let your life surprise you [lance]

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Georgie was still wondering if the past couple of hours were just a fever dream. There was no way it could have been real, right? There was no way that she and Lance had another sibling. Except for there totally was a way, because their parents were not the best at being honest about anything, so it was totally plausible that they would conveniently forget to mention that they had another child. Georgie almost wished that she had seen it coming. Well, she kind of had seen it coming, since she had seen Luke a few minutes before she had actually met him, but that was not enough forenotice for having another sibling! Georgie was trying to find a way to spin this into something positive - Max, after all, had a bunch of secret siblings and it seemed to have worked out for her. But their situations were different. Everyone had known that Fenrir Greyback was a trash human being. Georgie had realized that her parents were deeply flawed, but she hadn't realized just how deep those flaws were. She wondered if she was ever going to realize the full extent of their treachery, or if she was going to spend the rest of her life waiting to be surprised by something that one of her parents did coming back to haunt her. Now there was just the matter of figuring out how to tell Lance. Walking into the common room and announcing that their mother was going back to America had worked out well enough, so that was going to be her plan of attack again. Georgie drummed out the pattern on the vinegar barrel, striding into the common room like a woman on a mission, looking for her brother.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@georgiana

It was a weekend and he should have been out enjoying it. Should have were the key words in that. O.W.Ls were right around the corner, and while Lance was relatively positive in his own ability as a student, they were important. There was no way for him to flunk out of school based on his current grades (which were pretty decent considering the things he had to go through during the previous term), but in the freak chance that he did, there was quite literally nowhere for him to go. The orphanage would hold onto him for one more year tops, and after that he would be on his own without a proper graduation or piece of paper saying he completed school. That was all well and great for some people, but all he had was Georgie and the stupid apartment Barbara left them. Failing wasn’t an option when he wanted to stick it to his mother for all the times she had personally failed them.

So studying in the common room it was. Even with Hogsmeade open to students all day, Lance found himself wandering back down to the basement levels within seconds of stepping into the library and discovering exactly how crammed it was. He had heard rumors years earlier that the room was supposed to magically expand when capacity neared its limits, but he had yet to see that actually happen. Putting one-hundred percent of his concentration into studying meant that he couldn’t be elbow to elbow with students on either side of him at a packed table. That was just a cause for disaster. While the common room had its own flaws, today it seemed to be quieter than usual and it was a blessing for the first few hours he was there. Housemates trickled in and out all day, a few striking up conversation with him while most of the others realized that he was busy. Giving his full attention to studying was easy when other people respected it, and there wasn’t an issue until he looked up to see Georgie entering the common room. Normally he would have asked her to get back to him once he was finished, but her body language screamed that she wanted to talk to him specifically. Marking the chapter he was on in his book, Lance closed it and looked up at his sister, waiting to hear what she had to say to him today.

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Georgie did not have a clue of how she was going to tell her brother that they had another sibling. There wasn’t a manual for any of their life, and that was a little sucky, considering that Georgie always seemed to be the one discovering this things and having to relay the information to her brother. Lance looked up at her, so she must have been pretty visibly nervous, or wanting to talk to him, or whatever. Georgie was glad that he was sitting down already – even though he wasn’t the fainting type, it was the kind of news to make someone weak in the knees. She strolled over so that she was close enough to Lance that no one could eavesdrop on them easily, plopping down in an armchair across from her brother. “So, remember our asshole parents?” Georgie began without preamble. That would set the stage for what he was supposed to expect – basically, something ridiculous and life-altering. “Apparently they had another kid before us and gave him up for adoption.” Ripping the band-aid off might not have been the best strategy, in hindsight, but that was what Georgie had done, so she decided she was just going to roll with it. “His name’s Luke and he works at the Three Broomsticks and apparently he found out about us through some lady at the Ministry.” There. That was about all there was to say. Now she and Lance could focus on commiserating about how stupid their parents were, et cetera, et cetera. In order to get the ball rolling, Georgie decided a joke was in order. “How does it feel to be the middle child?” She asked with a small smile. She was still the baby, so everything was good in her world, but now Lance didn’t necessarily have to be the most responsible one in the family… assuming that he wanted to welcome their brother at all.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@georgiana

Lance knew this was going to be a great conversation even though it had barely started. Anything that came out of Georgie’s mouth that had to do with ‘asshole parents’ always was. His first thought was a deep sense of dread that either Barbara had kicked the bucket too and they truly were on their own again, or that she was rescinding her kind offer of the apartment and bank account. He didn’t think it was too greedy of him to fear the loss of money, especially since it was rightfully theirs now, but it was also Barbara’s to give and it was a terrifying thought that if she really wanted to mess with their lives, giving and taking away something so necessary to their well-being was possible.

Except that what Georgie followed up with was neither of those. Barbara was still alive and they still had their apartment and bank account. Those were the only sane, reasonable things that would come to his head when it came down to discussing asshole parents though. No one in their right mind would think that they had an older brother that had been given up for adoption years before either of them had become a thought. Because that was stupid people logic, and he liked to think that he and Georgie were well educated. But that was what came out of her mouth and she was royally pissed about it, so that meant it was true. Lance felt his head go numb as he tried to process what any of that meant. It wasn’t necessarily a hard concept to grasp, more so that he didn’t think their family history could get anymore fucked up than it already was.

“You know,” he started, his body sinking back into the couch. “None of this should surprise me. It really shouldn’t. And yet it still does.” Lance let out a sigh, shaking his head a few times. They hadn’t learned their lesson at all apparently. There was no way he couldn’t not stand by his comments about their parents being incapable of being parents. The fact that they had an older brother proved his point. “Was he lookin’ for us or something?” That was literally the only thing he could think to ask, considering Georgie said that a Ministry lady had told him about them. As for apparently now being the middle child that was a little different. That would be a harder concept to overcome, assuming this Luke was biologically their brother. “I’m still your older brother,” he shrugged. “At this point, I think I’d rather force veritaserum down her throat and have her tell us everything than having to keep being ‘surprised’ by their mistakes. Does that mean there are more that are younger? I don’t think that’s all that unreasonable to think of now.” Lance continued to shake his head, fully aware that while his sentences were coherent, he was also jumping around between all the thoughts on his head. “I just don’t get why she wouldn’t tell us about him. That’s more important than a stupid apartment…”

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Georgie studied Lance as he processed her words, and though he seemed shocked, he didn’t seem all that angry, which was a step up over some of their previous conversations surrounding their parents. Lance said that none of this should surprise him, and yet it still did. Georgie snorted at that, nodding. “When I found out, I told Luke that I needed a drink.” Her expression morphed into something slightly darker at the memory. “He wouldn’t give me one.” Georgie knew that it was illegal, blah blah, but really, didn’t she deserve a little alcohol when she had just found out that her parents were even worse human beings than she had originally assumed? Georgie wondered if any of her classmates had managed to smuggle in some firewhiskey from Hogsmeade that she and Lance could pilfer. Georgie nodded when Lance asked if Luke had been looking for them. “I got the impression he was gonna try to find us, but then yours truly kind of waltzed right up to him, and…” Georgie made an exploding noise and accompanying hand gesture to mimic how their lives had been blown to bits by one simple conversation.

Georgie just nodded when Lance said that he was still her older brother. “And still my favorite brother.” She informed him with a small smile. Her brother said that he wasn’t above forcing Veritaserum down Barbara’s throat and asking her questions about what she had done, and Georgie considered that idea. “We’d have to know what questions to ask, though.” She said. “Before this conversation, would you ever consider asking her if we had any more siblings?” Their parents had already done so many unimaginable things, and Georgie didn’t have the time or energy to create an exhaustive list of all the other things that they could have done to screw with their lives to ask Barb about. “Wouldn’t you remember if there was another baby?” Georgie asked cautiously. Lance was older than her, so he would have a bit of a boost as far as remembering if their mother had been pregnant again. At the question as to why Barbara wouldn’t tell them about their brother, Georgie shrugged her shoulders. “Probably thought it would never come up.” That, and their mother had probably dropped enough bombs on the pair of siblings without her parting words being yet another surprise for them to endure.

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@georgiana

Lance snorted as Georgie said that she had asked Luke for a drink when she found out. If he were to be honest, he might have done the same thing. How anyone could process that right then and there with the person in front of them…Lance definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it either. He wasn’t sure how Georgie explaining it to him was any different from that, but he didn’t feel the need for the drink right now. Probably had something to do with it happening in the bar. Anyways, “He does have a job to do,” Lance reasoned. “But I don’t blame you for trying. Need something strong to sort out all of that.” Georgie said that she had a feeling that Luke had probably been looking for them, but she had kind of ended that search. “We were bound to find out eventually. Is there really any good way to do that? I mean, I wish I had been there too, but yeah…” he shrugged. That was how fate worked, or whatever. Going with the flow seemed to suit him better anyways.

“Good,” he smiled back as she said he was still the favorite brother. As for the Barbara situation, he nodded his head at asking the right questions. “I did think, right when they showed back up, that maybe they had another child after disappearing. Taking responsibility for their actions doesn’t exactly work for them, so I thought it was possible,” he paused. “But older? Never.” She asked if he would remember if there was another baby, one younger than them. Lance assumed she meant one a few years younger than her, but anything was possible. “I don’t know. If they could put Luke up for adoption so easily, and then leave us behind, who’s to say there isn’t one from after they left, or even another put up for adoption just a year younger than you?” Lance knew that it sounded crazy, but crazy seemed to be Barb’s forte these days. “Barb needs to understand that none of us are as stupid as she is,” he said, slight agitation in his words. “She’s done more damage by not saying anything than if she just told us everything.”

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Lance was being all reasonable, insisting that their new older brother had a job to do, and Georgie narrowed her eyes at him. He was supposed to be on her side! Lance said he didn’t blame her for trying, which Georgie supposed was enough of a consolation prize. They definitely needed more than stupid water to sort out everything that was happening with their twisted family. Lance said they were bound to find out about their brother eventually, and Georgie shrugged. She wasn’t sure that was true. If he had wanted to stay away from them, then there was a chance that their mother would have kept mum, and they would have gone their whole lives thinking that they were the only ones messed up by their parents’ lack of responsibility.

Georgie was glad that her comment about Lance still being her favorite brother was well-received; it lightened the mood a little. (She was also glad, of course, that her position as favorite sister wasn’t going to be challenged by some upstart.) Lance said that he had thought that their parents had had another kid after disappearing, and Georgie let out a long-winded sigh. If there was another blonde baby born approximately nine months after her parents’ disappearances, she was going to be really, really upset. Not that they’d ever be able to find said blonde baby, even if they did exist. Lance said that he didn’t know if their parents would have any moral qualms about giving up another baby, which made Georgie feel itchy. Why had they chosen to keep her and Lance, if there really were more Linleys out there? Maybe they were both being a little paranoid, and it really was just the two of them and Luke, but still… wow. “I’m not sure if she can damage us any more at this point.” Georgie said drily. There wasn’t another scandal left to have, was there?

lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@georgiana

The look his sister had on her face when he tried rationalizing was, while priceless, also extremely intimidating coming from the tiny blonde girl. She had a way of pulling things off sometimes that he probably shouldn’t have let her do, but what was the point in the end if she was going to do it regardless? If Georgie had really wanted a drink to be served from their new older brother, she would have found a way to do it. That was the sort of headstrong nature that he tended to lack when it came to important situations. Lance felt that he had a better chance of talking his way out instead of using actions to get where he needed to be. Both choices were practical means to an end. That seemed to be it though, in regards to his statement, because Georgie let it be. He had a feeling he was going to win that discussion if it had continued. It was pretty obvious that Luke still held values even when presented with the younger sister he had never met. Losing a job by serving a minor, especially his sister, was not going to be the end to that southern boy. Despite not being there to witness the exchange, Lance could imagine exactly how it went, mainly because he would have turned Georgie down as well. He and Luke didn’t need to grow up together to share similar ideals, it seemed.

Georgie offered the idea that she didn’t think any more damage could be done by their mother at this point. He wasn’t so sure if she was right or not. It seemed like every time he thought things were finally beginning to settle down and go back to how they were supposed to be, Barbara managed to pull some new fantastical thing out of her bag of tricks. “More damage, no,” Lance agreed. “But I’m sure she’s hiding things still. I know I’m jinxing it, but I’m not interested in whatever else it is she has left,” he sighed. Now he was asking for it. Every time they discussed these exact things, it was like they were unlocking a new door into their parents’ past. While it sounded like Luke would be a welcome addition, Lance knew it was going to get more exhausting each time another skeleton appeared from amidst Barb’s closets. “There’s no way all of this is over.” Frowning, he let out another deep sigh. Lance supposed that this was how things were going to be from now on. Fighting it would only make it more unbearable.