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Charming — Victorian Era Potterverse > Dead Threads > Raising Stakes


Title: Raising Stakes
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Daniel Riley - May 21, 2012 07:02 PM (GMT)
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<p>It was a very good thing that Daniel had managed to avoid that dreadful draft, or else the place might be entirely deserted. The club was normally quite full; men drinking, men smoking, men discussing politics, men playing cards. It was Daniel's custom to come here a few nights a week at least, as a way of keeping up social connections, but with the club this empty, there was hardly any point. A few stragglers remained around, of course, but there was nothing like the normal life of the club.</p>

<p>The draft was actually a good thing, he reasoned, since most of those remaining had at least one friend or relative who had been gone, and upon the return of the men, most would be disgruntled. At least, if James' reaction to being drafted was any indication. But if he wanted to start spreading the ill-feelings about it now, the lack of people to talk to would be problematic.</p>

<p>Seeing a face he recognized, Daniel called out, "Mr. Dudley! Fancy a game of cards, friend?"</p>

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William Dudley - May 21, 2012 07:22 PM (GMT)
    He had John had both managed to avoid the draft, which was a mercy—both in that they could remain with their families unscathed and in that it meant there had to be no discussions about where cousin Bernice was going to his wife who, several months into her pregnancy, would surely need the company of her ‘friends’ whilst Will was at work. Today, however, was a day of a different sort; with no trials to attend to, and no preparations to be made, he had spent much of the day with his daughters—keenly allowing him to retreat to the club for the evening.

    Upon arrival, the wizard shrugged off his overcoat before acquiring a brandy, at which point he heard his name being called. “Riley!” he greeted in return, making his way towards the younger wizard. “The Ministry didn’t snatch you away for that silly expedition of theirs?” Having been invited, William took a seat at the department head’s table. While some employees might have received grief for criticizing the Ministry’s latest decision, both men were well enough situated that blind loyalty was no longer requisite to get ahead.

    William glanced around the room, looking familiar faces to summon to join them in their game.

Daniel Riley - May 21, 2012 07:31 PM (GMT)
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<p>Daniel shrugged, but this was off to a good start. "Not yet, anyways. Though if they keep letting troublemakers interfere with the draft, who knows what will happen next? The able-bodied men, the ladies, probably the infants next. There'll be no saving us if they get that far," he joked, his tone lighthearted but the content holding some real condemnation. Dudley seemed to have a bit of it already, but with some help for Daniel, maybe that vague frustration could be focused down to something useful.</p>

<p>"I'm quite glad to see that you're still around, though. Seems like half the club is gone on the field trip. What's your game today?" he asked, changing the subject briefly as he shuffled a deck of cards.</p>

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William Dudley - May 21, 2012 07:40 PM (GMT)
    That much he agreed with. William would have been livid had Barbara seen herself drafted; even losing one of his boys to the Ministry’s inane quest had been something of a blow to him, for all that it would be in Eric’s best interest, should the child Barbara was carrying prove to be a male. The thought that any woman was so selfish that she would subject the delicate, the shy, and the unborn—for Will had little doubt that at least one of the drafted women would be pregnant—was a frightening one. Feminists, the wizard thought with disdain.

    “Whatever strikes your fancy,” he replied lazily. “I’ll just be happy for the occupation.” An occupation that wasn’t children. He loved Innogen and Idony fiercely, but damned if they didn’t wear him out more easily than a day’s work, and confuse him more than any charm could. Will took a sip of his drink, wondering if his companion had similar thoughts about his own daughters, or if Will himself just tired easily.

    Probably the latter; as Idony often took great joy in reminding him, he was ‘old’, after all.

Daniel Riley - May 21, 2012 07:46 PM (GMT)
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<p>Daniel nodded, considered his options for a moment, then started dealing. "Start with a quick round of spades, then? Nice and easy. I'm sure some of these boys here will join in to make four," he suggested, dealing the hands out and then acquiring two of the other gentlemen in the club with ease. He was the Head of a Ministry department, after all, so the younger and more career-minded would seldom pass up an opportunity to play cards with him (no matter how badly he usually beat them), and the older gentlemen in the club respected him because he had some money, and had been at the club consistently for years, thus was impossible not to enjoy the company of. </p>

<p>"Do you have family in the draft, then? Hopefully not the dear wife, but someone?" Daniel asked nonchalantly as he picked up his hand and started arranging his cards.</p>

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William Dudley - May 21, 2012 07:55 PM (GMT)
    “The elder of my boys, Eric,” he replied as he picked up his hand, glancing his cards over leisurely. He was not a big player by any means, though enjoyed doing so for pleasure on occasion. “Though he seems far more at ease about it than I would be. I wonder if that isn’t a mistake, but I am sure he’ll do just fine.” That much was a lie if ever he had spoken one, but it would be foolish of him to worry and whinge about the matter in present company.

    When Will’s turn came about, he inquired, “And yourself? I daresay your girls are quite safe, but I don’t imagine you could be so lucky as to maintain your entire family.” Riley had lost a wife in an earlier year, William knew, but siblings or extended family could not be ruled out entirely.

Daniel Riley - May 21, 2012 08:06 PM (GMT)
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<p>Daniel chuckled dryly. "No, my girls have at least a few more years before the Ministry will be after them. My sisters were spared, also--though my younger brother James has set off, and I believe I heard him say the woman he was courting has been, as well. Isn't that a spot of bad luck?" </p>

<p>He couldn't win the hand by the time it got to him, so he managed to get rid of a mostly useless card instead, and the hand went to the young lad on his left, who started the next round. </p>

<p>"He wrote a letter to the Prophet about it--as if writing to the Prophet has ever done anyone a bit of good, eh?" he joked as he threw down a card. "But I have to agree with him, a bit. You would think the Ministry could do something about the female draft."</p>

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William Dudley - May 21, 2012 08:12 PM (GMT)
    “I hope for his sake they were not matched for the expedition,” he offered with a chuckle, “else they might tire of one another before an engagement can be arranged.” It truly was unfortunate for the younger Mr. Riley and his partner, though Will was relieved nonetheless—the more who were drafted, the less likely William was to see that letter, after all. “I did see the note in the Prophet, though I’ll admit to not reading it in detail. The paper itself has proved to be rather useless of late—as if I care that some Miss Haskett that I have never encountered is cavorting with a professor or some such. My girls are not yet old enough for such news to be riveting to me.”

    His hand was abysmal this turn, though he played as best he could.

    “I would have thought the Ministry would intervene when the women were called out—it seems quite disrespectful of them to hold the ladies to such a dangerous endeavour.”

Daniel Riley - May 22, 2012 04:01 PM (GMT)
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<p>Daniel chuckled along with Dudley's little joke, though he really didn't see much in the ball-and-chain metaphor that most men seemed inclined to use. Perhaps this was because he chose his wives (well, he had chosen the one and was about to choose the other) based more on reasonably good personality than on good breeding stock (though since his first marraige had yielded only two daughters, this might have been a poor choice, it seemed). Perhaps he was only skilled in how to avoid those he was tired of before he became too tiresome; it seemed to him that if one didn't want to talk to one's wife, it was a fairly simple matter to arrange to day so that the only interaction to be had was a brief conversation over breakfast. In any case, whether it was true or not, it was a common joke, and one Daniel sometimes made to break ice with foreigners, so he laughed all the same.</p>

<p>"The Prophet isn't the only useless thing of late," Daniel said gravely, moving a card or two around in his hand while he waited for his turn. "But I suppose the Minister must be given some credit. After all, for a boy of nineteen whose philosophy on running a country seems to be trial-and-error, he's been doing rather well. He has managed to avoid going to war--though that may be my department's doing," Daniel joked, throwing down a card that he knew would win the hand. After taking a moment to smile at the two younger players, who had lost rather nice cards in the trick, Daniel swept them up and began the next round.</p>

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William Dudley - May 22, 2012 06:37 PM (GMT)
    Will nodded his agreement as he picked up his new hand, arranging the cards as he saw fit. Though he supposed there could have been worse Ministers—he had, after all, voted against Mr. de Vigny on the grounds that a Frenchman should not be given the power to lord over English wizards—a nineteen-year-old was hardly his idea of an ideal candidate, and with the exception of some blunders, Potter seemed to be doing little more than maintain the status quo. Not exactly the brave new era for the Wizarding World he had promoted.

    “Careful, Riley,” William joked, for all that he did not disagree with the man’s opinion. “Someone might point out that Potter’s older and wiser department heads should be doing a better job of steering him.” The same sentiment could be directed at the Wizengamot, placing Will himself into fire.

Daniel Riley - June 6, 2012 04:43 AM (GMT)
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<p>Daniel laughed at William's comment, because it was the sort of thing you had to laugh at; anything less would be giving it merit, and that was dangerous. "I said my department has kept us out of war, didn't I? Things such as the Trail hardly fall into the category of International Cooperation, you must admit," he joked. "Unless they decide to expand all the way to the continent--but that would be quite a feat, wouldn't it?"</p>

<p>One of the younger lads won the hand, and lead very strongly, and Daniel ended up throwing away one of his cards, but a card he could afford to lose. </p>

<p>With a light hearted smile that disguised his more-than-lighthearted intentions, Daniel shrugged. "The next election will see us better, I'm sure--whatever the outcome, I'm sure the next term will be a bit more mature. Being married the first time does work wonders in that department, doesn't it?" he said with a grin, knowing that Dudley was, like Daniel, on to his second wife at this point, and it was not contestable that men always grew up a little bit when they decided to start a family--which, if the papers were to be believed, Mr. Potter had at least some passing intention of doing.</p>

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William Dudley - June 13, 2012 03:37 PM (GMT)
    “Only if the pool is a more favourable one next time around,” Will pointed out, taking a sip of his brandy. “With only two heads to choose from last year, you cannot fault the outcome—I imagine many who would have otherwise thought of running were rather too startled by the turn of events to hurl themselves into the ring.” Were he more ambitious, William himself might have run for Minister, though secretly he wondered if he might have been just as useless as the child currently running the show.




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