Not a movie

[Rister Graas S6]

It always worked out in the movies. The heroine rushed at the leading hero to explain everything, tripped over thin air – or a conveniently placed bag of some sort – and just as she was about to fall he couldn’t help but rush forward and catch her. And as they stood there in each others arms, gazing into each other’s eyes sappy music began to play as they slowly leaned closer to each other for a kiss that solved all the problems in their lives so they could have their own happily ever after and the film credits could start to roll. It was almost sweet in its predictability. Hogwarts wasn’t a Hollywood movie though and it wasn’t really a head-over-heels in love movie heroine that Rister saw falling towards him as he rounded the corner. He did raise his hands almost instinctually, yet it was to ward her off as much as to catch her as he really wasn’t prepared to catch swooning maidens at this moments. Reality took its revenge on Hollywood movies as the two of them stumbled back and would have fallen had Gabriel not steadied them; a forehead collided with a resounding smack with a nose, making pain and blood appear in a dazzling shower in the forementioned nose.

With a mumbled oath, Rister shoved the girl further from her, gingerly raising his fingers to his hurting nose, only to feel the sticky wetness of blood freely flowing from his nostrils. Christ, but that collision had hurt. “Did you break it?” Gabriel’s voice cut into his thoughts and Rister grimaced. Running his fingers down the length of his nose, Rister winced slightly but was grateful to realise that his nose – while shooting stars of pain into his vision – was still in one piece. “No. I’ll live,” Rister informed his brother dryly, only now turning his eyes to the wanna-be movie heroine. Who was actually a Hufflepuff. An oddly familiar Hufflepuff with long brown hair and warm brown eyes who seemed ready to bolt as Rister’s dark glare settled on her, but his nose hurt, damit! “I’ll send you a sandwich to class with Lita,” Gabriel told Rister after a long considering glance to Merry, before stepping around the girl with a vague litlte smile and continuing on his way to the Great Hall. Rister acknowledged his words with a non-commital grunt, as he pinched his nose in a somewhat futile attempt to stem the blood-flow. “You really are out to get the Graas’s, arne’t you?” Rister finally murmured darkly, pitching his voice so that it wouldn’t carry farther than Merry.

Pushing himself off the wall he had somehow ended up leaning against, Rister turned to walk down the hallway he had came from once again. He’d need to go back to his common room to change his shirt, because some drops of blodo were strak against the white fabric of his current one. But perhaps he’d stop at the closest bathroom first and dunk his head under some cold water. Just pinching his nose didn’t seem to do the trick for now after all. Shoving open the door the boy’s bathroom, Rister walked straight towards the sinks. Turning the cold water on, he cupped a palm under the water and awkwardly attempted to wash away the blood from his face while not aggravating his nose anymore. Not that it was working wear well. An oath slipped past his lips as Rister bent closer to sink, hoping the cold water would do its work quickly.

[Merry Garwin H6]

Merry hated asking anyone for anything, unless she knew she could return the favour in some way. It felt too much like charity. Her parents had raised all of their children with an intense work ethic, and her mother especially had been sharp in her teachings not to accept anything that couldn't be repaid. Merry had accepted that principle unequivocally, though she hadn't really understood the reasoning behind it until now. Life had been so much simpler when she had just been another Hufflepuff lost in the crowd, or when she had just been a waitress with a crush on a handsome customer, before she had known who Rister really was and found herself shoved into his world and onto the pages of the Daily Prophet. Before her grandmother took notice of her and made clear threats of doing the same with Pip and Rosa. It was her own fault too, of course. She had handled certain things very badly, and her subsequent reliance upon sleeping potions to quiet the fretting of her buzzing mind had just given her grandmother something to hold over her head. She had made her decisions, even if they had been bad ones, and now she had to live with that. That didn't mean that she intended to have her younger siblings do the same, however.

Almost breaking Rister's nose hadn't been part of the plan nor was it likely to make him inclined to listen to her, but at least it had gotten his attention. "It was an accident," Merry defended herself mildly, huffing a sigh before following him into the boys' toilets. They were empty, thankfully. The last thing she needed was for this story to end up in Rumour Has It; just one more thing for her grandmother to wield against her. If not for the benefits that were already appearing for Pip and Rosa, Merry would have cut off the correspondence long ago. But if something was making their lives easier and better, it was worth it, no matter what the cost was. Rister was having trouble, Merry noticed guiltily. Well, hell, it was her fault and he hated her anyway so she might as well just help without even asking. He couldn't very well despise her more than he already did anyway. With that decision made, she crowded into his personal space insistently, curving her right hand around his jaw to angle his face for a better view of the damage she had caused. "Hold still," she murmured absently, fishing out a clean handkerchief to gently blot away the worst of the blood.

There was a spell that would reduce the swelling but they weren't exactly close enough for him to trust her to use her wand on him and, god, when had she gotten so close to him that it felt more like the breath before a kiss than fixing his bloody nose? Merry stepped back abruptly, ducking her head so her hair covered the worst of the light pink flush spreading across her cheeks. "The bleeding's stopped," she muttered lowly, embarrassed and trying to erase the warmth of his skin and the rasp of his stubble from her memory. "You should, uh, you should use ice or a spell to reduce the swelling though. And I...I should go," she finished lamely, backing away. "Because this...this is the boys' bathroom. And...lunch. Yeah."

[Rister Graas S6]

Rister had heard the padding of light footsteps following him but hadn't really cared much about it. He had other matters at hand and despite a painful nose he could still defend himself - and his blood if it came to that - perfectly well. He could see the hand reaching forward to him and instinct had him shaking the tip of his wand out from where it was hidden on his wrist underneath his sleeve, the polished wood smooth between his fingertips as he sent a dark glance towards Merry. But while the wand never disappeared he didn't fight against the light pressure against his jaw. It was never an exactly pleasant exercise to dress your own wounds, but the blood would have to be washed away so he could see the damage and assess it in order to decide what spell to use. And the view really wasn't that bad if he were honest, although seriously - didn't the girl have any common sense?

Brushing the thought from the forefront of his mind, Rister inclined his head towards Meery with a murmur of "Thank you". Plucking the handkerchief from her hand - Merry had been sincere in her attempt to help him, but blood was a potent reagent and while he was sure Merry wouldn't make attempts at his life with it blood really didn't come out of cloth fully and he doubted she would never let the handkerchief out of her sight - Rister absently incinerated it over the sink while thoughtfully studying his nose now that the bleeding had stopped. "I need a new shirt," he muttered with distaste, glancing down at himself as he jabbed at spot where blood had splattered on his shirt. Not that he was going to burn his shirt while still wearing it. His lip curling in distaste Rister lifted his wand back to his nose and calmly healed his nose. After all with his family and his own penchant for treks in the Forbidden Forest he had had plenty of practice in patching himself and others up.

"Of course," Rister agreed pleasantly enough with Merry's decision that she had to go, holding hte bathroom door open for Merry before stepping through it next. "I presume one bloody injury meets your daily quota - always happy to help," he added with a wry drawl, "So I shall bid you both bon appetite and a good day then, as you seem to be done with me for today." A sarcastic little half-bow with innocently spread hands - although someone watching would see a sparkle of faint amusement in his eyes as he did so - and Rister turned to head down the hallway leading back towards the Slytherin common room. He really did need a new shirt to wear now.

[Merry Garwin H6]

Merry didn't protest his deft thievery of her handkerchief, already had her wrist twisted to offer it to him in fact. Blood was power, even she knew that. It wouldn't have occurred to her before but she had more resources at her disposal lately, and she wasn't idiot enough to ignore that advantage. Mum had warned her that she would need every favourable position she could lay her hands on if she got involved with the purebloods, and Merry didn't ignore her parents when they were so evidently and inarguably right. It was amusing that Rister considered her a potential threat though - the drawing of his wand hadn't gone unnoticed, but neither had the fact that he didn't struggle against her hands on him. She wasn't a serious threat, obviously. She wasn't one at all, in all honesty, but she couldn't expect him to believe that anymore. Once, maybe, but not now. There was too much between them now.

She couldn't even say that she didn't know how it had come to this, not without lying anyway. Her pride and her ignorance and her foolishness were to blame, but she wouldn't say that she was the only one at fault here. Merry would shoulder the majority of the blame for this situation, because a lot of it was her fault. But Rister and his family weren't entirely innocent either. She hadn't been brought up like them, she didn't think in the same way they did and she didn't interpret their actions in the same way that they would. She was learning, because she had to (and her right hand absently lifted to the section of hair that would be pinned back with the ornate hairclip marking her as a female Cartier on the occasions her presence was demanded at her grandmother's house) but it didn't come naturally to her and she hadn't thought that way at all before the past few months. Her slow introduction to the pureblood world her mum had shunned was coming too late to help her with the one problem it might have been able to prevent.

Done with him for today? Merry hesitated, teeth sinking into her lip and she was left to watch him walk away. Was she done with him today? No. Now that there was distance enough between them that her damned attraction to him wasn't overruling her brain, she had more to ask of him. "Wait," she called out quietly, automatically shifting into a more defensive position with her weight on her back leg. Merry hadn't forgotten that she had witnessed him drive Lita close to tears with just one sentence, and if he could do that to his best friend then his temper could be limitless if he directed it towards her. "I know you hate me, and you have every reason to," she said flatly, able to keep her tone even and free of cloying emotion solely because this wasn't about her. This was for Pip, and she had already proven that there wasn't a lot she wouldn't do for her younger siblings. "But Pip's having a hard time and I can't look out for him the way you can. Please."

[Rister Graas S6]

Wait? Had Merry actually come seeking him out? Now that was... unexpected. Rister turned around to face Merry, his mind curiously weighing different options of what might have brought her looking for him. Options considered and discarded as quickly as they came to him. Flirtation? No, she didn't care for him that way. Favour? Even more unlikely, Merry was stubborn in getting thorugh everything and anything all on her own. "I don't hate you," Rister countered almost absently, his mind still turning over different options of what might have made Merry call out to him. "Not sure you exactly flat-out me either, you don't seem the sort. Severely dislike me, of course, but not hate," he mused just as absently before shaking his head and wandering back the couple of steps he had taken down the hallway.

"Pip?" Rister repeated with some surprise, blinking at Merry in confusion, "Of course. I..." Cocking his head to the side Rister closed his mouth and studied Merry thoughtfully. Of course he would look after Pip. He actually liked the little brat. Besides Rister and his family had never been bothered by some good-natured bickering and teasing and Pip had seemed to adjust to that easily. The laxness of being able to snark and bicker and tease without having to watch every word - although you never set out to hurt, heaven's no - because you knew with absolute surety that your family would never stop loving you for it. But there were a number of ways in which Merry's words could be construed and Rister was under no illusions that he understood Merry's whole motivation here. Women. Feh.

"I like your younger brother, but considering our history of misunderstandings, I think it would be better if I ask you to elaborate on what exactly you mean as I do not pretend to be able to read your mind," he said slowly, reaching out a hand to rest lightly on Merry's arm for a moment as he gently turned her to steer her down one of the hallways arching off from the one they were occupying. A bit more discrete of a location would do better for this conversation Rister thought as they travelled down a hallway to come to a stop near a large alcoved window. "Everyone has some troubles adjusting in their first year. So hard time can mean a whole multitude of different things. So can looking after. So in the sake of lack of some unnecessary drama risen from a lack of understanding each other - do elaborate if you would."

[Merry Garwin H6]

"You sure act like you do sometimes," Merry muttered to herself, the words tasting bitter on her tongue. It was a kind lie, she supposed, but an obvious one. "I don't dislike you," she corrected, eyebrows raised in surprise. When had she ever given him that impression? "You..." Merry cut herself off sharply because the two most prominent phrases in her mind were I'm attracted to you and you scare me and neither of those would help anything right now. "I don't dislike you," she repeated with a sigh, brushing her hair away from her face fretfully. It bothered her, that that was all she could say without making things a million times worse. Things had been simple, once.

At least he came back. She hadn't been certain that he would, had just banked on the fact that Rister seemed to like Pip well enough that he'd listen if she appealed to him for her brother's sake. Pip's time in Italy had enthralled him just as much as Rosa's week there had. It had changed them both, Merry noted with the sharp eyes of an older sister. Rosa had been quieter upon her return, a little bit more thoughtful perhaps. Her first crush, Mum had confided with a laugh before promptly assuring Merry that it had been a boy close to Rosa's age who hadn't understood a word of English. Pip seemed older somehow, but Merry could relate to that. It had been his first job. She remembered what it felt like to contribute to her family for the first time too. Her little brother was quiet in his concealed appreciation for Rister, unlike Rosa. Where Rosalind had bounced about proclaiming all of Rister's good points - and he had no bad points, in Rosa's eyes - Pip kept his opinions to himself unless he was making a scathing comment. But Merry had seen him with Rister and she knew what he looked like when he was so much at ease with someone that he felt he didn't need to guard his tongue or his thoughts. She had just never seen that expression directed at anyone who wasn't family.

"He's a half-blood in Slytherin," Merry pointed out as she effortlessly pushed herself up to perch on the wide windowsill, her back resting against the cool glass. Talking with Rister always felt somewhat similar to one of her sparring sessions lately, as if they were cautiously circling each other mere moments before one of them lunged for an attack. That probably wasn't the case but it didn't mean that she wouldn't feel better with something solid guarding her back. "Hawthorne called me into her office," she told him slowly, lifting her gaze to meet his eyes squarely for the first time. "There've been some incidents between him and another kid during her classes. She gave them both detention and it seemed to sort them out but you know what Hawthorne's like with the first years. She keeps an eye out for them if she thinks they need it. And she has a lot of time to watch out for Pip. She says he's the first into every lesson, the last to leave, and he's always sitting by himself at the front of the room - and not just in her class. I know my brother, Rister," Merry pleaded softly. "This isn't like him. He's more likely to skip classes than spend more time there than he strictly has to. And maybe I'm just being stupid but he's my kid brother." If there was one sentiment she could appeal to Rister with and know without a doubt that he'd understand, it was that. Because whatever else they were, they were older siblings first and foremost, and she had the jewelled hair clip weighing down her bag to prove it.

[Rister Graas S6]

"You don't. Right," Rister stated blandly, letting the tone of his voice carry all of his disbelief over that statement. But this wasn't the topic at hand so he brushed it aside and simply settled in against the other edge of the window. One of his shoulders leaning against the wall Rister crossed his elbows and - his mind deftly refusing the gesture of crossing his arms over his chest as seeming too defensive even if that was what he wanted to do - rested the fingertips of one of his hands on the window-sill and hooked the index finger of his other hand to a belt hoop.

Rister grinned, a mixture of amusement and mild but appreciated surprise, at Merry having enough insight to pin down a great portion of the source of Pip's troubles. "Of course he is having trouble. He's a first year Slytherin, which brings about problems of its own. And he lacks the wealth of bloodline - half-blood just as you said - to back himself up until he builds a mean enough reputation." Shoving a hadn with spread fingers absently through his hair, dislodging the dark-green ribbon that had been been holding it tied back and distractedly shoving it in his pocket, Rister considered Merry. But she had asked for help. "I will look after him much as I can as will my siblings. They like him. But you are right, there isn't all that much going for Pip."

Turning slightly Rister stared out the window consideringly. Merry had asked so he would answer. "As you said, he is a half-blood. Something he can never afford to forget in Slytherin. Bloodlines are important. This isn't a slag against muggleborns here, but there are some nuances there. An unwavering belief in magic and the innard knowledge it can't fail no matter what which can make a difference in casting. Some ins in the wizarding world. A build-up of magic in their blood and family estate - if they can tap into it - and family traditions to renew themselves from. Pip doesn't have them. Yes, there are the Cartiers, but your mother was disowned. It will take a century or so for that to even start to fade from people's minds in this context. And even so, Pip is the fifth child. He will never be the Cartier family head, one of your cousins has that role. And the family funds and estates, even if the family is an impoverished one. In Slytherin his biggest trump at the moment is my friendship. The Graas name carries some weight. He will not be... bullied. Older Slytherins are too busy for that, a lot of the younger ones will weigh the wrath of the patron - in Pip's case me really - before making a move and his classmates are too busy clawing out their own space and making their own connections. He will not be bullied inside the house, but his peers will not really make the effort to reach out to him either. He isn't influential enough for that. Not to mention that Slytherins don't make friends that easily anyway. Heck, I have the name, the wealth and I am the heir and I wouldn't really say I have any friends in the house. Fond acquiantances, allies, business partners and connections, yes, plenty. But not friends. There is potential for things to change in a number of ways. And Pip can make things easier for himself by learning to hold his own and more in the duels in the common room, but that will take time."

"And then there is the problem of all the other houses." Turning his head to glance at Merry Rister offered her a wry smile. "I dont know if you have noticed, but Slytherin is not a popular house outside itself. Except for the occasional Ravenclaw who has reason to, no one else will really reach out to befriend a Slytherin without a bad falling out with their own house. I suppose you suffered something of the sort way back when, even if the majority of people were firmly of the opinion I was taking advantage of your poor heart. And a young Slytherin is easy prey. Easy revenge for the hex of an older one. First and second year Slytherins are the most bullied ones in the school until they come to their own with vengeance. It is a bit of a catch really. And it'll be a bit harder for Pip really as he can't reach out to tap into your reserves and strength the way my siblings can tap into mine. So yes, for any friends he needs to make the moves and put in the effort. And even if he does it will be met with wariness and caution. And often the friendship is kept a secret, like your friend Emma wisely does." The caution and wariness was not unlike how Merry himself had reacted really. "And now, you cant cover for him all the time. That would not only hurt Pip's pride, but someone fighting his battle for him - and I don't mean discreetly blocking too harsh of a spell, teaching him creative hexes he can cast or practice duelling with him - will be perceived as weakness and will prompt venom from all four houses." And none of this was very easy or helpful to hear for a younger sibling so Rister touched Merry's shoulder briefly. "He'll be glad to have a sister around though and I have no doubts you will be. He'll have me, my siblings, Ashlyn and Lita as well to look after him when he needs it."

[Merry Garwin H6]

"I don't say something unless I mean it," Merry snapped reflexively, unable to stop more than just a hint of anger seeping into her tone. She hated to be doubted, and she hated being accused of lying. Outright lies weren't her style, unless she had absolutely no other option. Lying by omission, certainly; she wasn't an angel who always told the truth, not by any means. No one who had two protective older brothers as meddlesome as Tyler and Reid would ever be wholly truthful. The only person she ever felt she owed the entire truth to was her dad, and even then only if he directly asked for it.

So Pip just had to wait until he was old enough to be intimidating. Fantastic. That was never going to happen. Oh, she didn't doubt that he could learn to pull off a decent sneer and learn how to snarl at people. He could pick that up easily enough from Rister and his family. As much as she owed Lita for the trouble she had caused her, Merry was under no illusions that the Ravenclaw was also more than likely to teach Pip some dirty tricks to build up his reputation if Rister decided to enlist her help. The problem was that Pip lacked patience and control. He had some problems with anger management, to say the least. Maybe Merry would have shared those problems if she hadn't been taking martial arts classes since her early childhood but she somehow doubted it. Violence wasn't in her nature the way it was in Pip's. Fights just came more easily to him than words sometimes.

"The official story is that my mother died," Merry corrected blithely, the disgusted twist of her mouth emphasising her opinion of the lie. "Apparently it's better to have a dead daughter than for her to be married to a muggle." And who would connect Mrs Garwin (twenty three years older than the image of Charisse Cartier that would spring to mind, clad in muggle clothes and only ever seen on the Muggle side of Platform 9 and 3/4) with the photos of the teenage Charisse Cartier that Merry had seen tucked away in her mother's bedroom? Merry had met two of her cousins only once before accepting her grandmother's attempts to reach out to her, and they had done a marvellous job of tipping their noses in the air and pretending she didn't exist. "Pip will never be a Cartier at all!" Merry declared heatedly, fixing Rister with hard eyes as if he was the one trying to prove her wrong. Him being a Slytherin had brought her brother to their grandmother's attention once more but..."I've worked so hard to keep that from happening. He'll never have to deal with that family."

"Essentially, you're telling me that my brother is going to be lonely and miserable for a long time," Merry summed up with a sad, broken laugh. "And I can't help him because that'll just make things worse. So I'm useless." When she had learnt that Emma had a friendship of sorts with Gabriel, Merry hadn't understood why the other waitress kept it such a secret. For better or worse, Merry hadn't hidden any part of her interactions with Rister from anyone, and she didn't regret that. She wasn't ashamed that she had met a charming, funny boy in the café, nor that she had been attracted to him and considered breaking her own cardinal rule for him. Neither of them had made the best decisions at all times but that was just part of life. "Thank you though," Merry murmured gratefully. Her surprise was clearly visible when Rister willingly reached out to her, even if it was just a faint brush against her shoulder. "I wouldn't ask this for myself, but Pip's just a kid and he looks up to you. So thank you for being willing to help him if you can."