was not a very good first impression for Casey towards the Price’s—not that it would have mattered much anyway. No one was good enough for his daughter in Thomas Price’s mind unless he was well off.
The year eventually ended in relative peace for the young couple, and summer was relatively boring, considering Casey was seldom allowed out of the house or able to sneak away. However, soon, seventh year began, a year which had its fair shares of highs and lows, though certainly not in the same ways as any year before. His cousin, Sam Winslow, took over Care of Magical Creatures due to Hagrid’s absence, a fact which seemed odd considering how little Sam liked the subject or the idea of teaching; however, the Order ordered position proved beneficial as it provided Casey someone to confide in with plans he had for his and Evie’s relationship.
The year started out well with a last minute prank pulled by Evie and Casey, but soon after, during their first class with Umbridge, the problems began. Naturally, the fact that no one was allowed to mention Voldemort or side with Harry’s story didn’t set well with Casey and neither did the fact that his favorite subject was now boring. Eventually, things escalated to the point that Umbridge stripped Casey of his Quidditch privileges, which left the team suddenly without a seeker or captain.
Casey tried his best to rebel, teaming up with Evie and, surprisingly, Jamie Seams, to steal back his broom from Umbridge’s office. It was pulled off with a little help from the twins, but the detentions were added to, much to his dismay, but he grinned and bared it. He was determined not to let her get the best of him.
Come December of that year at the Yule Ball, a very nervous Casey danced with Evie before asking her out to a walk around the gardens set up before the school and asked her to marry him beneath a tree. Her reaction made him almost uncertain as to whether or not she’d say yes or not, but in the end he was reassured and happily, the couple returned to the Yule Ball. Unfortunately, as they told Ginny Weasley, Slytherin Michelle Thompson overheard and used it to meet her own agenda.
After stealing a piece of hair from Evie’s head, she tipped off the band to announce the blessed event and polyjuiced as Evie, taking off with Casey in the confusion. It wasn’t until they reached the Forbidden Forest that the young man realized this wasn’t Evie. Auspiciously for him, a fellow Ravenclaw and friend, Serena Riley, had realized the switch when Evie came to her and Ginny for help finding Casey after the rush that had followed the announcement as people went to see her ring and congratulate her. She was able to stop Michelle just in the nick of time.
Christmas break was a flurry of events. Once again separated from seeing each other, things were odd and felt somehow vacant to Casey, who snuck off during the Christmas celebration at his house, which one could imagine was a big to-do with so many people and some young children in the house. They exchanged gifts at Evie’s flat and spent some time together before stealing the Weasleys and having a big snowball fight in the Winslow’s large lot. Afterwards, they apparated into Casey’s room and were discovered by his father whilst snogging on his bed. Evie was kicked out and forbidden, but later Casey spoke to his mother, who invited her son’s fiancée over for tea the following Saturday.
It was that day that the two ended up deciding to run off together to Ireland, where they spent a few blissful days and nights together before returning home to her flat. Her father soon discovered they had returned and came with her mother over to their daughter’s flat, catching the two cuddling together on the couch, asleep. Thomas Price, being the already-not-too-thrilled man that he was, jumped to conclusion and grabbed Casey up by the neck and attempted to kill him, slapping Evie away as she tried to get him to stop. Evelyn, her mother, managed to get him to stop.
Problems were not to end there. In haste, the two rushed off together after a stop at the Weasleys, making plans to elope, deciding it was the only way they were going to manage to get their fathers to stop trying to keep them apart. They went to go see his cousin, Sam, and his girlfriend, Hufflepuff Lucy Anderson, to see if they would be witnesses. Fortunately for them, the other couple managed to make sure they remained only fiancé and fiancée until their projected wedding date.
Things weren’t easy throughout the rest of the year. NEWTs coming along and forcing Casey’s more book- and study-oriented nature to spring forth presented problems for them as well as Umbridge’s ever-watchful eye. However, they somehow made it through seventh year alive and together and with a wedding nearly planned somewhere between studying, friends, and sneaking around to spend time together in the more varied ways they preferred.
Summer before the wedding was exciting in that “we could get caught” sort of way as Casey and Evie spent nights together, sneaking her in and out of the Winslow manor. However, all that came to an end on June 18, 1996, the day of their wedding. It was a nice summer day with a wedding ceremony and reception held at the Weasley’s home. They stuck around for a while before heading off for their honeymoon to Ireland.
Before the Takeover
Two years of relative peace ensued their wedding until during the trio’s final year the Order received some Intel on Voldemort and future plans, which resulted in them stationing the young couple in Hogwarts, Casey as defense against the dark arts professor and head of Ravenclaw and Evie as charms professor and head of Gryffindor. The Intel proved unfruitful, and the young couple enjoyed their time together back in their old school. Why not? There were no signs of Voldemort. Still, “Be prepared for the worst” should have been their motto from the get go.
It wasn’t long after that that there was a battle, and in its wake, Casey was determined to end this threat once and for all. It was agreed they needed someone on the inside, and he took the offer despite knowing it would mean working closely with Alastor Moody to learn Occlumency so he could make it longer than a second within Voldemort’s ranks and not be struck dead. Evie was upset, naturally, but Casey, seemingly having developed a fashion by which to calm her, managed to do just that: calm her.
Only a couple days into it, Casey was freaking out. Having realized fully by now what it meant he might have to do and highly emotional in a way he wasn’t accustomed to, the young man tried to convince Evie to leave him, saying that he didn’t want her to see him like this, didn’t want to place her in danger. He tried everything, even attempting to ditch her at her father’s, but nothing worked.
Time went on, a battle followed, as well as torture and murder sessions with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and Casey was starting to wear thin. However, being the sort of person he was, he pressed on, forcing himself to endure it as best he could.
It wasn’t long before an old friend was to show up on the doorstep of the school, scared and on the run. Not long behind her would follow the start of their problems. It turned out that Serena Riley, whom they hadn’t seen since only months after their wedding, had spent the past couple of years in a far less mirthful manner than her friends. Casey ushered her to the Great Hall and found out her tale. She had run out of resources, so back to Hogwarts it was for her. It wasn’t as though she had much of a choice, after all.
She quickly made herself useful, helping Casey out around the classroom at first until she replaced McGonagall as professor of transfiguration, the elderly woman keeping only her position as headmistress. It seemed things were starting to settle down into a groove that, in any other year or situation, might have been considered comfortable. For him and (though unnoticed by him as he dealt with his own problems and bottled things in) his wife, it wasn’t comfortable.
A battle was soon in the making, this time upon the soil of the Forbidden Forest. The Death Eaters seemingly winning, Voldemort decided to test Casey’s loyalty, commanding he kill his wife. Casey injured her, and had it not been for his ability to manage to wordlessly remove Petrificus Totalus from Mrs. Weasley, he would have had to kill her or be killed himself. The move undetected by the Dark Lord, Mrs. Weasley managed to rescue Evie just as Casey uttered the killing curse and he managed to get by unsuspected.
About a month later, the toll it had been having on Evie evidenced itself before Casey when he came to her office, finding the office in shambles and Evie broken down in tears. Finding out she was unable to do magic well, if at all, he comforted her the best way he knew how to do and took her home. Once she was calm enough, he went and took a shower to try to clear his head of the guilt he felt. However, he only came to the conclusion that he was right. He was bad for her to be around, dangerous even. He had caused her this problem. The best way was to leave her, to try the only thing that he hadn’t tried the time before, cruel though it may be.
After getting out of the shower, the man went to their bedroom and got dressed. He sat down and wrote a letter with the potential to ruin everything they had fought so hard to earn and keep only a couple years ago. It was all lies, stating that all of this had been a sham: all the time together, the marriage, the relationship, his love for her. All of it had been the result of a dare. She came to the room just as he had finished writing it, and he quickly set it on the pillow and apparated out.
[/size][/blockquote][/justify]