Who: Robert & Alastair Selwyn Where: Selwyn Manor When: Tonight What: Talk of Infiltration of the Order Rating: Low Status: Complete
Robert Selwyn wasn’t the nicest man and he knew it. Since his wife died at the end of the First War he had grown angry and distant from his children who would never live up to his expectations, especially that of his son. He knew that his children, especially his son hated him but that was Alastair’s fault. He was weak willed, easily manipulated and a shame to his father. At least Delilah wanted to please him even if he often thought she was far to weak willed. He had plans for him. He needed his son to marry and produce an heir. He had been aware of his dalliance with Alexis from the beginning and had hoped he would do the sensible thing and marry her but he didn’t. Then he found out he was in a relationship with a Weasley and that infuriated him. He’d punished his son for that.
Now, he needed his son to do something for him and it was something he was sure he would do without hesitation. Infiltrate the Order of the Phoenix and report back to him. It would have to be realistic and his son would have to purposely let him beat him but that wouldn’t be a problem for Robert. He dreamed of beating sense into his weak, pitiful son. He knew he would need to produce another son and soon if he wished to have his family line continue. While there was a chance that his son could still marry and do the respectable thing, he truly began to doubt it. At least Delilah would marry who he told her too and that would bring about a family alliance. It was just a matter of finding a suitable man for her.
Calling his son to his office, he waited. A glass of brandy in front of him that he slowly sipped.
--
For as long as he could remember, Alastair had tried not to show weakness, to not tip his hand and let on that he had an enormous shortcoming that made him vulnerable to manipulation. He had managed to stave off Robert’s attempts to marry him off to pureblooded women, allowing the man to think he was only interested in men. That had all come crashing down once he returned from school and became involved with Alexis. It had been almost ten years since then and still Alastair managed to keep his father’s wishes at bay. This extended to supporting Voldemort as well. Not a killer by nature, Alastair knew where he would stand should he join the Death Eater ranks--significantly less than. He had hidden certain talents he had learned from a friend and only hoped that it wouldn’t surface any time soon.
That being said, being called into his father’s office raised an alarming red flag. Nothing good came from these sorts of meetings. Alastair knew he wasn’t the perfect son and his father always wanted to find new ways to utilize him to improve upon that, but the rare sit down discussion over a glass of dark liquid of some variety left Alastair with a sinking feeling in his chest. His father had a plan or he had discovered something Alastair had fought to keep hidden--neither of which were preferable. Still, there was no use in delaying the inevitable.
Pausing momentarily outside of the door to take a breath and steel himself for the worst, Alastair let himself in and shut the door behind him.
“Father,” he said cordially before sitting down.
--
Robert didn’t think his son would be willing without some convincing. Still he had a feeling it wouldn’t be too hard. He had made sure that his children both knew that the Order were responsible for their mother’s death, that they didn’t care for anyone but themselves and the Muggleborns. Perhaps it wasn’t true but Robert truly did think that they only cared about bringing in Muggle traditions and making them adapt to the Muggleborns expectations instead of the other way around. Between that and his desire to see people suffer, it was perhaps not a surprise he was a loyal supporter of the Dark Lord.
“Alastair,” he said in greeting to his son and current heir, though he was currently trying to decide if it was worth trying for another one with how much of a disappointment Alastair was.
“I have been discussing the matter with our Lord and Master and it has been decided that we need a spy within the Order of the Phoenix to help bring them down. Your connection,” he spat the word connection, “to the Weasley boy makes you the perfect candidate,” the distaste clearly evident in his tone. “As far as the public would be aware I would be publicly disowning you and it would have to be done in a way that is plausible for you to run to them,” he explained watching the man opposite him.
--
Straight and to the point. Alastair had come to expect any and all conversation with his father to be brief, but as far as requests went this was a tall order. Alastair frowned at him, but it turned into a glare at the mention of Charlie. Not by name, of course. Charlie was never mentioned by name. The last thing Alastair wanted to do was literally any of this, but he had a feeling there was a catch. So, he crossed his arms over his chest, a scowl affixed to his features as he decided to press further.
“No doubt you have an incentive for me,” he said, tilting his head up slightly in defiance. “Because as it stands my answer is no.”
He had never been truly on the side of the Dark Lord or his father. Alastair had nothing against muggleborns, after all. An unpopular opinion within the circles he was expected to run in, but not one that he brought up very often. He much preferred to keep his head down and let things come to a head without him. It was unfortunate to see that he’d finally found his way onto the radar, so to speak.
--
“We don’t get along,” Robert said simply. It was a fact of life and while he didn’t like it he wasn’t expecting him to like everyone. He still wished there was some level of respect between them but until his son picked up his game then he was of the opinion he was just a waste. “It is something we can play on. If you obviously are no longer a part of this family then they will be more likely to welcome you into their arms. You need to be disowned and disgraced for you to turn your back on your teachings,” he explained.
“As far as the public will be aware, I will have publicly disowned you for failure to marry and produce an heir as well as differences of opinions. I still expect you to marry and produce an heir though,” he let his son now.
--
For a moment, Alastair was silent, studying his father with scrutiny. He could easily admit that he had an in. Several, in fact. Logically he was the right choice, but Alastair simply was not loyal to this cause. He’d refused the dark mark and joining the Death Eaters entirely, so Robert was going to have to do a lot better than giving him the plan because Alastair had no intention of agreeing so easily.
“I see nothing in this for me,” Alastair said bluntly. “My answer is no.”
Short and to the point. He wasn’t intending to comply with his father’s wishes. Regardless of his feelings about this rebel group that had nearly defeated the Death Eaters back when he was a child, Alastair was not about to use Charlie that way nor did he want to be a tool for success in his father’s schemes. If possible, Alastair wanted to stay out of this whole mess.
--
Robert wasn’t surprised by his son’s answer. He knew he wouldn’t spy on the Order, not without some serious motivation and Robert being Robert had already figured out what he would need to make his son do what he wanted to do. “I suppose I can always talk to Delilah. I know she is friendly with Ginerva as much as I dislike it,” Robert replied carefully watching his son.
Delilah would do it, she wouldn’t say no to him.. She was only working because he had allowed her a job at the Ministry as a compromise.
Or he could target some of Alastair’s friends, threaten them and force his hand but that was further down the list of things he wanted to do. For now he would focus on his children and getting them into the Order that way.
--
Of course. Alastair had a glaring weakness and both he and his father knew it. He closed his eyes in frustration, trying to think of a way out of this, but seeing none. His father had him backed into a corner most of the time with little to no escape in sight. He opened his eyes again, regarding the man in front of him with obvious disdain.
“Keep her out of this,” he snapped. “You know damn well what they’d do to her if they caught her.”
While Alastair didn’t believe Charlie and his family were capable of doing the horrible deeds Alastair was told the Order members performed in the first war, he had a feeling there were some among their ranks who would. He couldn’t take that chance, and the lies Robert had told his son about the small, rebel group, were working in his favor. The fear for his sister pushed Alastair forward, caring only for his sister’s safety.
“So you want to publicly disown me. That sounds like a picnic for you,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What exactly is your plan?”
--
Robert smirked as his son gave in easily, just like he had expected him to do. His children were so predictable. While he was glad they were he was also annoyed at how easy they were to manipulate. Neither of them had a spine, neither of them were capable people and he didn’t expect them to go far in life. If they could make good marriages then he supposed that would be the best he could hope for them. It was just a matter of convincing them.
He had an idea for who Delilah could marry but it was just a matter of figuring out the details. For now he would focus on disowning his son.
Robert was glad that he didn’t have to spell out that he had a plan on making it more convincing to the rest of the world. “I’m going to injure you. Nothing too bad, easily healed but you need an active reason besides being disowned for running away and running to the Order to begin with. It won’t be easy but it will be worthwhile.”
--
Alastair eyed his father cautiously. The two of them had very different ideas on what ‘nothing too bad’ meant, and Alastair knew he was probably in for more hurt than his father was willing to tell him. He could deal with physical pain, but it was Delilah he was worried about. If he was infiltrating these rebel groups, it meant that Delilah would be alone in the house with their father for the first time ever. Alastair had taken such great care in the past to ensure this didn’t happen, he was wary of allowing it now.
“Fine. I want you to call off the search for a husband for Delilah,” he bargained. He knew his father wasn’t going to be receptive to the suggestion, but Alastair was prepared to fight him on it. He did have a spine, but only when it came to her.
--
That was easy and perhaps easier than it should be but Alastair was always weak. If only he could hurry up and marry someone and have an heir so he could be dealt with. For now he was stuck and he didn’t like it.
“Very well,” Robet said not meaning it. He had already approached a family about a possible marriage between their heir and Delilah. So technically he wouldn’t be reaching out to any new families for now and it was up to the other family if they wanted to accept it or not. Alastair didn’t need to know that though.
-
Weakness was in the eye of the beholder, and Alastair took good care to make sure his father thought that he was weak. He was smarter and stronger than he appeared on the surface, but he appreciated that appearances were deceiving. The less his father knew about him, the less ammunition he had.
Alastair didn’t believe him. He remained silent for a moment, weighing his options. He could argue and refuse, but he knew his father was persistent and would find some way around anything Alastair suggested. Away from his father he could do his own thing, but Delilah…
“And she will be allowed to find her own place away from here.”
--
Robert didn’t like that but he could and would agree to it because he needed his son in the Order, to spy on them. “If she comes home for dinner at least once a week and regularly keeps me updated then I do not see a problem with that.” He didn’t like this one bit but he supposed it could be worse. Like many things it was a business transaction and he would come out on top. The positives would outweigh the negative of losing continuous access to his daughter but it was something he could live with.
“Is there anything else?” he drawled at his son.
--
That was enough for Alastair for now. He needed Delilah to agree to it, but it was a start. He knew his father wouldn’t like it, but this was a huge deal and it was clear that Robert needed him for it. The Dark Lord would be displeased if Robert couldn’t produce results, which meant Robert’s future was in Alastair’s hands. He could deal with that. If Delilah won in this particular business transaction, Alastair would do what needed to be done, even if it hurt him in the long run.
“Not right now,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “But if I think of anything else, I’ll let you know. When do you want this to happen?”
--
“Good,” Robert said simply with a nod of his head. “I shall let Delilah know what we have worked out and then I will inform you when I want this to happen. Expect it to be sooner rather than later,” he informed his son.
“You may go now,” Robert added indicating the door with a wave of his hand before turning back to his paperwork.