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Fandom Free (Martzi & Nerdy Tangents)

Martzi

Double Luck
Name: Jax Sommer
Age: 34
Pronouns: he/him/his



Appearance:

Jax has very light brown skin that is riddled in scars from when he was attacked by the werewolf, as well as his first few transformations. He has deep, dark brown eyes that are very expressive. His curly, glossy black hair grew long while he was in Azkaban and petrified, reaching his lower back, as did his facial hair which is now almost a foot long. But prior to Azkaban he was clean shaven, and his hair was long for an English man's - almost shoulder length - but nothing compared to now. Jax is on the taller side at 5'10'', which made him and Gene look almost silly together when they were a couple. He used to have a strong, sturdy build. He was no bodybuilder, and he wasn't particularly heavy, but he was muscular enough to be helpful when moving furniture. But after his stint in Azkaban, he is quite frail.

In terms of fashion, Jax tends to dress simply in practical clothes. If it's not something he can garden in, he won't wear it. He wears a mix of robes and muggle clothes, depending on his mood. This all was less true when he was married to Dameon. During that time, he primarily wore respectably nice robes. And, of course, during his time in Azkaban he just wore one set of quickly worn-out robes.



Personality:

Jax is at the very beginning of rediscovering who he is. At the moment, he's mostly just a very traumatized young man who was betrayed by his husband, spent a year and a half with dementors, was abandoned to die, barely scraped by for two years with the other inmates, and then had six years of his life stolen from him by petrification at the ministry's hand. Oh, and spent what time he was conscious and able to think during that period of time worrying about his daughter, who was still with the husband who murdered someone in cold blood and then proceeded to frame him.

Jax barely even remembers who he used to be, at this point. He was tough - he'd taken his fair share of shit over the years, and he'd learned to stand up for himself and others and never back down. With, perhaps, the exception of Daemon. But he wasn't an angry person. On the contrary, he was full of joy. He loved his family and friends: his daughter, his parents, Daemon, Gene, and Echo. He was fiercely loyal and dedicated to those he loved, willing to do anything for them. He loved being out in nature, hiking or swimming or camping. He loved plants and growing them, something that always brought him a sense of peace and calm. He loved writing and advocating for people. He loved all the little things in life, too: sunrises, music, flying, and a good cup of tea in the morning. Jax wasn't great with people, being a little blunt and rough around the edges. But his genuine care shown through.

In the last couple years before he was petrified, though... who was he? He was tough, he supposed - he managed to survive, and help many others to do the same. But he feels incredibly weak. And he doesn't feel full of joy. He thinks... he thinks he might be angry. Absolutely bursting with anger. But he's too weak to feel it fully and he's not sure he wants to.



Background:

Lora and Mike are working class muggles. Mike is the type of person who is often asked 'where are you really from' to which he can only answer that he is British, and his family has been British as far back as they can remember. The same is true for Lora, though people accept this far more readily from her. The couple tried for many years to have a kid but couldn't afford many medical interventions. They had all but given up when Lora finally got pregnant in her mid-40s and managed to carry the baby to term, giving birth to a healthy baby boy: Jax.

Jax grew up surrounded by the love and support of parents who desperately wanted him in their live, but never spoiled. Weird things tended to happen around Jax as a kid, but he and his family always came up with explanations for it. Until the fateful day, the summer after Jax turned 11, when a Hogwarts professor came to explain to them that magic was real and Jax was a wizard, and to invite him to Hogwarts. It took a while for the science-minded family to accept this new reality, but eventually it became impossible to deny.

Jax struggled at Hogwarts, at first. He was sorted into Gryffindor, but he still faced his share of bullies and bigotry. But that was nothing new to Jax. What was even harder was that he was expected to make a complete cultural shift overnight. Suddenly, he had no way to access the music, sports, or shows he'd grown up with and was expected to enjoy new ones or none at all. He had none of the technology that had provided entertainment or ease. There was so much about the wizarding world he didn't know.

At least Jax had Gene, though, the best friend he made the very first night at Hogwarts. He helped Jax to acclimate and to understand the context he was often missing in conversations. It wasn't perfect - Jax still missed everything about home, from his parents to his tv - but he gradually adjusted. He even came to enjoy parts about Hogwarts. He liked the huge castle and grounds, bursting with magic and just waiting to be explored. He liked his friends. He liked some of the bands he was exposed to. He was never on the Quidditch team but he liked flying and playing around for fun. And, always having been a kid who loved nature, often going camping, hiking, and swimming with his parents, he absolutely adored having a whole class dedicated to taking care of plants. He flourished in Herbology above all but enjoyed many of his other classes as well. When Gene told Jax about how people in Japan didn't always use wands, he decided to start giving wandless magic a try. He wasn't great at it, already having been conditioned to use a wand, but he learned to do some basic spells without.

The summer before their fifth year, Jax was on a backpacking trip with his parents when Jax left the campsite one night and encountered a giant, seemingly aggressive wolf. Jax knew better but he'd never seen wildlife like this - instinct took over and he fled. Jax was incredibly lucky to survive the attack that followed. The only reason he did was that an adult wizard was hiking as well and happened to come across Jax before he bled out. He apparated with Jax to St. Mungo's which saved his life but also left him with few choices but to register with the ministry. He was, at least, permitted to continued at Hogwarts - though that was more thanks to the Headmaster than because the Ministry really wanted him to.

The months that followed were some of Jax's worst. He suffered from nightmares and the full moons were brutal, painful things not helped by the forced isolated. He didn't bother to keep his condition a secret from Gene which wound up being the best decision he ever made. Gene managed to reach out to a Great Aunt in America who was able to offer suggestions on how to make the full moons better. He started taking pain potions and mood stabilizers around the full moon, and made a den for himself in the shrieking shack with familiar smells. That winter break, Jax got a support dog, a German Shepphard named Echo. Gradually, between then advice he was given and what he figured out through experimentation, things started getting a little easier.

In his seventh year, Jax finally admitted to a crush that had been building for some time and wound up dating Gene. Their relationship was fraught with a rarely spoken tension: the knowledge that their relationship could not be long term. Gene intended to marry someone else, whomever his parents deemed appropriate and arranged things with. It was this knowledge that eventually spelled the end of their relationship when they graduated for Hogwarts. Gene was going to Japan for magical university and, as much as Jax wanted to follow him, he knew he and Gene couldn't be together forever and that he needed to find his own footing, on his own.

Jax tried to get a job in a greenhouse but was unable to find anyone willing to hire a werewolf. Eventually, the Comptons made him an offer - they would pay him to write Lucretia's Gardening Guidebook, a resource for werewolves disguised as a herbology and gardening pamphlet. Jax had mixed feelings at first, not wanting them to essentially have to take care of him. But, in the end, he decided it was something that would do a lot of good.

It was through writing the guidebook that he met Daemon, a fellow werewolf all but bursting with charm. Jax was never gullible or naive but when it came to Daemon, he was completely fooled. Daemon always seemed to know exactly what to say to get Jax - or most anyone else - to do what he wanted, and he took full advantage of this. Yet he always seemed kind and giving, and Jax never realized he was being used. They married and had a daughter together, something Daemon pushed for even though Jax felt they were too young at 23 and 25. But Jax adored his daughter all the same and would do anything for her. Which was, perhaps, why Daemon had wanted a kid to begin with.

When Gene came back, Jax was happy to reconnect with him. Daemon was less thrilled, Jax assumed because of their romantic history, but this was one thing that Jax was not willing to back down on. Gene had done a lot for him over the years and Jax loved him a lot - he wasn't about to abandon him because his husband was jealous. It was a contentious issue between them for a year and a half, until the murder and the arrest. A political rival of Daemon's was gruesomely murdered and the aurors blamed Jax, claiming they had reason to believe it had been a werewolf. He was never given a trial.

What followed was the worst year and a half of Jax's life, surrounded by dementors at all times he lost the will to live. He was barely fed, not that he had much interest in eating anyways. He was in complete isolation, which brought back the horrors of Jax's earliest transformations, combined with not having Echo or any familiar smells. The only bright side was that the dementors impacted him slightly less as a wolf. And then, one day, the dementors vanished from Azkaban, leaving the prisoners in their cells.

It took days for Jax to summon the energy and power to open his cell with wandless magic. He had to find food and water before he was able to find the power to open anyone else's. But then he freed everyone. Some decided to make the long swim for shore, but Jax knew he was far too weak to manage it. So he stayed. He taught the others what little he knew of wandless magic, he taught them how to fish the muggle way, and they got by. It was two full years later that ministry workers came to the island and, with minimal explanation and no discussion, petrified every single one of them.

Three years later, Jax was awoken and given a trial. As it turned out, there was minimal actual evidence against him, Jax had an alibi, and Daemon had been arrested for Death Eater activity. So, he was set free. Jax's parents are nearing 80 and ill-equipped to take care of their son. So, they sent Gene a letter, in anticipation of Jax being woken and released, pleading with him to come back to help. He had always been Jax's best friend and had helped him through the hardest times in his life. They hoped that Gene would be able to do the same again.

Jax stepped out of the courtroom a free man. He rubbed his wrists where they'd been shackled during the trial as he glanced around, trying to get his bearings. He looked a mess. He was clean, at least, and had even been given a new set of robes for the occasion. They were a generic black set, nothing fancy. But they were much better than the outfit he'd been arrested in, which he'd worn for the last nine years and had been falling apart at the seams. But other than that, Jax was quite a miserable sight. He was horribly thin and frail, stick thin with arms like breakable twigs. His face and eyes were hollow in a way that had to come from more than simple lack of food. His body was riddled in scars, many of which were new since his arrest. Jax's curly black hair was clean for once but also far too long, reaching his lower back, and his facial hair was nearly as long.

The whole day had been a surreal experience for Jax. He'd been woken with no more ceremony or explanation than he'd been petrified with - which was to say, none at all. One moment ministry officials were lining everyone up, Jax among them. He'd taken his turn stepping into an office, had a wand pointed at him, and then, next thing he knew, he was waking up with a wand pointed at him in an entirely different room. He'd been directed to get in the shower. Jax had pushed for an explanation but gotten little more out of the wizard than that his trial was today. That was enough to get Jax into the shower. A trial? He didn't know that he would win but it was something. It was more than he'd been given before, at any rate. Besides, the lure of a real shower was more than he could resist. It had been heavenly. He hadn't showered with soap and fresh, warm water since before he was arrested and Jax didn't think he'd ever experienced anything so sweet. He'd come out to find the plain set of black robes and had been almost as pleased to feel the clean fabric on his skin as he had the warm water.

And then Jax was promptly led to the courtroom that held a manacled chair and a hefty jury, but not a single audience member. It was a long and draining process, bursting with fear and hatred towards werewolves. Jax, weak as he was, barely stayed conscious through the whole thing, let alone fought them. But, in the end, they simply didn't have enough evidence to arrest him. Especially when you considered that the more likely culprit had already been arrested for Death Eater activity. The manacles on the chair had withdrawn and Jax had been told he was free to go. Jax hurried from the room as fast as his weak limbs would take him, fearing they might change their mind at any second.

So Jax stepped into the hall a free man. He hadn't really let himself consider this possibility during the trial, all too aware that this was likely to go poorly, and he would wind up right back where he'd started - in a cell in Azkaban. He'd spent more time wondering if he should have joined those who swam across the ocean to freedom. But he knew he would likely have drowned. And what would have happened to all the others? Would they have figured out how to feed themselves? Perhaps. Some of the others had been muggleborns as well and knew how to fish the muggle way. Maybe they could have gotten by with that. But now.... now Jax's thoughts went in a whole new direction. What did he do now that he was free? First and foremost, he wanted to find Izzy, all the more so after hearing that Daemon had been arrested. But where even was she? How much time had passed? Did he know where any of his loved ones were? Where was he supposed to go, with no real resources at his disposal?

Lost, Jax came to a stop just outside the doorway of the courtroom, expression shifting from hopeful to uncertain as he stared helplessly around him, people rushing by on their own business. He didn't even know where he was or how to get out, he realized. Still, better anywhere than here. Perhaps it was irrational, but Jax still feared that they would change their minds and come arrest him again at any moment. So... he started moving. He wandered until he found an elevator. By then, his legs were shaking with weakness. He was just about as malnourished as he looked, after all. He slumped against the wall of the lift and took it up to the lobby. Jax drew a lot of weird looks as people came in and out of the lift. Once or twice people started in and then quickly decided to take the next lift instead. Finally, a pleasant voice announced that they had arrived at the lobby. Jax was loathe to move but he made himself push away from the wall. He nearly collapsed but he stumbled forward, managing to stay on his feet as he exited the lift and wandered across the lobby.

Jax debated apparating... where, he wasn't sure just yet. It didn't matter, anyways - he didn't think he had the strength. And he'd never tried such difficult magic wandless. So he instead made his way to the wall of fireplaces. Which posed a whole other problem - he had no floo powder. "Please... do you have any to floo powder spare?" he asked desperately, aware that he sounded like a homeless man begging. Which... he supposed he was, come to think of it. The person treated him just as Jax had seen people treat so many homeless people - he gave him a disgusted look, skirted around him, and hastily entered the fireplace to leave before Jax contaminated him.

Jax sagged with exhaustion and went to stand between two fireplaces, putting his back to the wall. He didn't manage to stay on his feet much longer, sinking to sit on the floor, leaning against the wall. He asked a few more people who approached for floo powder with no more luck. He wasn't sure how long he was there, barely remaining conscious, before someone asked in concern, "Are you alright?"

Jax looked up in surprise, having all but thought he'd turned invisible. The person had colorful, short spiky hair and a sympathetic face. "I just..." Jax said in a weak, gravelly voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I just need some floo powder to get... home." He couldn't go home. His husband had been arrested and, from the sound of it, had framed him. No, while he was waiting, he'd decided to go to the Comptons'. He'd considered going straight to Gene. But he might have moved in the last nine years. Gene's parents were less likely to have moved from the estate, and they were basically family as well. They were his best bet, Jax figured, since his own parents might have moved as well and definitely weren't connected to the floo network.

The person glanced him over and then nodded and said, "Alright. Yeah, here, take some of mine." They pulled a small pouch out of their pocket, untied the drawstrings, and offered the opening to Jax.

Jax's eyes lit up at the sight of the glittery powder, his ticket out of here. "I... can't thank you enough," he said eagerly getting to his shaky feet and reaching out to take a pinch of the powder. "Thank you," he said again, fervently.

"No problem," The person said, giving Jax a worried look. "Good luck."

Jax gave the person a small, grateful smile. He felt like he owed the person more but he was eager to get out of here. So he just gave them a nod and another, "Thank you," before throwing the powder into the fire and announcing, "Comptons' Estate."

Jax was sucked into the floo network, squinting against the ash to peer out of the grates to make sure he came out at the right one. If he'd even recognize the Compton's house at this point - who knew how much it had changed. He did wind up recognizing it in the moment of time he saw it before he came tumbling out of the fireplace. There was a time when he'd gotten used to travelling by floo powder but he was both out of practice and very weak, leaving him unable to find his footing. He stumbled to the ground, collapsing into an ashy heap on the floor of the Compton's living room. He groaned, unable to summon the willpower to stand back up again.
 
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GENE COMPTON

Gene head throbbed dully as he wrote the latest bit of gardening advice for Lucretia’s Gardening Guidebook. It was about the only task his family was willing to allow him to do while he was visiting. His mother and grandmother especially wanted to give him space to “accept Juan’s passing” as if he was in denial about what was happening. As if he hadn’t watched his husband slowly disappear for two years.

His grandfather was a little better, just worrying about Gene taking proper care of himself. Constantly shoving food in his face and asking him what his plans were. It was a little more tolerable but just left Gene exasperated that he wasn’t at home handling things. His father at least didn’t seem obsessed with the whole thing. He was the same as always, trying to remind his son to sit still and watch the rocks grow occassionally. Gene wasn’t taking the advice any more than he normally did but he found himself appreciating that normalcy.

He and Juan had known the end was coming for quite a long time. Once he started losing his eye and bits of flesh around his face, the Healers had all agreed it was just a waiting game. Sooner or later something necessary would vanish and that would be the end of it. Juan had taken it relatively well, all things considered. He was like Gene in that way, someone who appreciated having a clear plan. He had even joked about this proving once and for all that Gene hadn’t married him for his good looks.

The two may have been arranged but their marriage had been a good one. It wasn’t an epic romance or some childish fancy. It was two men with complimentary personalities building a life together. Juan had been a little more playful than Gene, a bit less prone to taking himself seriously. Gene had been steady and dutiful in a way that Juan appreciated.

Gene had even gotten along well with his in-laws, before the Sickness anyway. Juan hadn’t wanted them to watch him fade away so had insisted Gene was his primary caretaker. Something his mother had tolerated when he was alive but was furious about now. Gene tried not to take it personally. Nothing that for her the death was sudden and upsetting. Gene had made his peace with his husband's eventual death months previously. If anything a part of him was relieved that it was over. That Juan didn’t have to wait for his body to fade away anymore. That Gene himself didn’t have to watch it happen.

Gene’s own family rushing in to take care of him was similar. They meant well, and in his better moments he appreciated it. But a part of him just wanted to be at his home, going to his job where he could help people and not have to worry about the silence or the memories. Now he was reminded at every moment of the past two years because it was all anyone wanted to talk about.

His head gave another painful throb and decided to put down his quill and go for a walk. His familiars perked up. They had been unusually quiet of late, perhaps sensing his turmoil and growing unhappiness and wanting to offer silent support. Or perhaps they were grieving in their own right, they had been genuinely fond of Juan as well.

He made his way out of the annex and towards the main house. His grandparents were out for the day so he could pick up a headache potion from their apothecary without having to worry about renewed fussing.

He was startled when the familiar's fur rose and they raced towards the main house. He fumbled for a moment but grabbed his wand and followed behind them. By the time he made it into the main house he was shocked to see a stranger sprawled in front of the fireplace. The familiars were sniffing him, tense but not aggressive. Gene crept closer, wand still at the ready.

“Who are you? Why are you in my house?” He asked.

On closer inspection the man looked painfully thin, he had scars over his body. Perhaps a werewolf seeking sanctuary? Or perhaps he had simply gotten lost in the Floo. He didn’t appear to be strong enough to travel any great distance.


Moon : Full Moon Yesterday (May 18th)
Location : Compton Estate
Company : Jax
World Building : Document
 
When Jax gave up on getting back to his feet, he allowed his eyes to close. Just for a minute, while he summoned the energy to stand up and call out to announce his presence.

The next thing Jax new, there was the sound of sniffing and a fox's nose in his face. Had he drifted off? Jax wasn't sure. He blinked his eyes open again and a weak but genuinely pleased smile graced his lips and happiness lit up his eyes at the sight of the snow-white fur obscuring his line of vision. "Hiya, Gwen," he whispered weakly, feeling his heart swell with pleasure at the sight of his best friend's familiar. It had been nine years but Jax still remembered each of them in great detail - their names, their appearances, their personalities, their quirks. They were as much his friends as Gene himself was. Gwen's face was the first familiar one that Jax had seen in nine years, and it filled him with happiness.

Jax slowly and tentatively lifted his hand towards Gwen to see if she would let him pet her soft fur. His hand felt like it weighed ten tons and even the small movement was exhausting. But before Jax could find out if Gwen would accept his familiarity, he heard Gene's wary voice. He lowered his hand again and instead placed it firmly against the ground, using it to prop himself up enough to see over Gwen's head and peer at his friend. His smile broadened when his eyes fell on the sore sight of his best friend. Merlin, it felt good to smile.

It took Jax a moment to process the wand pointed at him and he blinked in surprise, smile faltering as his eyes turned regretful. He didn't think he'd ever seen Gene point a wand at him outside of practicing in charms class when they were kids. Still, Jax couldn't muster the energy to actually be scared. Not of Gene. Jax simply couldn't picture Gene ever actually hurting him. All the same, Jax felt bad for scaring Gene. For he felt certain he had, unsure what else would cause Gene to level a wand at him. "Gene... it's me," Jax said weakly. It somehow didn't occur to him that Gene wouldn't recognize him after all the changes the last nine years had wrought in his appearance - longer hair and facial hair, thinner and frailer frame, hollow cheeks, more scars. It was too unimaginable to even cross his mind.

Jax tried to push himself up more, to actually sit up and face Gene properly. His arm shook but he managed to push himself up to sitting, only now properly taking in the other two foxes. He glanced between them for a moment with a faint smile before turning his attention back to Gene. He frowned and said earnestly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go." It hadn't occurred to him when he'd been deciding how to get home that he would startle the family. He had always been welcome at the Comptons'. But now, seeing Gene's caution, Jax felt bad for barging in. He didn't know what else he could have done, really. But he still felt bad.
 

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