The Happiest of Birthdays

Sunshine rose over the imposing structure that was Rookwood Manor somewhat belatedly for a woman who was used to waking up at the crack of dawn. Yet that particular morning she had elected to rise far earlier than she was used to and had taken advantage of the hours preceding the first feed of the day for her boys in order to get some work done. She had gotten into a semi-comfortable routine of waking as soon as she heard the first stirrings of her boys and she would subsequently run around until midday when she could collapse onto one of the sofas in the conservatory and sleep in the spring sunshine until the twins needed their afternoon feed and everyone began to arrive home. She was certainly beginning to reach her wits end and had it been any other family she’d married into then perhaps she would have put her foot down long ago and demanded some help. Even House Elves could only do so much in order to ease her burdens. Newborns were bad enough, let alone an entire family in mourning on top of that. Trying to keep them all together, dressed, fed and alive was proving harder than Athena had envisioned. The task itself wasn’t difficult but in doing that, she had a tendency to forget about herself.

She took great joy in the luxury those few spare hours brought and had languished in the bathtub before a glance at a clock on the mantelpiece in her and Kendall’s ensuite told her that it was time to get a move on. What had made Athena get up that particular day was something that she felt was a great offense. She had gone to see Raghnall the night before who was utterly unsympathetic towards any of them – not that Athena implored for his pity mind you – though he was kind enough to give her full reign of the ballroom that was rarely opened up. Athena was not sure whether Raghnall was entirely approving of her plans or whether he himself just wanted some peace and quiet but Athena did not hang around to inquire. She merely slipped away and made the arrangements necessary to ensure that things ran as smoothly as possible.

In the zone overseen by Augustus Rookwood, the loss of his wife was still palpable and the news had finally reached the ears of even his youngest daughters – the ones Athena had tried her damndest to isolate from the loss. Yet they could not go without seeing their mother forever and though it was unclear whether they’d discovered it, overheard or someone had muted it to them, it was clear that they knew and the girls that were once bubbly and playful had no time for games and could not bear to be as social, even with Athena, as they had been before. They needed their time to mourn, Athena knew, and she would allow the girls that just as she allowed everyone else. What she had begun to resent was the way they were all so wrapped up in their own personal grief that they could not even so much as utter a few words of condolences to anyone else. It was selfish and in trying to comfort everyone, Athena was at her wits end but it was not that which had angered her so.

No, it was something mentioned by Kendall in a passing, something which had made Athena inquire idly with a House Elf: the date of Katarina’s birthday. The House Elf had paled, having come to know his mistress quite well, and uttered the date before hurrying away. At that point, Athena lost all sympathy for the Rookwood men still brooding over Cordelia. She resolved to no longer give them the time of day and did so despite Kendall’s confusion; of course, Augustus did not notice though she was sure he had begun to wonder at her surliness. Behind the scenes, Athena resolved to plan a belated birthday party for, not only Katarina but also for Cecilia whose birthday had also gone unnoticed in the wake of her mother’s death. It was the final touches to this event that Athena had gotten up early to fix. It was this disregard for otherwise happy celebrations that had riled her so and she was determined that the men would be candid for the charade had gone on long enough. It was time to move on and time to get better. She could accept a slow pace but she was sick to death of the misery, especially if it was indulged in at the expense of happier options.

Pinning the last piece of pale blue material to the wooden border breaking up the tiled ceiling and wall from each other, Athena took a step back and tucked her wand behind her ear. The ballroom was brighter than it seemingly ever had been and with the French doors thrown open to let in the light of spring outside, it appeared even friendlier. She had hung material and banners everywhere that declared the birthdays of the girls. She’d mixed as many colours as possible without anything looking too tacky or extreme and was overall really rather satisfied with her work. There was nothing pretentious about it all. It was simply and delicately done and Athena didn’t think even a hired wand could have done it better.

A long buffet table covered the extend of the eastern wall to the right of the double entrance doors and already, House Elves were beginning to set the plates and silverware down the bottom of the table in preparation for the food. A rounded table in the middle was left for the cake which was the only ostentatious thing Athena had allowed. It had three tiers and was a chocolate extravaganza. She knew that there would be a lot of unhappy bellies by the end but certainly many satisfied taste buds and with the band due to arrive just before midday, everything was almost set.

A mountain of presents climbed the wall in the north-western corner of the room by the doors. Athena had been canny enough to label some of them having come from Augustus and Kendall, knowing that if the men had forgotten then they certainly wouldn’t remember belatedly for the event – not that Athena had told them, either. The woman could not quite quell her excitement. She couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces collectively and couldn’t wait to get the party to begin. The guests were due to arrive at one. Hopefully, everyone would be ready by then.

Any party of a Rookwood was a party in which Jude felt himself completely at ease to belong to. He typically found himself too swamped to find any substantial time to spend with friends, but the Rookwoods were not merely friends - they were family. To Jude, the Rookwoods had always been his ideal. They lived the lifestyle he wanted; they treated family the way family deserved to be treated; and they looked good doing it. Augustus had won Jude's heart when the boy had been young and fatherless, by showing what it meant to be a man. Jude grew up with this vision of manhood. He had always seen Kendall as a cousin of sorts and, though Augustus had become more friend than anything, had considered himself almost a son to the man. If Jude could have picked a father for himself, he would have traded the conniving, filthy squib for Augustus any day, and would have thrown in his soul for good measure.

So to say he was happy to clear his schedule for Katarina Rookwood's birthday party was a bit of an understatement.

It was also Cecilia Krum's birthday. He didn't care much for the girl, but he was madly in love with thought the world of her brother, so he was happy to be of some support to his second favorite family, the Krums.

He had thought long and hard about the gifts. He knew relatively nothing of Cecilia and had settled on some expensive earrings for her. Katarina, however, was like family to him, and had required more thought. In the end, he had settled on an enchanted painting. The girl, often referred to as Brains in his own dialogue with her, seemed the one to appreciate the subject of the library, and he had heard of her interest in art as of late. And he had managed to get some help with the enchanting from a friend from the Ministry. People would wander into the painting and read passages from their favorite classic books. Jude thought it would git nicely in Rookwood Manor.

Jude arrived early because he considered himself a VIP guest. He strolled up the way and knocked on the giant knocker, holding the wrapped painting and jewelry box. He had dressed casually, which meant he was still the picture of perfection. A comfortable smile hung on his lips as he thought of the family he awaited.