raise your glass when times are tough [greybacks]

[Deleted]

August was dying quickly, and in three days the train back to Hogwarts would depart. Jamie had mixed feelings about returning to school; her summer hadn't exactly started out on a high note, but it had gotten progressively better as she had put distance between herself and her mother, both physically and emotionally. The main worry Jamie had about returning to Hogwarts was not being able to see her siblings as much. Between being the captain of Hufflepuff's Quidditch team and taking nine courses, she wasn't sure when she was going to find time to sleep, let alone hang out with her friends and family. There was also the fact that two of her siblings weren't at Hogwarts anymore, and Jamie would only be able to see them on Hogsmeade weekends, and even then that was only if her older brother and sister wanted to see her.

As a result of all of her thinking (or, some would say, overthinking), Jamie had decided to ask her siblings to once again meet for a Greyback family reunion. After the one at The Three Broomsticks had fallen apart so spectacularly, Jamie had decided that hosting it at Aaron's apartment, while convenient, would not be the smartest idea. Instead she had found a pub in Muggle London that had private rooms, hoping that the presence of non-magical people would at least help keep the arguments at bay.

@odette
@adrian
maxima ruqayyah greyback
lily luna potter (if you want her to be there)

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

But she was fifteen! She had been into Diagon Alley plenty of times! She had even been to the orphanage to visit Georgie! It wasn't fair that her half-siblings would be there and she wouldn't! Being the baby of the family wasn't something that Maxima Greyback was used to, and especially not when her mother made a clear distinction between the magical world and the Muggle one. Muggle London, where Jamie had chosen to have the latest Greyback gathering, was supposedly more dangerous than Diagon Alley, though Maxima wasn't about to buy that excuse. Had her mother seen Knockturn Alley? (And wasn't her biological father the Fenrir Greyback?)

After agreeing that she would call her stepfather's mobile phone if she was going to be late, Maxima was allowed to take the Floo Network to the Leaky Cauldron. Then, from Charing Cross Road, she would figure out where the Muggle pub was.

To Max's surprise, it hadn't taken very much effort, and she found herself walking through the doors of the pub not long after leaving the Leaky Cauldron. She didn't see why they couldn't have met there, but Jamie probably had some reason. Fortunately, the Muggle pub appeared to be of the family-friendly variety, because she wasn't met with stares for entering it.

“Um,” she started, approaching the bar. “You haven't seen a blonde girl in here, have you?”

@odette
@adrian
@jamie

[Deleted]

Walking down the streets to another family get together was bringing back some not so good memories of the last time the Greyback kids all got together. Odette was, to say the very least, less than thrilled about having siblings. Or at least she had been. Walking down the street to the pub now, she was a little more open minded. She had made things right with Jamie and that had been probably the biggest issue at the last meeting. Aside from Adrian. Odette still had never really even had a real conversation with him. Or her other sister, Maxima, for that matter. But she got this vibe about Maxima that she, like Jamie, was quite mature for her age and now that Odette had conquered Jamie and her emotions, she felt she could handle another sister.

Adrian was a whole other story, though. So as Odette entered the muggle pub, she bit her lip and tried to ignore the small feeling of nervousness she had in her stomach. She recognized the blonde hair and immediately crossed over to her. "Hey," she said quickly and casualy, looking around for her other two siblings a bit anxiously. Then she spotted whom she recognized to be Maxima and she nodded toward her to Jamie. "Isn't that Max?"

@adrian
@jamie
maxima ruqayyah greyback

[Deleted]

Odette was the first of the siblings to arrive, or at least that Jamie noticed. That wasn’t exactly a spectacular feat; Adrian was still in Germany and Aaron was working, so the only people in attendance other than Jamie were Odette and Max. The Hufflepuff tried to ignore the excited butterflies in her stomach when Odette said hi to her, so casually, so familiarly. Like they were actually family. “Hi.” She responded just as casually, trying to hide a giddy grin. “Yup, it is.” Jamie confirmed before crossing the pub to meet her younger sister, hoping that Odette followed.

“Hey, Max.” Jamie said when she had found her sister in the crowd. “I rented a room, but I guess it’s not all that necessary. Adrian’s still in Germany with his mum – I sent him a letter about the meeting but he said he couldn’t get away. Aaron’s out doing something for work. I guess both of our brothers just hate being around us.” She teased. As if anyone would believe that Aaron disliked being around his siblings. It was slightly more plausible for that to be the truth with Adrian, but Jamie was certain that the Gryffindor was just a big softy who was afraid to get close. “So…girls' lunch?”

@odette
maxima ruqayyah greyback

[Deleted]

Odette was positive she saw Jamie try to hide a little grin when she said 'hi' to her, so the Ravenclaw alum rolled her eyes but smiled just the slightest bit all the while. It was... nice to finally be on good terms with Jamie. The two had certainly had their differences and it was refreshing to not be arguing about something every time they met. When Jamie confirmed that the girl was, indeed, Max, Odette followed her blonde sister toward their younger one.

Jamie greeted Max verbally and Odette settled on a kind, casual smile and a nod. Odette was a little grateful that Adrian wasn't going to be showing up for lunch... while Odette had made things right with Jamie, she was still very on the fence about her relationship with Adrian. He never seemed to speak around her so she never spoke around him. Having Aaron there would have been nice but since Odette really didn't have an issue with either of her sisters anymore, it was kind of nice for it to be just the three of them. "Boys," Odette rolled her eyes and let out a sarcastic sigh. Odette nodded at the proposition Jamie gave them. "I'm down," she nodded, looking to Maxima for her answer.

maxima ruqayyah greyback
@jamie