Fire burnished golden ties

Title: Fire burnished golden ties

Summary: Dean and Pavarti finalise their marriage with the final rites of a Hindu marriage due to Pavarti's family being Hindu. Due to the closeness of Pavarti and Padma as well as their mutual pregnancies and the family's superstition against having twins married separately they are going share the house Dean inherited from his deceased wizard father Caradoc Dearborn.

A/N: Star-crossed Lovers or not series [Snake and Eagle, I did not sleep with that wizard! and Rise of the Cannonites compatible. I could have skipped this but I found Hindu marriage quite interesting and I had to write it. The title comes from the Hindu belief that married couples are tied together as partners by invisible golden ties.

So this isn't Dean and Pavarti's wedding either but...I wanted to show Dean and Neville bonding as well as Neville following Dean as moral support when Dean tells his parents about his impending fatherhood. I think it made them a lot closer since Nev delivers the invitations to Dean's Bonding reception [since that was the closest Western equivalent to the Hindu ceremony that they observed in the previous post.

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Outtake 2

July 1, 1996

Dean said a nervous goodbye to Neville and Seamus whom he had ridden on the train with.

Neville joined him, Pavarti, Padma and Su Li to escort the Patil witches to their family.

Both Pavarti’s parents looked distraught at the sight of their daughters holding Dean and Su Li’s respective hands.

“These are your suitors I presume?” Pavarti’s father asked gruffly.

Dean bowed, “My meeting you thus is not in keeping with your traditions and I am apologetic about that but I wanted to be sure that Parvati reached you both safely. My name is Dean Dearborn and this is my cousin Neville, his grandmother should be contacting you shortly.” With Western chivalry, Dean brought Pavarti’s hand to his lips. “I know that our courtship journey will be long and mostly ceremonial but I hope to prove myself worthy.” He bowed and then dragged Neville away.

Dean was worried, “Did I do awful?”

Neville shook his head. “No of course not.”

Dean swallowed, “Would you accompany me to talk to my parents? I am uneasy about doing this alone.”

Neville nodded, he snapped his fingers.

A house elf appeared. “Yes Master Neville?”

“Please inform Gran that I am accompanying my cousin Dean to speak with his parents. I will floo home to the Chase as soon as possible.”

“Yes Master Neville.”

Then the elf vanished.

Neville stretched, “Well I suppose it’s time for my first excursion into the Muggle world.”

The cousins who didn’t look anything alike really mostly due to Dean’s dark complexion walked through the iron wrought arch that led out through the barrier to King’s Cross station.

It was loud and crowded when they emerged.

Dean was half-deafened by his sisters Dana and Danielle loudly shouting his name to his mother and stepfather’s irritation.

Wincing he led Neville over his family.

“Mother I would like you to meet my birth father’s nephew Neville. His mother and my father were twins.”

Dean’s mother Diane sniffed, “My name is Diane Thomas. This is Dean’s stepfather David and our daughters Dana and Danielle.”

Neville murmured a polite greeting to Dean’s family as was appropriate to his station as heir to a title as well as the future owner of one quarter of Hogwarts and a seat on the Founders’ Council.

“How did you realise that you were cousins?” David asked curiously.

“Did either of you attend the Board of Governors Meeting?” Neville asked.

Diane snapped. “I did. All stuff and nonsense that it was.”

Dean coughed, “I wouldn’t say you’re becoming a grandmother was nonsense.”

Diane turned purple, “WHAT!”

Dean sighed, “I’m afraid that it is the truth. Through my father I’ve acquired a title and a substantial estate. For which I am eternally grateful considering that I have to petition for the hand of an ambassador’s daughter.”

“You engaged in premarital sex and got a girl pregnant?” Diane hissed.

Dean snorted, “Of course not! It was more of a case of Immaculate Conception. Neither of us have ever had sex with anyone mother. Pavarti’s child is of my blood and it is of course expected that we bond or marry as you would call it.”

“Two devil touched children and now pregnancy…” Diane whispered before collapsing.

Dean leaped forward to catch Dani while Neville tried to keep Dean’s mother from hitting her head on the ground.

Dani and Dana started screaming.

David put Dana down and lifted up his wife, “Neville if you two can take charge of the girls we’ll find the station’s medic.”

What Dean’s mother meant by devil-touched, Neville hadn’t a clue.

They weaved their way through the crowd and into what Dean guessed was a medic office.

The individual there asked David questions about Diane’s health before calling for an ambulance.

Dean swallowed, “Would it be easier if Neville and I took a cab home?”

David nodded, “Could you?”

Dean sighed, “It would free you up to focus solely on mother.”

“I am sorry it ended like this, you seem like a good bloke.” David muttered even as he handed Dean a handful of notes.

Neville and Dean slipped out of the medic office and then made their way out of the train station.

Dean flagged a cab and bundled his frightened, crying sisters inside with Neville’s help before giving the cabbie his address in West Ham.

Once they were driving away, Dean groaned, “I’m sorry it ended up like this.”

Neville shrugged, “I’ve never been in Muggle London before. My godfather Ted has tried to take me into Muggle bits of Godric’s Hallow but Gran refuses. A mite overprotective you might say.”

Dean frowned, “You won’t be in trouble will you?”

Neville snorted, “I’ll tell her that you would have been stuck in Muggle London trying to keep track of two frightened girls. I’m sure she’ll agree that it would have been poor manners to abandon you.” He leaned over to whisper, “What did she mean by ‘devil-touched’?”

Dean flinched, “I’ll tell you after we get home.”

The drive was much longer then either of them wanted but long enough that the girls had stopped crying. Dana’s eyes were red and puffy but she wasn’t crying anymore but Dani had cried herself to sleep in Dean’s arms.

When they finally stopped outside Dean’s house in West Ham, Dean paid the cabbie while Neville and Dana slid out of the cab. Neville took Dani long enough for Dean to get out of the cab.

They went around back where Dana fished the spare key out of the fake rock and unlocked the door.

Dean invited Neville in and they followed Dana inside.

Dean hurried up to put Dani in her toddler bed for a nap, darting into the loo to dampen a flannel to wipe her face before heading downstairs.

“Um Dana why don’t you call Mark and ask him over to play Nintendo while I talk to Neville?”

After Dana vanished, Neville swallowed, “Can I borrow the loo to call an elf?”

Dean nodded, “I’m going to make tea.”

When Neville returned Dean sighed.

“Devil-touched. I assume she was referring to magic. Mother is catholic but I’m not really and David is more agnostic then anything.”

“What’s a Catholic or agnostic?”

“A Catholic is someone who is part of one of the largest variations of a Muggle religion called Christianity. Some are very nice people but others can be very…narrow-minded if you understand my meaning. The religion Christianity reveres a man who was sired by a god upon a virgin and was apparently foretold hundreds of times or he has over a hundred relevant prophecies I never remember which. Apparently he is a son of god and a son of man, who is the part of this holy trio of persons called the Holy Trinity which comprises of God the Father, God the Son and the Spirit of God. The devil is the archrival of god, a fallen angel. Someone devil-touched would be someone with magic or something else evil.”

“Magic isn’t evil.” Neville said hotly.

“To us it isn’t, keep in mind it was the Catholics who were responsible for many of the witch burnings but some of them were done by a different variation that called themselves puritans. They forbid laughter, wearing your hair down, tea and theatre among other things. Even overthrew the king for a time and had him killed. Eventually people got sick of such a dreary life they overthrew the puritan government and asked the last king’s son to be king in his place. It’s all very complicated and I don’t understand half of it.”

“So sex before marriage is evil?” Neville frowned.

“They consider it as sin. They would consider a lot of things we don’t have moral issues with in the Wizarding World a sin.”

“Like what?” Neville asked out of curiosity.

“Being gay, marrying someone of the same gender, siring a child with someone you aren’t married to, having an affair, marrying underage and contraception.”

Neville sputtered.

 

“Since my best friend is bent I should cast him off and pray for his soul.” Dean shrugged. “I would have to disown Pavarti’s sister for the same.

“Madness all of it.”

“It’s all matter of opinion.” Dean sighed, “Nothing bad meant towards Catholics or Christians in general but I just don’t believe the way they do.”

There was a knock on the front door.

“I’ll get it!” Dana called out then a few moments later she called call back. “There is a Mr. Ted for Neville?”

Dean blinked. “Huh?”

Neville coughed, “My godfather is a mind healer, I thought he might be helpful? Plus he can take me home later.”

Dean nodded, “Ah like a psychologist or a priest. He might be helpful.”

Neville followed Dean to the front door where they found a stout man with a kind, honest face that bore a gentle smile.

“So you’re Caradoc’s boy? I can’t see much a resemblance but blood and magic tells so Andromeda claims and I’ve learned not to argue with her about such things. Augusta is still overprotective, so I’ve got orders to take Neville back but I’m sure we can stay long enough to see if you need any help.”

Dean swallowed, “It won’t prejudice her against me for bringing Neville into the Muggle World will it?”

Ted snorted, “Augusta can no longer afford to keep Neville in a gilded cage, he will need to be emancipated and with that comes the choice of whether to visit the Muggle World or not.”

Neville shrugged, “I didn’t see anything all that interesting then again we just rode from King’s Cross to West Ham by cab so…”

Dean sighed, “I am worried about my mother, even if she doesn’t like having a magical children it can’t be helped. It’s like our impending fatherhood; neither Neville nor I had a choice in the matter. Thank Merlin it is with witches we were attracted to and ultimately wanted a long-term relationship with but we didn’t have to end up so lucky. Fate really did have a hand in that…”

“I see, do you regret having a child now?” Ted frowned.

Dean shrugged, “While I am pleased that Pavarti is to be my wife and the mother of my children, I would have preferred to wait. I wouldn’t have wanted to enter our NEWT years with infants who depend on us for nearly everything. These will be their most impressionable years and they will be neglected in favour of our studies even if we don’t wish for that to be true or vice versa.”

“You are thinking about this rather maturely for having parenthood dumped on you practically overnight.” Ted mused.

Dean sighed, “I’ve seen how much work a new baby takes first with Dana and then Dani. I’m not sure how old Pavarti was when her siblings were born but I’m worried how we’ll handle school and parenthood. I won’t get a good job without decent marks but I want to be sure that our daughter bonds to us properly. I’m not sure how much I inherited from the Dearborns and well; I refuse to live on my inheritance. I want to set a better example then that for our daughter.”

Ted nodded, “You do seem to have thought this through…”

Dean bit his bottom lip, “I try…I am one of those studyholics. It has been difficult to get high marks with the likes of Hermione and Malfoy. I refuse to give in and put in less effort though. If I want a good job, I’ll need high marks because that will ensure that I score well on my OWLS and my NEWTS…”

Ted tilted his head when the doorbell rang.

Dean sighed, “That’s probably Dana’s best friend Mark, I told her to invite him over to play Nintendo in hopes of distracting her…”

Ted praised his wise choice and then settled back against the kitchen counter.

Neville asked anxiously, “How long can we stay?”

Ted shrugged, “I finished my appointments and left early but your Gran is at the Ministry on business. We can stay as long as we need to or until Dean hears from his step dad…”

XooooooX

It was almost four hours after they had left King’s Cross that David called from the hospital.

His mother had had a heart attack; the news of Dean’s impending fatherhood, Dana’s acceptance to Hogwarts and his mother’s stressful job as a cardiac intensive care nurse.

Their mother wasn’t at her own hospital, Ted Tonks stuck around long enough to make sure that Dean and his sisters had dinner.

Dean has enough notes left to order a large pineapple, ham and olive pizza, which was his family’s favourite.

Neville left reluctantly but not before trying a slice of the Muggle food and leaving Dean an Owl in case of emergency while Ted left contact information for himself.

 

 

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What do you think? Outstanding? Exceeds expectations? Acceptable? Poor? Dreadful? Troll?