Awkward First Impressions ((Rister))

[Merry Garwin H6]

“Close up in half an hour and then you’re free to go home,” the senior waitress told her with a grin as she grabbed her cloak and sauntered out of the café. Merry pulled a face at her back childishly before balancing three plates of sandwiches on her hands and serving a group of witches with a sweet smile. It was, she thought diplomatically, a sign that she was a trusted member of the staff. It had nothing to do with the fact that Linda had just gotten a new boyfriend – the third one this month, Merry rolled her eyes – and wanted to spend more time with him than her shifts as a waitress allowed. The group of boys who had just left had tipped her generously, Merry noted and flashed a smile at them before collecting their plates. The tip went straight into her pocket and Merry felt no guilt for pocketing what should have been half Linda’s. If the older woman wanted to leave early and expected Merry to cover for her then she could lose her share of the tips. Merry needed the money more than she did anyway. Working three jobs was starting to tire her out and, like every summer, Merry was starting to wish that she was back at school. At least she only worked one job then.

“Thanks for coming,” Merry chirped merrily as she watched the last of the current customers leave in relief. There was only ten more minutes until closing time so it wasn’t overly likely that she would get another customer so Merry closed the door but didn’t flip over the ‘Open’ sign to show ‘Closed’. If she did that and got caught then she would find herself with only two jobs and a lot less money. But all the waitresses took it for granted that no one would come in during the last ten minutes so Merry switched the radio up louder as she started to mop up. It was unusual for her boss to declare it a half day and she quite wondered what had possessed him to ask her and Linda to close early but she wasn’t going to complain when she was still getting paid for working the whole day. The radio blared out a song very familiar to Merry and, with a delighted laugh and a wicked grin, she swung around the mop in an over-eager version of the tango as she sang along.

Mr Saunders would definitely not be pleased if he saw her now but her grumpy boss wasn’t there and neither were any waitresses that might report her to him so Merry dropped the mop but continued dancing and singing. She was a better dancer than singer – it came from the similarity between fighting and dancing – but she didn’t sound too bad. It was in the middle of an enthusiastic twirl that Merry noticed the person standing in the doorway of the café. “Um,” Merry gulped nervously, feeling the heat of a blush spread across her face and down her neck. “It’s nearly time for me to lock up but I can serve you if you want anything,” she offered boldly. She had faced worse than this during her short life but that didn’t stop her from feeling embarrassed about her awful singing and dancing.

[Rister Graas S6]

Rister laughed as he let the young twins wrestle him to the ground, before rolling over and pinning one to the ground tickling him mercilessly. Making a grab for the other, Rister playfully chased him around the porch for a little bit, before catching him and giving this twin the same treatment as his brother. In the process of approaching the 6 year old runts with a wicked gleam in his eyes and just bloody enough threats in his mouth to make the kids squeal with laughter he was about to set on a hunt of them around the garden again, when a sudden jet of cold water soaked all three. Spluttering indignantly, Rister wiped the water off his face, before glancing at Phaedra, who was holding her wand out after having cast the water-spell. “You three looked too dirty to be allowed in public,” the female auror and a distant relative warned, wagging a finger at the three. Her quite picturesque promise to soak the two in the sea until they were clean, whether they would grow fins before that or not, have the children laughing again and racing further into the garden.

Laughing along with Phaedra, Rister moved backward on the porch to grab his shirt and pull it on. “Thanks for watching the kids. I had promised to look after them, but I hadn’t expected for a summon from the Ministry,” Phaedra said apologetically as she stepped on the porch as well, “And thank you for helping with replanting the trees. It would have taken me days otherwise.” “Neither part was any trouble and the runts were nice. I fed them both two slices of toast with some egg-mix-butter and a glass of milk meanwhile, so they’re eaten,” Rister told Phaedra, as he buttoned his shirt up half-way before remaking the pony-tail at the nape of his neck that had gotten loose while he had played with the kid. He had always liked animals and children, so watching after the young twins hadn’t been hard. Especially as children and animals tended to pick up on the fact that Rister liked them and returned the fondness instinctively. And his father had made sure that all of them could do physical labour if needed – the boys at least – so replanting the 6 young trees Phaedra had wished hadn’t really exhausted him either. “Great, thank you anyway. Oh. I saw Leandra in the ministry. She didn’t have time before her portkey home, but she said she had forgotten her book in a café in Diagon. The Asteroid Café? Something about Ancient Civilizations? She said you’d know, and begged me to ask you to fetch it for her,” Phaedra recalled and Rister nodded. “I know the book. I’ll get it for her and mail it over. Thanks for letting me know. See you later, Phaedra,” Rister said before apparating to the Diagon Alley.

This wasn’t really the appearance he usually wore, at least no in public, but it would do Rister though with an absent-minded glance at his comfortable blue jeans and red-white checkered cowboy-style shirt half-buttoned up to the middle of his chest and some dirt smears on the knees of his jeans. Besides, he might as well get Leandra’s book now before heading to the London apartment his parents had. Nodding absently to an acquaintance in passing, Rister headed towards the Asteroid Café. He was surprised to see the door closed and no visitors around the place though. It wasn’t as if it was that awfully late yet. And the sign on the door was still saying open, so Rister covered the two stair-case steps leading to the door with one step and opened the door. The loudly playing radio hide the toll of the tiny bell above the door and Rister paused in the doorway. His eyes adjusting to the slightly darker light in the café after coming from blazing sunlight, Rister felt his lips twitch into a smile at the sight of a girl twirling around between the numerous tables and chairs was belting out a song on top of her lungs. She wasn’t that good of a singer perhaps, even if her voice didn’t grate the ears. But she danced as if her whole being was in it and Rister contented himself in just watching her for a few moments, taking pleasure in her enjoyment.

Even though the girl obviously hadn’t been looking for any more customers, he got to admire the view of the willowy nymph for quite a short time still. As the girl paused with a blush covering her face and neck, Rister had a moment longer to take her in, discovering to his surprise that even knew the girl faintly from Hogwarts. They had a couple of classes together, but didn’t socialize. Rister was the notorious Slytherin bad boy and this girl, if memory didn’t fail him, was a Hufflepuff who tended to always keep herself occupied. But her voice was even enough as she spoke, so Rister allowed the half-smile, half-smirk remain on his face as he spoke up: “I do believe I could do you a bigger service right now by offering you a dance – tango – partner, Cinderella. Unless you've already sent your fairy god-mother away with a no, thank you.” Knowing that the sun shining from his back would keep her from seeing just who he was, Rister let the door close behind him, as he stopped forward a playful tilt from having observed her dancing still visible on his face, though it lacked any malice nor mocking.

“I won’t keep you long if it’s closing time already. But I believe my sister might have forgotten her book here earlier today. ‘The Medical Methods of Ancient Civilizations’ by Bink Firacis,” Rister quoted the title of the book, Leandra had been engrossed with the previous evening. It was quite complicated and quite advanced. But despite Leandra’s playful appearance, absent-minded naivety about real life, and lack of memories of the time before she was kidnapped for a day when she was 8 – his little sister was somewhat of a miracle child. She could recall and remember an astounding number of facts, tricks, and statements. A pretty little genius like Rister occasionally fondly called her. His stomach gave a rumble, reminding him that he was in a café and the waitress had offered to serve, and Rister’s smile-smirk widened by a fraction. “But as you already offered, I might take advantage of the situation and get a sandwich too if you have some ready from the day still,” he responded calmly, reaching for his pocket and fishing out 4 galleons. All but dropping the money on the counter, not bothering to even check how much the sandwich really would have cost, Rister raised his hand to see why a flash of pain had surged through his palm when it touched the edge of his pocket. Seeing a large splinter dented into the skin across his palm – no doubt from the old shovel he had used to plant the trees – Rister clicked his tongue and attempted to get hold of the end of the splinter to pull it out.

[Merry Garwin H6]

She had apparently knocked lightly into some of the tables or chairs, Merry realised as she felt small aches start to radiate from various places on her body. But none of the furniture had been knocked over and, since she was desperate to keep this job until the end of summer, that was more important than some small bruises that may or may not appear. Dad wouldn’t be happy if she got fired, not so much because she would be losing money that might come in helpful, but because it would mean that she hadn’t been working as hard as she should be. He’d get that disappointed look on his face and Merry would just crumble instantly because she was very much a daddy’s girl. She rarely disappointed him but she always regretted it when she did because he had mastered the ‘I’m so disappointed in you’ look that made all of her siblings want to dig a hole and hide in it until the look faded both from sight and from memory. Speaking of memory, Merry had just remembered that her mum was going to make cookies tonight. Mmm. Merry smiled lightly, launching into an air guitar solo at the thought. Lovely chocolate chip and raspberry jam cookies. And archery practice for two hours before it too. It was definitely going to prove to be an absolutely wonderful day.

“I’m hardly Cinderella,” Merry scoffed good-naturedly. Her siblings sometimes got offended about a mention of their lack of wealth but Merry never read too deeply into things. It was when you read into something too deeply that you got hurt, so she didn’t. “For one thing, I’m quite sure Cinderella could dance better than I can and that, since the Prince fell in love with her simply because of how she looked, she was more attractive than I am.” Not to mention that at no point had there been a mention of Cinderella doing something quite so dangerous as taking up archery or sword-fighting. No, she had merely scrubbed the floors, cleaned the dishes and snuck off to balls when she should have been working. “And if I have a fairy godmother then she’s gotten lost somewhere because I’ve certainly never seen her.” Her witch godmother was quite enough for her, Merry thought protectively. Rina was a great woman who had been supportive of Merry for as long as she could remember – which was, as her eldest brother often joked due to her infamously awful memory, from about last Tuesday.

Oh no. Merry had to hold back a giggle. He was from Hogwarts. At first she had allowed herself to hope that he might just be a hungry man passing by – which, in his defence, he probably was – but he was from Hogwarts after all. She couldn’t recall quite what House he was in but she had seen him in class so he was a sixth year. Couldn’t he have been a younger year that she could use her older sister glare on? It always kept Pip quiet so it would have worked on a boy up to third year, probably. “Ah,” Merry’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Yes, I remember that book. There was a sweet girl reading, about fourteen years old, I think. Table...8, if I remember rightly. I could tell you what she ordered if you really wanted to know.” Merry hummed to herself absent-mindedly as she ducked underneath the partition that separated the eating part of the café from the workers part and knelt to rifle through the drawers underneath the cash register. It had been a familiar book since she owned it herself and she had been rather delighted to see a young girl reading it. Perhaps the next generation wouldn’t be as intellectually-challenged as her brother complained they would be.

Merry found the book with a quiet sound of triumph and her head popped up from underneath the counter. “Found it!” Merry exclaimed cheerfully as she rose to her feet again and brushed off the knees of her trousers after handing the book back to the boy. “We don’t usually close this early so we still have quite a lot of food left,” she explained as she produced the tray of sandwiches and gestured for the boy to take his pick while she sorted through his money and laid the correct change on the counter. “What’s wrong?” Merry’s brow furrowed with concern as she ducked underneath the partition again and appeared next to the boy. Ah, a splinter. Merry rolled her eyes and grabbed the boys hand gently as she eased the splinter out of his hand with care. “My little brother is always climbing trees and getting splinters,” Merry shrugged dismissively as she dropped the sliver of wood into a rubbish bin. There had been a time when her arrows had splintered into her when she tried to shoot them, but that had been an amateur’s mistake. She had learnt so much since her first lesson that the only reason she still went to the archery range was for practice, and for her third job.

[Rister Graas S6]

The girl seemed to be in good mood, even though Rister had stepped in quite a few moments before it was time for her to lock up and close. And she took his comment quite good-naturedly, which was always a good thing. “I believe you’re mistaking fairy-tale to the modern Cinderella, who dances around an empty café with a mop, her hair in a bit of a mess, and who still manages to do everything she needs to and some more while singing along to a song I’ve never heart before,” Rister said conversationally, with a shrug of one shoulder, “It’s the furniture’s fault for getting in the way. And I’m definite you’d look pretty enough if you donned a flashy ball gown as well. I’m not entirely sure how comfortable glass or crystal shoes would be however. I imagine that it would be rather bruising for the toes if your hand moved inside it. And speaking of modernized Cinderella, we are being awfully incorrect politically too, don’t you think? Perhaps the modern supervising fairy is a god-father or a transvestite?”

A fond affection lightened Rister’s eyes for a moment as he thought of his sister. “Leandra. Thirteen to be exact and mean as a wasp if she wants to be generally,” Rister defined, calmly leaving out the part that wasp training most generally came from himself and his brothers. They kept a constant eye on their sisters generally, but they had also made sure the girls could hold their own during the time it would take them to get to help. “Grilled salmon with lemon. Rice on side as well as sauce made from dill pickles and sour cream mixed together and milk,” Rister quoted himself as the waitress offered to share what Leandra had ordered, “For dessert pancakes with strawberries, oh you don’t offer that.” Rister raked his eyes over the menu put up on the walls as he pondered for a moment, “Perhaps the strawberry foam then? She always orders the same thing whenever she’s eating out somewhere or at least attempts to.” Rister shrugged lightly, as he leaned his arms on the counter and eyed the kneeling girl with mild interest, a grin tugging at one corner of his mouth as the girl started humming again.

Accepting the book from Merry, Rister inclined his head in wordless thank you, placing the book on the counter next to his elbow. “Is there some special occasion I’ve forgotten for closing early?” Rister questioned absent-mindedly while browsing the sandwich selection presented to him. He wasn’t a fan of fish himself, so he by-passed the ones with fish, opting for a simple loaf of bread with a leaf of salad, small pile of ham, and egg to top it off. Taking a bite, Rister chewed absent-mindedly. Only to blink in surprise as the girl appeared next to him again. She was quite a tall girl, even she didn’t quite stand equal to Rister’s own height. Keeping his hand steady as Merry pulled out the splinter, Rister let the mask of a Slytherin appear on his face for a moment. It was never a pleasant sensation to have a splinter removed, so he just looked away and with an impassively unreadable face took another bite of the sandwich he had chosen. “Maybe I’m wrong though. Maybe you’re my fairy grand-parents with medical skills?” Rister questioned, letting the mask drop again before turning back to the girl, who didn’t seem to recognize him. All the better. Realizing just who Rister was would most likely stop the light conversation they were having. “I’m hardly a little brother though and I didn’t climb trees. But thank you,” Rister murmured calmly, finishing off his sandwich, before pushing himself from the counter, leaving the money laying where it was.

Sifting the mop out of the way, Rister easily lifted two chairs on the tables with their legs pointing upwards, as had been done to some tables further away from the centre already. “Seeing that I’m keeping you late and you helped me out thrice during the short span of time, I might as well attempt to return the favour,” Rister murmured slightly, “Though I refuse to mop anything.” Not that he ever had done any mopping in his life anyway. “But I suppose I can be put to work otherwise if need be, whether it’s putting the chairs in place or escorting you somewhere later on. There’s a bunch of 3 people coming this way on the street, so you better flip the sign unless you want more last-minute customers.” Besides the girl seemed interesting enough for the moment and he was in no hurry. The rest of his family was all away from England so there wasn’t even anyone who would be worried or waiting him right now.

[Merry Garwin H6]

Merry raised a hand to her hair self-consciously, smoothing it down before realising what she was doing and returning her hand to her side exasperatedly. She was always the same around boys unless she knew them well. She didn’t get flustered easily – a mixture of her older brother’s influences on her life and her naturally laidback personality – but she always felt so self-conscious. She felt almost as self-conscious around females and adults but Merry had always been able to smile boldly and either endear herself to people or offend them. Her mother had fondly called it her greatest trait until she had discovered how good of a waitress she was. “You’ve never heard this song before?” Merry shook her head and chuckled lightly. “Well now you have and you’ll probably always remember it as ‘that song with the girl dancing along to it crazily’. And I’d quite like a fairy god-father, or maybe a transvestite godfather, as long as he doesn’t try to make a Prince fall in love with me because then I might just have to snap his wand over his head.”

Ah, she had been close. Guessing ages correctly was a useful skill for a waitress to have because then she knew which food to press and which to ignore completely when trying to sell something. “You know your sister well,” Merry flashed a sweetly approving smile at Rister. There were so many families who just didn’t get along with each other that she was always glad to see that her family wasn’t the only one who didn’t hate each other. Every day in the café she had worked in last summer, she saw families arguing and teenagers yelling that they hated their parents. It had been beyond her comprehension. Sure, sometimes she and her parents and siblings fought but she had never told them that she hated them nor heard it from them. If she needed them, her three older siblings were always there to offer advice and her two younger ones always there to cheer her up with their innocence. Rosa and Pip were adorable, when they weren’t whining to be taken to the archery range. Mum was starting to think that she was a bad influence on them. “We’re actually adding pancakes to the menu, but only after midday because the morning cook is allergic to one of the ingredients.”

“If there’s a special occasion then someone neglected to inform me as well,” Merry commented with a light-hearted shrug. “It’s highly unlikely that my boss just decided to give me half a day off though. He...” Merry glanced at the boy and smiled ruefully. “I think it would be wise not to tell you exactly what I think of my boss because I have such bad luck that you’re probably related to him our your parents are friends with him.” Rister had chosen his sandwich so Merry whisked the tray away and disposed of the remaining sandwiches, reserving one for herself and depositing the money in the cash register. She would be hungry after archery practice, as she knew from years of experience, so she might as well grab a sandwich that she knew would taste good rather than rely on the vending machine in the sports hall. “You’re definitely not like Pip,” Merry grinned as she eyed Rister, tilting her head thoughtfully. “You both have black hair though so he might be a mini version of you. Please don’t tell me that you’re going to copy his habit of tugging on my hair and complaining because I won’t take you to the park. Is your hand okay?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Merry protested hastily as she also started to continue her last duties as a waitress for the day. She only had a short shift at the range after this and then she could start her practice. Mum already knew that she’d probably be late back home because she always was after practice. “I’m not usually here alone so I won’t deny that I’m thankful for your help but I can manage by myself if you have somewhere else to be.” Nevertheless, Merry took his advice by flipping the sign and then grabbed her mop again, this time without dancing. After a quick glance to her watch, Merry deduced that she had gained an extra three hours of doing nothing when she should be working. She couldn’t even shift her archery practice forward because the range was booked. Maybe Pip and Rosa would like to be taken somewhere. With her share of the tips ready to be taken, Merry could afford to be a bit generous just as her brothers and sister had been when they had been the ones working and she had been the youngest.

[Rister Graas S6]

He still had the touch is seemed. He had always been able to make girls be aware of themselves. Of the fact that they were just that – girls – in the company of a young man. Lita often blamed him for playing with girls heart. In reality, Rister didn’t do that. He went out with them, he made them feel like a woman, he listened. But he never asked for a heart. And even though he had been tiring lately from his quite constant dating – however odd that might sound coming from a 17 year old – it was good to know that he still had the touch. “I had never heard the song before,” Rister added calmly as he tilted his head. He knew the music his family listened to or the style Jared played. But he himself never turned on music, preferring silence or the whispers of wind he could hear through an open door. “So you’ll have to let me make a swift escape in case you plan on starting to talk about music and what I like. Otherwise I’d just eternally embarrass myself. And I wouldn’t say the girl was crazy. The mop probably just wasn’t the best partner,” Rister suggested with a slight grin.

“Break his wand? Hmmm. Will I be titled a chauvinist soon as well?” Rister wondered with a smirk, as the girl seemed quite firm about her point, “Let me present a choice to you then, crazy girl who dances with her mop. Option A: you are blindly besotted with the prince, can’t sleep, can’t eat, don’t think of anything else, the worst case of blind head-over-heels, reach over the fence love-sickness case. Option B: the prince is mooning after you, doing everything your little heart might desire, waits before your feet like a lapdog, only to be carried to cloud 9 and higher if you shoo him away, because it means you noticed him. Would you rather be the one who can’t think straight, or have someone worshipping every aspect of you? Frankly? I’d take the besotted prince after I kiss the frog.”

Rister caught the glance and shrugged a shoulder: “She’s my sister. Annoying little smart sister, who loves a couple of securely familiar dishes.” Grilled salmon with rice and sour cream dill pickles sauce, milk, and for dessert pancakes with strawberries had been the first food Leandra had eaten after her kidnapping was over. That was the main and nearly only food she did exist on now. At least it had a bit of everything she would need in it. “Allergic to pancakes? That’s a new one. What can you be allergic to in them? Milk? Flour? Sugar? In that case how can you even work as a chef?” Rister sent the girl a slightly puzzled glance. He could cook himself as well. He was no master chef, but people could survive on the stuff he could cook. And he really wasn’t aware of any overly special ingredient in pancakes that a professional chef could be allergic to, yet still work as a chef.

Rister chuckled quietly. “I doubt my parents know anyone so interested in aliens to name their café Asteroid. But you never know. Wise girl,” Rister commented with a grin, grabbing a paper napkin from its holder and calmly wiping his fingers and his mouth clean, before laughing quietly as Ashlyn started comparing him to Pip. A silly nickname, but y the sounds of it, Pip was her little brother. Throwing the napkin into the bin, Rister leaned against the counter, crossed his arms over his chest, his legs at his ankles, and with a slightly tilted head looked at the girl calmly: “Haven’t you heard? It’s the universal right of brothers all over the world to fret for their sisters and pull on their hair. But I promise you I won’t pull on your hair today, because then you’d start thinking of me as a brotherly figure and now that would be boring, wouldn’t it?” Rister winked at the girl quickly, before pushing himself away from the counter and setting to work at lifting chairs up on the tables, “As for the other things. Hmmm. Well, my best friend would most likely tell you that I’m going to be bad for you and that I haven’t been a nice and innocent boy for some, oh, 5-6 years? But I’m more than willing to be taken to the park.. I might pass on the sandbox for the excuse of being clingy… but I’m willing to have my hand held. I should be good enough for a park, even if I’m not in the most dashing attire right now,” Rister commented, throwing a slightly condescending glance at his shirt with its rolled up sleeves and jeans.

Rister, shrugged, lifting another chair on the tabe without even bothering to glance at his palm. He had had worse things happen to him than just a tiny splinter in his palm. “It’ll be fine. And I know I don’t have to do it. If I had to it I wouldn’t bother. Problem with authority some would say. I don’t. I blame my parents. They made me turn up the way I am,” Rister threw a grin over his shoulder at the girl as he finished dealing with the chairs and looked at the girl. “All done that I can do, it seems. Sooo… I’m going to step out and let you lock up and do whatever else you still need to do. While I’m going to sit down on the edge-stone of the walkway and pretend to be tying my shoe-laces for the next five minutes. So if you want to escape, you’ll be warned to use the back-door, which I’m sure this place has. If the idea of a park and a possible ice-cream seemed enchanting – or well, possibly 3 ice-creams in case I was awfully mistaken before and Pip's your pet, not your little brother. Even though he needs walking at either case as well. You’ll know where a random fellow with tied up shoe-laces will be at,” besides he had to give the girl a chance to escape. Rister wasn’t sure at all she’d still be as charmed and laughing, when she realized that he was one of the most arrogant Slytherins. Smiling lightly to the girl, Rister took Leandra’s book and stepped out of the café. Leaning against the edge of the café-wall, Rister glanced at his watch, before letting his eyes wonder around, being sure to keep his back towards the café. Though while he was at it, he might as well retie his shoe-laces, Rister figured as he crouched and tightened the laces of his traveling boots absent-mindedly.

[Merry Garwin H6]

“I’m not actually that fond of music myself, though you may think otherwise. I don’t get a lot of time to listen to the radio unless I’m working by myself.” Merry shrugged and smiled, unbothered by her busy schedule. She had made sacrifices and made them willingly because her family was the most important thing to her. And things weren’t as bad for her as they had been for her sister. Kali had had to work four jobs at one time and she had worked herself into exhaustion. Things had been relatively easy for Merry and they would be easier still for Pip and then Rosa, if she had any say in it. “The mop was a brilliant partner,” Merry protested with a cheerful laugh. “I don’t think that a human could ever be a better partner than this mop. It’s simply not possible.”

“You might be titled a chauvinist but I won’t be the one calling you it. It’s hardly your fault that I stopped expecting a fairytale ending when I was seven. And I’d much prefer Option B, if you wish to know. I’d get fired very quickly if my mind was on a handsome prince and nothing else.” Not that it would ever happen. Merry smiled almost bitterly for a second before the happy light returned to her face. She wasn’t Cinderella and she didn’t have a prince to care for her. She didn’t even have an ordinary peasant boy. Her sisters weren’t ugly or cruel, and her parents weren’t dead. She didn’t have a cruel stepmother and she was pretty sure that Cinderella had never had brothers who loved her. It was terribly cliché but, although she didn’t have much money, she was happy.

Merry lifted a shoulder in a shrug as she finished with the mop and carried both mop and bucket to the back door to empty out the water. “I don’t know exactly what he’s allergic to but I’m rather curious myself. Maybe he just doesn’t approve of pancakes since he’s never confessed to being allergic to anything before.” Not that it mattered, Merry thought wisely as she smiled to herself secretly. The morning cook wouldn’t be around for very long after this week because the cook who took the later shifts was going to be working full-time in a fortnight. And good riddance to him. Sandra was much friendlier than Adam had ever been. He had only gotten the job because he had been dating the boss’s daughter. Connections were everything when you weren’t talented. Merry reappeared in the main part of the café and stowed the mop and bucket in the closet, turning the lock as she rolled her eyes. Saunders was so paranoid. Who would want to steal their collection of ragged mops?

“I don’t know why my boss named the café that and I think my job is safer if I don’t ask him. He doesn’t like me very much but I’m the most reliable waitress he has – granted, it’s because I’d get the disappointed look from my Dad if I was fired but he doesn’t know that – so he can’t afford to lose me. I’m valuable. It’s fun.” Today was turning out to be a reasonably good day. Okay, so she had been caught in a moment of unleashed insanity but he was cute and he was helping her out. It wasn’t like they were actually going to talk to each other at Hogwarts. They never had before, as was proved by the way Merry couldn’t recall his name nor his house, so it was highly unlikely that they would talk to each other next year just because he had seen her dance. Besides, he was rich and rich people didn’t mingle with the commoners unless they were bored. He might as well just wear a shirt proclaiming it to the world. It was practically written all over him anyway. The way he stood, the way he spoke, just the way he acted. Rich, rich, rich. She would be a few moments of entertainment for him and then forgotten about within an hour or two. But it wasn’t like she wasn’t going to forget about him the very second she stepped into the archery range and picked up her bow. “Then what’s the universal right of sisters?” Merry asked curiously, her eyes lingering on Rister’s back for longer than she would have liked as he lifted the chairs onto the tables. It should be illegal for an attractive guy to enter the café when she was ready to close and then be charming and help her to finish her chores. Why couldn’t he have just left like a normal customer? “Why would you want to look dashing if you were going to the park?” Merry’s head tilted as she frowned in confusion.

He was definitely no ordinary customer. Merry laughed to herself as she watched him leave. Nothing would come of it but an hour of company but it was enough. It was better than wandering around for three hours by herself anyway. “Mum,” Merry crouched in front of the small fire in the office. “Send Rosa and Pip through; I got off work early so I’ll take them to the park. Oh! And ask Rosa to grab the quiver from my room – it’s hanging on the nail. I’ll go straight to the sports hall and send them home from there.” Merry let her hair out of the messy bun she was required to tie it up in while she worked and brushed it before smoothing it into a ponytail and securing it. A black-haired seven year old tumbled out of the fire place first and Merry steadied him before grabbing the six year old girl who stumbled out after him, slinging the quiver of arrows over her shoulder in a smoothly practiced motion. “Rosa,” Merry looked at her little sister curiously, noticing something different about her. “Why is your hair blue?” Her sister mumbled something about accidental magic before tugging her older siblings out of the café eagerly. “Who’s he?” Pip tugged at her trousers when Merry headed towards Rister after locking the café door and putting the key in a box and closing the lid. The box was charmed to send the key to the owner’s house so that he could open up tomorrow morning. “This is Pip, and the blue-haired girl hiding behind me is Rosa. He doesn’t bite, Rosa,” Merry twisted to smile at her youngest sibling reassuringly before turning a jokingly wary gaze to Rister. “Do you? Don’t ask about the hair, by the way.” Merry advised quietly before smiling, feeling sheepish. “I never asked your name; how rude of me. I’m Merry.”

[Rister Graas S6]

“Was it really? Maybe I should try?” Rister eyed the mop thoughtfully, before shaking his head, “No, perhaps not. I’d ask it to dance if it had a red handle. If it had a red handle, I’d whisk it off it’s…bristles… and we’d shoot to the top of dancing hit lists. As it is now,” Rister shook his head and clicked his tongue disapprovingly, “Can’t do much, I’m afraid. It’s all yours.” Rister smiled slightly as the girl picked Option B. He hadn’t really even doubted it. He couldn’t really think of anyone who would take Option A out of such a case. Everyone wanted to be loved. And out of respect and friendship love could grow in return. Not that many people reasoned the second half of that thought to themselves. Though the girl really had an equally rational reason for not spending her days with her head in the clouds. Not that Rister had ever worked in that sense. He had been brought up and tutored by his father to care for the castle, make sure the forests were in shape, to provide for the villagers below if needed – but he had never dune such a job this girl. He had been taught to work, but he had always known that he was rich.

“I’d tell you that I don’t think overly highly of a chef allergic to pancakes. But we’ve already established that you know the chef and saying that might send him coming after me with a sushi-knife, so I think I’ll take your advice from before and won’t tell you that,” Rister stated with a calm nod to the girl, twisting her previous words to be used for his stance as well, “And in the odd case I ever see your boss, I’ll be sure to praise you. You saved my sister’s book, fed a hungry man at closing time, and offered medical assistance with my splinter. Without it I would have surely gotten some fatal blood-disease and died in horrible pains, which I wouldn’t have enjoyed at all. I’m quite sure I see why your boss values your work.” Rister threw a charming smile over his shoulder at the girl, chuckling out loud at the puzzled expression on her shoulder. “Why? Well, why not? It’s pleasant enough to be dashing. But we already discussed the option of my horrifying death. Wouldn’t you like to look your best on the odd case you step out and a meteor falls on you, killing you instantly? I’d at least want to be remembered as a good-looking and well-dressed corpse.”

“Sisters give their brothers grey hair prematurely,” Rister tugged on his pony-tail as if to emphasize the point, “I’m certain that the two sisters I have – both are younger. I’m the oldest child – will cause me to having to start dying my hair in a year or two, unless I wish to walk around with a white crown. Or perhaps they drive me insane first so I end up pulling my hair out with its roots before it even has a chance to go old.” Not that it was likely. Rister was the mirror image of their father, except having the emerald eyes of their mother. And well, he didn’t turn into a ferocious furry beast during full moon. “Dad always says that they had the boys first, because Leandra and Morgana need all the bodyguards they can get to keep them out of trouble. But he’s too old to run after them,” which was probably also true. In the sense that Morgana and Leandra would need bodyguards, as both were promising to grow up to be beauties, Rister saw that well enough. Not that it made him feel any more securer, to know that his little sisters would be catching the admiring eyes of guys very soon.

Stepping out of the café, Rister made himself comfortable, after retying both of his boots once. He couldn’t help but wonder, what the girl would do. It was likely enough that he would be stood up. She had seemed happy enough to get off earlier and would possibly have plenty of things to do or friends to catch up with. But there was also an equal possibility that she would come out and spend impulsively entertaining hour or two with him. Rister could handle it both ways really. He would go home and throw himself on a couch with a book, if the girl decided to pass. If she decided to take up on the offer, then Rister would be happy enough over some company as well. Hearing the door swing open, Rister turned his head and glanced at it. Ah, they were going to get chaperones it seemed. But then again, he had widened the invitation to ice-cream for more than two himself anyway. And they kids seemed young, so he didn’t really even mind, he decided as he pushed himself away from leaning against the wall, and took a couple of steps towards the trio.

“Pleasure to meet you, Pip and Rosa,” Rister said, his eyes flickering all members of the trio as they were introduced, even as he held out his hand for Pip to shake, and made a graceful bow with one of his legs slightly before the other before Rosa, who seemed shier. “Merry. Fitting name. Is it short for something. Meredith?” And Merry did suit the girl, seeing how happily she had been dancing before. But giving his name was a tad trickier. The girl evidently didn’t recognize him for who he was. And Rister didn’t entirely want to send her running for the four winds just yet either. And the name Rister Graas was notorious enough. But even though both McGonagall and Snape had beratedhim before with his full name, few people connected his middle-name to him. It might be enough for just now. “R. M. G,” Rister quoted his initials, while inclining his head towards Merry, “My middle name is Mordred. And no I don’t bite. Maybe just to sample a bit. And even then, I’d let you get the first bite, Rosa. And more importantly, Pip, I’m the guy who promised to treat everyone to an ice-cream in the park. But I have to admit that I’ve never been in a park in London, so I might need help locating one to start with.”

“And I’ll know I’ll have to behave nicely, or your older sister will shoot me with a couple of her arrows,” Rister told all three of them, glancing at the quiver hanging over Merry’s shoulder. It did look quite professional, even though Rister himself was no expert in the area. “Do you train at some range as well? Not that I know much of the area. I don’t think I’ve ever held a bow in hand myself, even though dad taught me to shoot muggle guns when I was younger. Is archery any similar?” Not to mention the time, dad had saved aunt Dana by shooting at a death eater with a muggle gun through Dana’s shoulder… Dad did think that holding a gun made it more personal if there was a need to take a life. Killing was a big responsibility and Rister could still count every single time and animal of the five when he had pulled the trigger. It had been a necessity each time, a proprietor of large amounts of forests had to keep a balance and remove animals with rabies, if such an occasion happened, or stop some predator harassing the villagers. But it hadn’t made the sensation and the act pleasurable. But Rister had most definitely learned the value of life and what it took to kill. Stretching the fingers of his right hand that had curled into his palm, Rister wiped away any traces of dark memories that might have flickered across his face as he thought of the five times he had used a shotgun to kill, and arched his eye-brows expectantly at the trio: “So which way will we be heading to?”

[Merry Garwin H6]

“What’s so great about a red handle?” Merry quirked an eyebrow at him oddly before thinking it through more deeply. Red was bold, daring and occasionally sweet; the colour of those who either were those things or wished to be. She rather wondered which one he was. “Adam would definitely attack you with a knife if he heard anyone insulting him or his food,” Merry shook her head lightly, wondering just how insane she must have been to have actually had a crush on the guy when she had first started the job. He had been handsome and a decent cook but then he had opened his mouth and Merry had gotten a first-hand experience of his attitude. He was arrogant and self-centred and haughty that Merry had nearly wanted to smack her head on the wall for being such an idiot. “You wouldn’t have died; don’t exaggerate. It was only a splinter. And I’m sure your sisters book would have been safe without my help.” Oh yeah, he was definitely rich. That, Merry could deal with. She had served so many rich people that she could spot them before they even opened their mouths and heard their snobbish attitude directed toward her. It was him being handsome and charming that made her be on her guard. Like any girl, she was susceptible to charm and an attractive man. But her responsibilities always came first. Calm and focused, that was what Merry always had to be. She would have enough time to flirt and date when she got back to Hogwarts and only had one job. Besides, he was rich and very handsome – way out of her league.

“You sound just like my older brothers. They’re always complaining about me and my sister. Not so much about my younger sister, she’s a bit young to be causing much trouble, but definitely about me and my older sister.” Kali had definitely driven their brothers insane when she had been Merry’s age. Her pretty brown-haired sister had always had the confidence and charm to make guys flock to her and she had enjoyed every moment of it. She was almost the complete opposite to Merry. “So that’s why we have two older brothers,” Merry smiled with mock-shock, looking amazed. “I always knew that they had to have some purpose and now you’ve enlightened me – they’re my bodyguards.” Her brothers had always made it very clear that if they ever found Merry or Kali alone with a boy then they would punch first and ask questions later. Rosa was too young for them to really worry about her but they were already training Pip in their over protective ways for when the two of them went to Hogwarts since Merry would have already graduated and wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on either of the two youngest.

Rosa looked absolutely star-struck, Merry noticed and turned her head slightly to hide a quick grin. She would have to torture her brothers later with the idea that Rosa was more like Kali than herself. Pip didn’t look quite so impressed so Merry swung him up into her arms and pulled a face at him, earning a quiet laugh that he muffled in her shoulder. “Come on, pipsqueak,” she coaxed gently, “I promise, he really doesn’t bite. And don’t go home and tell Tyler or Reid that I wasn’t alone when I took you to the park because I’ll tickle you until you scream for mercy if I have to go through one of their interrogations again.” Her threat was light-hearted but effective since Pip nodded immediately and continued to look almost wary even after she put him back on the ground. The tickle attack threat always worked on Rosa and Pip, probably because they had four older siblings who always carried through with their promises.

“Yeah, it’s short for Meredith. Pip is short for Phillip and Rosa is short for Rosaline. Mum hates that we never use our full names, says that she took the time to pick them out so we should use them in their full form. Well, Reid – my older brother - does but that’s only because we can’t think of anything to shorten it to.” Poor Reid was the odd one out but only in that way and he had always been her favourite older brother just like Kali favoured Ty. It was like the two brothers had decided to make themselves more lovable to one of their sisters so that she and Kali would always have one of them to confide in without hesitation or wondering which one to go to. “Ah, a man of mystery. Very well, I won’t ask for your first name since you prefer to be mysterious. Mordred, it is.” After all, Merry had always loved a bit of mystery. It added a bit of spice to what was an otherwise repetitive life. “I’ll lead the way,” Merry assured him, shifting the quiver strap on her shoulder to a more comfortable spot. Her bow had needed some repair so that was still at the archery range.

“She can’t shoot you,” Pip sent him a withering stare. “She hasn’t got her bow with her.” Merry grimaced and tapped her little brother’s head warningly, frowning at him when he looked up at her with an innocent smile. Yeah, Tyler and Reid had definitely gotten to their little brother. He was like a mini-big brother. Because two of them evidently just weren’t enough, in her brothers opinions. “I’ve been an archer since I was eight. I’ve also been learning martial arts and taking fencing lessons since then but I stopped the self defence lessons last year.” Merry shrugged and smiled modestly. “Dad wanted a girl who could take care of herself and he used my love of history to convince me. I could be like Robin Hood by taking the archery lessons, a brave tournament champion by learning how to fence and somehow the self defence lessons got slipped in there too.” Merry looked around the streets silently, working out where the nearest park was, and nodding to herself when she figured it out. “Rosa.” The now blue-haired little girl looked up at her and Merry picked her up, resting her against her hip comfortably as her sister rested the top of her head in the crook of her neck, before putting a hand on Pip’s shoulder and gesturing for Rister to follow her as she started to walk. “I have a job at the archery range where I practice too. My shift starts in about three hours and, usually, I barely have time to floo from the café to my house to grab my bow and quiver before sprinting to the range. I would’ve been fired before now if the staff didn’t know me because they taught me how to shoot.”

[Rister Graas S6]

“Red handle. Well, red’s strong, passionate. Feminine. A little bit sexy, a little bit mysterious. Call me old-fashioned, but I do tend to prefer having a female dance-partner. Or, with some modifications in the current compromises, an as feminine as possible mop for my partner,” Rister responded musingly, peering out of the window as he answered. Red? Would make a bold, lively woman, were the colour alive? Was there a colour representing each person? His would probably be green then. The dark green of an evergreen in the dusky under forest. Or at least he hoped it would be that. “Adam’s the chef? He might, but he has no reason to, because as we decided to do just in case, I’m not going to reveal my initial opinion about him to you. Besides, presuming that he does come after me with a knife, such a pick of weapon would most likely be chosen in order to gain an advantage due to the shock of the opponent, rather than real skill of wielding a knife. There’s a difference between using a knife to dice some salad and using a knife to slice at a human,” Rister pointed out reasonably enough. It was never the same to raise a wand, a gun, or a knife against any living creature. Even if it was a hungry aranchid, who’d have no problems eating you, so Rister had done it. But that didn’t mean he overly enjoyed it.

“Exaggerating has it’s purpose. And how do you know? Maybe I’m an aspiring young actor,” Rister grimaced at the thought, even as the words left his mouth, “Alright, possibly not. But, had I been an aspiring young actor, your careless comment might have just broken my heart, shattered my dreams, and in long term led me to a premature suicide. There’s a resulting reacting to every word and action, whether we see or realize it at once.” Rister tilted his head and pondered over it for a moment, attempting to imagine his name in the movie titles somewhere. “Or possibly, you would have saved some people from having to suffer through seeing the auditions of the current perhaps-aspiring actor and thereby saved millions of nerve-cells. In the name of uncountable nerves, I thank you.” Rister raised Leandra’s book merrily at Merry: “As for the book? Had I not found it, my sister would have surely had me hunting for the book and numerous others about the same topic, because it would have also meant loosing her notes.” They were all taught to respect books, but Leandra liked her notes. Flipping the book open quite randomly, Rister showed Merry the numerous sheets of paper stashed between the pages, with Leandra’s miniscule and nearly illegible scrawl covering every inch of them. Bowing to pick up a paper that had fallen, Rister threw an absent-minded glance at it, taking a moment to decipher the crooks of letters. “Relieving brain tumor stress by acupuncture holes on the 4th vertebra, in order to add flexibility?” he didn’t entirely imagine how such a curing method would work, but the idea on the own was blanching enough. “I’m never going to let my sister be my doctor,” Rister muttered, shaking his head and placing the sheet carefully between the pages it had flown out from between.

“Ah, no here’s where you’re wrong. Sisters are never too young and innocent cause trouble. It starts simply enough. By being cold and borrowing your sweater. Falling and scraping their knee that you are expected to fix. But soon enough it’ll be someone else kissing the knee better or giving up his jacket than the brother,” Rister waved his finger warningly at Merry, if a bit playfully as she wasn’t Rister’s sister, “And before you know it, you’re getting grey hair. And a brother will always be there worrying, and praying for the day when he can knock in the teeth of the arrogant fellow who dared to approach his sister.” Rister winked at Rosa, who seemed to be giggling at this description and wondered if he should offer to carry the girl herself. She probably wasn’t even as heavy as Rister’s own sisters. But a calm glance at Pip’s face warned Rister not to offer until Rosa herself would request a piggy-back ride. Besides it had been interesting to watch the three interact. Phillip.” Rister bowed and picked up a dandelion that had somehow managed to remain growing between the rocks and the numerous pedestrians and offered the simple blossom to Rosa: “Fair Rosaline. Meredith. I’m sure you’ll be more amused to know that one of Leandra’s – the sister who forgot her book - middle names is also Meredith. Leandra Chardonay Meredith.” The fact that aunt Dana’s grandmother and dad’s godmother, though in reality she had been more of a grandmother than godmother to dad, had also been a Meredith wasn’t quite as significant to mention right now though.

Rister shrugged quite calmly: “Not as much of mystery. But I didn’t want to send you fleeing for the hills nor did I want to lie. Mordred’ll do – unless you can add the other names as well – or at the current case hey-you works as well I suppose.” Taking the hint and knowing what he would prefer, Rister walked along with the three, while falling into step next to Pip, leaving the brother guarding the space between Rister and his sister. It would at least save the kid’s dignity. “He couldn’t perhaps shoot me. But having heard the list of far more extensive training than mine in martial arts, I’m quite sure she could hurt me with the arrows alone as well,” Rister clarified calmly at Pip, “But at least I’ll get to be sure no one’s going to come and mug me. Delicate little flower I am, I’m always afraid of being bullied. I’m slightly intimated and wholly charmed.” Turning his watch, Rister glanced at his watch, making a mental note of the time: “We’ll have to make sure you won’t be late for your shift then. But that still leaves us some time for park and ice-cream.”

[Merry Garwin H6]

“You seem to have put a lot of thought into the ideal mop-partner,” Merry observed laughingly. If he preferred a partner who embodied the colour red then she was most definitely out of luck. Which was a good thing really, since Merry had no intentions of breaking her most important rule for anyone, no matter how attractive they were. She would date and flirt and enjoy herself as much as she wished during the school year but that ended the very second the Hogwarts Express arrived at Kings Cross station. Other people used summer to enjoy themselves and have fun without thinking about schoolwork or essays but Merry had more pressing obligations at home so Hogwarts was the place she dropped her no nonsense attitude and let herself go. It drove Reid crazy because he would hear of her exploits days after they had happened so he would rarely get a chance to threaten anyone away from his little sister. But summer was solely for her family, and no one had ever gotten in the way of that nor would they ever. On the occasions that she had boyfriends rather than dates, Merry always ended the relationship before the train arrived at the station. Sure, there had been times when she had considered breaking her rule but she had never actually done it. There were no boys who had ever proved themselves to be worth it. Besides, if she was still fond of them by the time the school year started up again, the relationship could always be rekindled.

“Then it’s a good thing that you aren’t an aspiring young actor then, isn’t it? And we keep books that have been left behind for quite a long period of time so you could have returned for it at any time and your sister’s notes would have been safe.” Merry winced, looking uncomfortable at even the thought of acupuncture. “Even ignoring the fact that I’m absolutely terrified of needles, I’d rather not experience that method of healing. I’m quite flexible enough and, even if I wasn’t, I’d prefer to remain with my current level of flexibility rather than have needles poked into me.” Merry smiled slightly, remembering various times in her childhood when she had done the exact same things that Rister was describing. There had been many times when she had pestered Reid or Tyler into giving up their jacket because she was too cold and even more times when she had been comforted by Reid because she had been a bit too adventurous and had ignored her own boundaries. Especially right after she had taken up archery. There had been many splinters and cramped hands that she had presented to her older brother while sniffling because the class was mainly made up of boys who had teased her endlessly for not behaving like a ‘proper girl’ so she had tried too hard and simply ended up injuring herself more. There were always trials to be overcome and Merry had started from a young age but there had always been comforting words and a warm hug to bury herself in for a while so she had never had to fight alone.

“It’s not the sister’s fault that she’s grown up and has someone else to run to. The brother probably has someone else to take care of anyway, so sisters are simply giving their brothers more time to spend with their own significant other by asking their date or boyfriend for their jacket.” Merry argued light-heartedly, slipping her quiver off her shoulder and giving it to Pip who, she was satisfied to notice, placed it in the correct position on his back with as much care as she would have done before letting Rosa slide around to where the quiver of arrows had been for a proper piggy-back. Resting her against her hip was more comfortable for Merry – or rather, it had been when Rosa had been younger and smaller – but her little sister seemed to have grown quite a few inches over the year so it seemed that she would have to be offering piggy-back rides as the main mode of transportation from now on. Her archery instructor would scold her if he saw her because he maintained that she would ruin her posture and therefore would not be able to stand in the correct position to hit the target but they had had this argument before and Merry would win again. She had too much practice at arguing with her brothers to lose. Rosa was holding the dandelion like it was a treasure to be awed at and Pip was scowling at the ground moodily. Merry giggled, holding a hand to her mouth to mask the sound so as not to aggravate her younger brother. “Stop trying to charm my little sister, Mordred,” she scolded him playfully, shooting him a warm smile over her little brother’s head and rolling her eyes when Pip seemed to be appeased by her teasing and unserious scolding.

Merry eyed him, her curiousity evident on her face. “Is there a reputation attached to your name that is truly so awful that you think I’ll immediately dislike you?” Her gaze turned wary as a thought struck her. “You’re not one of the guys my brother threatened just for talking to me are you? Because if this is your attempt at revenge then I feel it necessary to warn you that I can fight a lot better than Reid or Tyler could ever dream of. And if those initials truly are your own then my sister could probably tell us your name so that they can hunt you down a second time.” Her sister was a journalist and very fond of the gossip columns so Merry had little doubt that, if she had any need to track down the guy standing next to her, her sister would be able to give her a name in little time. “You’re a delicate little flower? I think not. Rosa is a delicate little flower. You’re...well I’m not quite sure what you are yet but I’m sure it isn’t a delicate little flower.” Merry opened the small gate that surrounded the park and crouched to let Rosa scramble down before accepting her quiver back from Pip and watching the two children race each other to the playground. From experience, Merry knew that Pip would leave Rosa waiting for Merry by the swings while he sprinted to join one of the games that were always going on just a few feet away. Today it seemed to be football, Merry deduced as she kept a careful eye on the crowd of children until she saw Pip be accepted and welcomed into the game. “I’ll buy the ice-cream,” Merry offered. “It’s the least I can do after you helped me in the café and kept me company.”

[Rister Graas S6]

“Not the mop-partner, but the colours rather. Got to have something to think over during boring classes. And as ironical as it is, beyond dark green I do like cherry red,” Rister smirked sardonically at the train of thought. His favourite colour was dusky soothing and quiet dark green you see in the under forest of thick evergreen branches. It was almost seducing tone that made you relax until you forgot your worries and time. But he also liked the quiet passion and strength of cherry red. And while cherry red wasn’t really the rash colour on Gryffindor crest, it was ironical that Rister would appreciate the colour of the house he couldn’t stand. Generally. Ashlyn was quite pleasant company. But then again, Gryffindor crest wouldn’t be within his eyesight after he would graduate.

“No, I’m not an aspiring actor nor ever will be,” Rister confirmed, with a calm tilt of his head, “I have family and business to look after one day.” And that was true. One day the old signet ring of the family would passed to him from dad, he would take up residence in the family castle, govern it and its nearby lands, provide for the villagers, and keep balance in the family and as much as needed outside of it too. It was what he was trained to do. He accompanied dad on trips far longer and he was the only one who had been taught to shoot a muggle gun. The responsibility on his shoulders was heavy, but one day when he was ready to do it, he would manage. It was his destiny. He had always known it and he had never minded it coming his way. But this was neither for here nor for now. “True. But unless I get the book to Leandra before tomorrow morning, there’ll be fires and high water to answer to as anything less won’t appease her,” Rister commented with his characteristic half-grin making an appearance, “And I’m afraid the flexibility was meant in the sense of letting your skull… have more flexibility moving against your spine… which would – in this theory – relieve tension and pressure on your brain.”

Rister eyed Merry ponderingly. Growing up wasn’t the sisters fault? But no one else could grow up for them. “The sister shouldn’t grow up. She’d always be my little sister anyway. Besides. My ‘significant other’ would have dressed warm enough at home already. Or I could cuddle her in a way that I wouldn’t cuddle a sister, to keep her warm. The blame lies wholly on the shoulders of a sister.” And Rister knew he was perhaps being over-protective. Lita kept telling it all of them. But they were his little sisters and they both had gone through so much in their lives already that it was unfair. Leandra’s kidnapping, Morgana’s transformations. He would rather die than let anything else bad happen to his sisters.

“Why? I’m already charmed,” Rister argued, turning his head and sending his most dazzling smile at Rosa, who hid her face in Merry’s neck in return. Reaching his arm over Pip’s head, Rister gave a gentle tug to Rosa’s hair, a brotherly gesture he had refused to use on Merry. “But take a good look, remember and learn, fair Rosalind. When I said my best friend would assure you that I’m more trouble than anything else, then take her words to heart. Guys like me are generally no good for a pretty girl. So unless you can make us give our all, keep your distance to avoid being hurt.” Rister merely laughed at Merry’s puzzled glance. It might almost be fun to tell her his full name and see the reaction. But hardly worth it. “Awful reputation?” Rister tilted his head and wondered. He had been called a lot of things over the years. Charmer. Heart-breaker. Teaser. Womanizer. Though he made sure never to promise his hand, heart, nor even anything lasting to any girl. And he never hid the fact he might be out with someone else the following day, so grudgingly but still he was called an honest womanizer. The girls always knew what they were getting into when they accepted or asked him out. “I have a couple of nicknames I suppose,” he finally settled on saying.

Throwing his head back, Rister laughed with true amusement at Merry’s fear. “I don’t think I’ve ever even met your brothers besides Pip. But I like them already, just because you think they might do that. Last time we suggested a group-date with all of us coming along to the date as well. The kid balked out of it quite soon.” Rister grinned at the fond memory. Luckily Leandra hadn’t been upset either, having accepted the date invitation only because she hadn’t wanted to upset the guy by saying no. “Those initials are mine. You can give your sister with the searching eye a hint then. I'm not entirely british, but I'm one of the few people born inside Hogwarts castle,” Rister offered, with a glint entering his eyes, and his regular half-smirk half-neutral smile reappeared on his face, “I’m not a delicate flower? What am I then? A beautiful little butterfly? A soaked and kicked kitten on your doorstep during a thunderstorm?”

Rister closed the park-gate after their small group and watched the two younger kids race away with some amusement, even as he signalised for an ice-cream cart to join them at the chains, quietly observing Merry who was protective of her little brother as well it seemed. “My father would skin me alive – literally - if I ever let a girl pay and I though we agreed that you helped me more? And I promised to treat everyone to an ice-cream. You wouldn’t want me to have to go back on my word now, would you?” Rister questioned, seating himself on one of the lower swings and watched how Rosa set to work in attempting to choose between flavours, “Give both flavours to her. I’ll take peppermint with chocolate pieces.” Paying, without bothering to accept the change back, Rister took a bite of the ice-cream handed to him, pulling himself to swing so lightly that his feet never left the ground as he observed the rest finalising their choices.

[Merry Garwin H6]

“I believe in soulmates,” Merry told him suddenly, smiling to herself in soft amusement at her own childish belief. “My older sister has always laughed at me for believing that every person has their perfect match, their equal, waiting for them somewhere. Because a lot of the time people don’t meet the other half of their soul and they’re left to marry someone who doesn’t complete them, who can never truly understand them. And that’s why not everyone gets a happy ending.” Kali had laughed at her, Tyler had ruffled her hair and told her that it was a very good theory but Reid had simply smiled at her warmly, as if he was proud of her. Probably because he had thought that it would stop her from dating and flirting. Indeed, there were times when she wondered what her perfect match would say about the way she flirted and dated but then the more rational part of her mind reminded her just how unlikely finding her soulmate was.

“Is it scary to think that you’ll be the head of your family one day?” Merry asked, idly curious. Maybe that was the great thing about being the middle child. She always had someone to look to for advice about what to do next because she had three siblings who had done all this before, though in their own individual ways. It was strange actually because although she was closest to Reid, she and Tyler were more similar in their attitudes toward work and school. Her eldest brother had also refused any romantic interludes during the summer and then proceeded to date his way through the school year. Reid had just dated his way through the whole year, which often led to Merry calling him a hypocrite when he tried to stop her dating anyone. “I don’t care what type of flexibility it means, no needles are coming anywhere near me,” Merry insisted stubbornly.

“Then why should little brothers grow up?” Merry countered easily. “If sisters can’t grow up then brothers shouldn’t either. But then we would have a world full of Peter Pans and Lost Boys and Lost Girls so nothing would ever get done and no progress would be made. It’s much better to just allow everyone to grow up at their own pace.” When she was younger, Merry had never been quite sure if she loved or hated the story of Peter Pan. She had been fond of the Lost Boys, somewhat derisive towards the immature cockiness of Peter, vaguely amused by the know-it-all behaviour of Wendy and had simply adored Captain Hook and Tinkerbell. Perhaps that had been when her love of pirates and sword-fighting started; as a little girl, curled up on her father’s or brother’s lap as he read to her.

Pip tilted his head to glower at Rister, ever protective of his sisters, and Merry laughed, feeling both amused and frustrated. Pip was still just a little boy – he still hadn’t even grown into his proper name, their father liked to tease him by pointing out – and Tyler and Reid had no business teaching him to be protective when there was still no need for it. Whether she had someone watching over her every move or not, Rosa would make her own mistakes and learn from them, just as Merry and Kali had. Naturally, there had been times when they had been feeling vengeful enough to inform Tyler and Reid about something that one of their dates had been idiotic enough to do but both sisters had also learned to deal with things by themselves and Rosa would have to too. No one could remain protected forever. “I can guess what your reputation is from what you’ve just told Rosa,” Merry answered dryly. “Reid has a similar reputation.” She had a bit of a reputation of her own, Merry mused silently, but it had never affected her negatively because she had never paid any attention to rumours, no matter how true or untrue they were, and so most people just assumed that they were untrue. There were always people that believed every rumour that they heard, of course, and there were those who knew exactly which rumours were true but Merry had battled worse things than rumours.

Merry shook her head in resignation. “I don’t think that they might do that, I know that they’ve done it. It was years ago and he would have been my first boyfriend but my brothers chased him away and he never came back. Coward.” Merry rolled her eyes in disgust. Her brothers weren’t that scary unless they actually saw her kissing someone. “You were born inside the castle? That sounds familiar.” Merry frowned and descended into deep thought, trying to find out why his story sounded so familiar. She had obviously heard it before, but from whom and about whom? “You’re a bee,” Rosa chipped in cheerfully, pushing her blue hair away from her face. Blue hair was fun; maybe Mum would let her keep it like that for a while. “Fuzzy and bright and Pip would probably say that you’re annoying and probably dangerous.”

“Ah, so you’re chivalrous too. How interesting.” Merry declined the offer of an ice-cream with a silent shake of her head before strolling over to the swings and taking a seat. Pip was too involved in his game with the other children to be interested by ice-cream right now. She loved sweet things but her archery instructor would explode if he even suspected that she wasn’t eating healthily when a competition was coming up in only a few weeks. And there was a martial arts competition that she was thinking about entering too. Though she had stopped the lessons last summer, Merry had never actually let herself get out of practice. There were always competitions with money as a prize that she could enter. Rosa stopped before her with a pleading look on her face and Merry obligingly pulled the smaller girl onto her lap and allowed her to settle herself comfortably before securing an arm around her waist and pushing them both to swing. “She hates swinging alone,” Merry explained helpfully, absent-mindedly smoothing her sister’s hair. “One of the other children pushed her off and she broke her arm and dislocated her shoulder so she’s never really felt safe on the swings after that but she loves them so someone always swings with her.”

[Rister Graas S6]

Soulmates? Rister turned his head to consider Merry thoughtfully as well as the far away look in her eyes – a softness she herself probably didn’t even notice. Turning his back, Rister squinted his eyes towards the sun thoughfully. Soulmates. People who completed each other. Who operated better with the other around, who lived for each other? “I have to agree on that. “Soulmates do exist,” Rister claimed without any sort of hesitation, “I’ve seen my parents for 17 years. Would be kind of hard to doubt the existence of soulmates after that, even if they probably wouldn’t entirely appreciate the term themselves.” Which was true as well. His parents loved each other more than anything. Rister was sure that if one would happen to die, the other would follow within a matter of hours. But despite their love for each other, his father was a cold and arrogant Slytherin and his mother a firey-tempered stubborn redhead. “But seeing that there are 6 billion people living on Earth, finding your soulmate would be a simple stroke of extra-ordinary luck, so I think most people do the correct thing in accepting friendship, affection, and company. And if you find your soulmate after getting married –“ Rister shrugged, what else was there to say, “- if that happens, it’ll be too late as you already have your responsibilities. Love once. But love for life,” Rister added quietly, butchering his family saying of sorts, in order to leave his last name out of it.

Was it scary? Rister took some time to consider it this time, letting calm silence stretch, whereas he had answered almost immediately to the soulmate response. “Yes and no,” he finally responded slowly, “I’ve known it’s my duty since birth and I’ve been prepared to handle it. And by that I don’t mean days spent behind books and scramming or being forced to slave with some physical labour all day around.” No. It had rather been accompanying his father to the village, listening to him talking with the village elders, watching workmen in the elders, trying and mistaking. If he had an idea, Rister could always turn to his parents and if he could reason it out sensible, he was allowed to try and carry it out. At first he had failed, but as he grew and gained experience his projects had slowly started to work out more often than not. “It has its perks, it will have its responsibilities and duties. But it’s not as if I have to start building something new or fixing something that’s broken. And dad’s only 35, I don’t have to take over the entire job anytime soon anyway,” he summarised his thoughts easily enough. He had always known this would be coming his way. Always known that unlike his other siblings who could choose, HE would have to marry a witch and procure an hair to the blood-line one day.

“Peter Pan?” Rister threw a quite clueless glance at Merry, not having a clue what she was talking about, “Lost boys and girls could always be found again but… And I suppose I see your point about growing up. But if my sisters do have to grow up, then I wish they’d at least have the sense to send each and every guy packing. I don’t want to see anyone lurking around them.” Rister nodded lazily at Pip, noticing his glower and understanding it. “I’ll give you a couple of free punches if you think I’ll cross some border I shouldn’t. Currently I just wanted some company and a light chat. All of my family is out of the country,” he murmured quietly to the older boy, bending his head slightly to him, before averting his eyes back to Merry. “I might as well see the selection while I wait for my soulmate?” Rister offered with a wicked grin, before sending his most charming smile to Merry, who seemed to have guessed that he liked the company of women. Rister chuckled with some amusement, sending a teasing glance at Merry: “But that’s just an example of how an older brother knew best. If the boy was so easily intimidated by your brothers, what makes you think he would have lasted next to you in life? Would you have really wanted a guy you would have had to protect all the time, no matter how good he might look?”

“Yes. Mom went to labour in the middle of Defence Against Dark Arts class. The poor professor – male at that time – had been more staggered by that than by some dark creature,” Rister shared with some amusement, wagging his finger warningly towards Merry, “And you were allowed to tell the story to your detective-like sister. Not ponder about it yourself.” Chuckling, Rister turned his attention towards Rosa who had decided to speak up and smiled at her, his smile subconsciously becoming just a fraction calmer and gentler. “A bee? I’ve never been called fuzzy before, so think Pip might be more correct about me,” Rister pursued his lips and imitated a buzzing sound for Rosa, swatting a way a real bee that happened to wander around, “But I thought bees dance. And fly around in black thighs and yellow swimming trunks and with buckets full of honey. And if they don’t have the buckets, they prance around wide fields, throwing flowers in the air… Wait, if we skip the tights and the buckets part, I could prance around a field and threw flowers and my dashing locks around? What do you think? Should I try, fair Rosalind?”

“Hardly chivalrous,” Rister countered, with a careless shrug, watching with some curiosity as Merry pulled Rosalind to her before swinging. “I’d say something nice and comforting and brave now if I were chivalrous. But I don’t really have anything equal to share to that. I don’t even have any scars that I’ve acquired while swinging, among the ones I have. Sorry, fair Rosaline.” Rister smiled calmly at Rosalind, even as he made a mental note of the fact how easily Merry shared the information. Trusting, innocent, and as it seemed Rosa wasn’t embarrassed by the info either. “Though I don’t mind swings myself I rarely really find myself on one.”

[Merry Garwin H6]

It was great to find someone who believed in the same idea that she did. Merry smiled at Rister warmly. “My parents are soulmates, though they don’t believe in the idea. They might not think that soulmates exist, but they certainly seem to complete each other.” It would definitely be shocking for them if one of them found the person who was meant to be their true soulmate, especially after all that Mum had given up for Dad. She had given up her family, her wealth, her heritage and most of her friends. It was hard for her mum, Merry knew. Sometimes, early in the morning when everyone was still half-asleep, the woman would look around blearily for a few seconds and then snap back to reality as if realising that she wasn’t the privileged rich girl she had been in her youth, that there were no house-elves waiting for her command. There was wistfulness in her eyes and a longing for the life she had once revelled in but, when she looked at her husband and her children, there was never any regret shining out at them accusingly. “Sometimes affection isn’t enough. But after making a commitment like marriage,” Merry gestured helplessly because, really, there was nothing left to be said. Commitments had to be honoured and kept.

“I guess that’s a good thing about not being rich. You,” Merry pointed to Rister, nearly poking his chest, as if to emphasise her point, “always have something to worry about and responsibilities to take care of that you may or may not wish to have. Sure, you’re rich and you can get anything you want but there’s always an overlying worry. We, on the other hand,” this time, Merry gestured to herself, Pip and Rosa carelessly, looking apologetic when Pip had to duck to avoid being hit by her arm, “can do whatever we want to and know that there’s not a chance that any journalists from a gossip column will be watching us and waiting for us to misbehave. I have three jobs and there are days when I don’t get home until late at night and I’m exhausted and I want nothing more than to collapse into bed and sleep for three days even though I know that I have to be up early the next morning. It’s not great and there are days when I hate it and I wish my grandparents didn’t hate my Dad. But I’m free and my brothers and sisters are free to do and be whatever we want. Tyler’s the oldest but there’s nothing for him to take over and no duty that he has to perform so he could have dropped out of Hogwarts to become a muggle author if he wanted to. That’s the difference between us.” Pip sent her a disgruntled look, silently asking if she had quite finished yet, before turning a bored look to Rister. “She gets like this sometimes. Feel free to ignore her; everyone else does.”

“You don’t know who Peter Pan is.” Both Merry and Rosa shot an appalled gaze at Rister, looking both shocked and horrified. “Do you live on a different planet or something? How can you not know who Peter Pan is? Captain Hook? The Lost Boys? Smee?” Merry tried helplessly, swatting Rosa playfully when she dissolved into giggles. “That’s just appalling. You missed out on a great piece of literature.” And he was probably a bit too old to truly enjoy it now unless he had a great imagination, Merry thought with a sincerely sympathetic glance. “He would have been my first boyfriend,” Merry pointed out dryly. “I didn’t want him to thrill me with intellectual conversation or prove that he was tough enough to not be scared of my brothers. Everyone is scared of my bothers when they’re being protective. He was merely there to provide something interesting to look at and better to kiss. I wasn’t planning to keep him forever, or even longer than a few months.” Merry turned her head to stare at Rosa firmly, tapping her nose lightly. “And that was very wrong of me. Don’t follow my example. Wait for someone with a brain as well as good looks. Understand?”

Merry laughed cheerfully, amused by the story. Men were always horrified by the mystical female things that they simply couldn’t comprehend in all of their maleness. “But where’s the fun in allowing Kali to figure it all out? I want to be able to claim some of the credit.” Merry protested light-heartedly. If she ever felt the need to pursue his true identity then Kali would definitely be able to do so quicker and easier than Merry herself, due to her connections in the world of journalists and reporters. “You’re definitely a bee,” Merry grinned instantly. “See how your bee friend immediately answered your call for company? You must be a bee Prince.” Rosa giggled and nodded quietly, not at all inclined to speak up and fill the silence now that Merry had rejoined the conversation. It made sense, since there was very often little silence in their house. Especially when Reid, Tyler and Kali visited and stayed for a few nights. Those were the times that reminded Merry of her childhood most, being surrounded by all of her brothers and sisters and knowing that they were always watching her back and that she was always watching theirs. It had never been the same since they had, one by one, graduated and moved out. The house was so much quieter and emptier without them.

“Sometimes there isn’t anything nice and comforting to be said.” Merry slowed the swing down noticeably when Rosa clutched at her blouse, ducking her head to whisper to her little sister comfortingly. Her little sister snuggled deeper into her embrace and Merry pressed a kiss to her temple tenderly. Both of her younger siblings adored her – Pip as the perpetual playmate who was never hesitant about when or where to play and Rosa as the beloved older sister whose arms were always open for a warm hug and ready with a story or advice when she needed it – and Merry returned the sentiment wholeheartedly. It wasn’t long before Rosa wriggled out of her sister’s arms and dropped to the floor before running to join Pip. The boys would let her join the game – they always did, despite the protests that they felt they had to make about a girl being included – so Merry returned her gaze to Rister after seeing Rosa reach the edge of the game. “She’s very brave,” Merry murmured, not entirely sure if she was talking to Rister or to herself. “She’s scared and embarrassed but she won’t let it stop her. According to Kali – she was the one with them when Rosa got pushed off by the older boy – Pip was furious when he saw his little sister crying and he tried to attack the kid even though he was a lot bigger and stronger. I worry about her – she’s gentle and she doesn’t have my martial arts training or Kali’s fiery temper – but she’ll be fine with Pip there to look after her. After all,” Merry grinned brilliantly, “that’s what older brother’s do, right?”