Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word (Dusti and Rosaria)

[parvati patil macmillan]

This wasn’t unlike her counseling sessions, Parvati tried to tell herself. Now, though, she would be doing the talking—because her ex-husband was the one who had intended on taking his activity in the bedroom to the grave, never minding the fact that his actions affected more than just himself. Two teenage girls who had lived their entire lives under the assumption that they were Marcus Flint’s daughters were about to receive an incredible shock, and Parvati still wasn’t sure how to go about telling them. She could listen to others’ problems all day long; that was her job. Making the ultimate act of self-disclosure, however, was a risk that she had to take. She wouldn’t be speaking to the Flint twins as their counselor; she would be speaking to them as herself, and she needed to be frank about that.

Trying to make her office even more pleasant than usual, Parvati had slipped away from breakfast early to prepare the room. She had brought out some masala incense, which she enchanted to allow for a slow burn. She had also made a pot of tea, which she had placed on a tray along with the rest of the tea set. Without a table between her desk chair and the velvet chaise longue on which the students normally sat during their sessions, she had had to conjure one up for the occasion. Parvati rearranged the cushions on and around the chaise, still not entirely satisfied with how her office looked. Busying herself up until she heard a knock on the door would be better for her state of mind, anyway, she imagined.

@dusti
@rosaria

[Deleted]

@dusti
parvati patil macmillan

Rosaria would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, though she did try to keep Dusti from being able to tell. She probably failed that that, her sister always knew what she was feeling.

Parvati MacMillan was a counselor at the school, she helped people with problems. Small problems like momentary anxiety. Or large problems like abuse. Rusti was not about to tell Mrs. Macmillan anything about her homelife, she didn't want the punishment she would undoubtedly get when her mother or father found out. For that, among others reasons she was very glad she was with Dusti. Dusti was strong, and she wouldn't cower before anyone. For the millionth time, Rusti wished she was more like her sister.

"If we don't hurry, we'll be late." Rusti said in her customary timid voice. Their appointment was set for 9 am, normally that would mean missing part of class, however today was Sunday. Teachers didn't normally ask students to meet with them on weekends, unless of course they were there for detention. A spike of fear darted through Rosaria, was she going to get detention? Had she done something wrong?

Rusti wished this was over, the suspense of why they had been called to meet with the school counselor was making her anxious. She slipped her hand into her bag swinging at her hip and held tightly onto her notebook, then put on a brave face. She wanted to take Dusti's hand, but then she would know for sure how nervous Rusti was. Holding her chin up just a little higher, Rosaria took a deep breath as they turned down the hallway to Mrs. MacMillan's office.

[Deleted]

"So?" Dusti was never a fan of authority. So a request to meet with the school counselor? Well, she wasn't in any hurry. If she was late, she'd be late. Dusti wasn't concerned whatsoever. Rusti on the other hand? She was the good one. She always tried to be on time. To avoid anything that might get her in trouble. Dusti was complete opposite. She liked trouble a little too much for her own good. "She can wait."

Dusti could almost feel her twin's nervousness, but didn't do anything to 'reassure' her. If Rusti needed reassurance, she'd act first. Until then, Dusti would wait until Rusti needed it. So, Dusti was the one to knock on the door when they reached the office, and opened the door for the pair. "You wanted to see us?" She didn't sound that pleased with the whole situation, and there was no respect in her voice. Not that surprising.

@rosaria
parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

When the Flint twins appeared at her door, Parvati had just finished fixing the cushions on the chaise. The one girl opened the door for the other, and Parvati stepped away from the chaise to greet them. “You wanted to see us?” the girl closest to the threshold asked, and Parvati nodded. She knew that they would be wary of meeting with the school counselor; even the students who scheduled sessions with her on their own accord were generally apprehensive about it.

“Yes,” Parvati responded simply, getting a good look at the girls for the first time. They looked like him, she thought. Oh, God, they looked just like him. “I’m Madam Macmillan,” she introduced herself, forcing a smile. Her first impression on the girls was probably a terrible one, and it wasn’t going to get any better.

“Come in. Make yourselves comfortable. You’re not being punished for anything,” she clarified, crossing back over to her desk and running a hand through her hair. Her ex-husband, on the other hand, would be receiving a Howler.

Parvati knew that it would be a miracle if she could make it through this meeting; she had to turn her chair around to face the chaise and sit down to keep her legs from shaking. “I hope I didn’t rush your breakfast, girls,” she said apologetically. “You’re welcome to the tea, and I should have some biscuits around here somewhere.” They were likely stale by this time—she hadn’t bought any since the start of summer—but they would be edible if dunked.

@dusti
@rosaria

[Deleted]

@dusti
parvati patil macmillan

Rusti walked in the room as Dusti held the door open. She took the seat offered by Madam MacMillan and made sure to sit primly, perfect posture, just as she was taught. She felt her chest release a little when she was assured they weren't being punished for anything, however that wasn't always what those words meant. Often they were to get her to let her guard down so it would be easier to actually punish her for something.

The tea kettle on the coffee table was steaming where it sat on a small tray that also held three cups and saucers. The room was very quaint, homey, but not overly so. Just enough to feel comfortable in. As Rosaria watched their host she started to notice some signs of anxiety. The way she moved to arrange her chair the way she sat down holding extra still as if to keep from shaking. These were all things Rusti had done herself keep her anxiety under control. What could this woman have to talk to them about?

"You didn't rush us, Madam Macmillan, no need to worry." Rusti said with a calm voice and an easy smile on her face. At least that was what she had been told her smile looked like. It was actually forced, but no one other than Dusti, or maybe River would be able to tell it was forced. She had done it for so long, never truly smiling, that she had nearly forgotten what it was like to smile because she was happy.

She wanted to know why they were there, but she figured they would come to that topic eventually. For now she sat on the couch and waited for the conversation to start, glancing at Dusti to make sure her twin was comfortable.

[Deleted]

Dusti didn't say anything in way of greeting as the Counselor introduced herself. Dusti already knew that. She didn't need to be introduced. Rosaria on the other hand seemed perfectly capable of being cordial. Well, at least one of them was being polite. Taking the seat next to her sister, her own posture was completely different. While Rusti sat up straight, so proper and poised, Dusti was much more relaxed, slouching just a little and not really caring how it might appear. While identical, they were polar opposites. Her gaze was trained quite intensely on the Hogwarts staff member, reading her every move. All the Flint kids were pretty good at reading body language. It was a learned trait, for obvious reasons. Dusti in particular was rather good at it, and never trusted anyone knew. So, she watched their every move like a hawk.

She didn't more to take any of the offered tea. Didn't even look at it. Because in her mind? It was a trick. A way to get them comfortable. If she thought she was going to play shrink with them, she had another thing coming. "I thin we'd rather know why you wanted to see us." She finally spoke, quite bluntly. She'd always had that problem with authority figures. She just had to push their buttons.

parvati patil macmillan
@rosaria

[parvati patil macmillan]

“I…” She might not have rushed their breakfast, but Parvati's personal life was suddenly intertwined with the personal lives of two teenage girls who probably didn't care to know the details of her failed marriage. The one girl seemed to take after her mother much more than her sister did, and Parvati addressed her directly, holding eye contact with her. “About that…” she started with a deep breath, wringing her hands until she became aware of what she was doing and made a conscious effort to keep her hands perfectly still.

“This isn't how I usually conduct my sessions,” she informed the girls, though they must have been able to guess that from the tea set laid out before them. It was only because she worked in the castle that she was able to deliver the news in person. “I'm really not sure how to explain this,” she admitted. Ernie should have done it.

All that Parvati could do was tell them what she knew. “As I was unpacking some of my things,” she began, “I found some letters.” Unless she was going to keep them there for the rest of the day, she would have to spare them the divorce saga. “They were from your mum to my ex-husband, Ernie Macmillan.”

Parvati paused and looked from one of the twins to the other. “Girls,” she told them, “I have every reason to believe that my ex-husband is your father.” She drew her mouth into a line that hinted at a sad smile. “He tried to keep it from me for seventeen years, and I thought you should know. I'm sorry.”

@dusti
@rosaria

[Deleted]

@dusti
parvati patil macmillan

Rosaria shot Dusti a look out of the corner of her eye. This woman had done nothing to them, there was no reason to not treat her with respect. But there was something strange in the air in her office, expectant, apprehensive.

And she soon found out why. Parvati's tale was halting, as if she wanted nothing more than to tell the girls it was nothing and let them leave. But she told them. And Rusti felt her world begin to spin.

Marcus Flint was not her father.

On the outside, nothing changed. Her posture prim, her hand folded on her lap, eyes down. But inside she was fighting with herself. A part of her felt fear. What would her father do when he found out about this? Did he already know? If he did, why hadn't he told them? Another part of her felt relieved. If Marcus wasn't her father, what hold did he have over her? Why did she need to be afraid of him? These conflicting thoughts set her mind working. She became consumed with them for a moment, chewing her bottom lip, a habit she had tried to break.

[Deleted]

The woman was struggling to explain herself, which made Dusti frown even more. Just spit it out already so they could leave! Was it really that hard? It was almost as if she was nervous. She even said that this wasn't how she usually held her 'sessions', which made Dusti's eyes narrow. Dusti wasn't going to take therapy, if that's what the head of Gryffindor was trying to get at. No way in hell. She wasn't going to trust some know-it-all adult that really knew nothing. Hell, Dusti didn't even trust adults in general and often clashed with the Hogwarts staff because of that deep mistrust. And then the woman was saying something about 'how to explain this', and Dusti knew it was personal. That whatever was going on, it had nothing to do with school. It had to do with the twins and her. Personally. Dusti didn't like the feeling.

As the story began, the woman sharing how she'd found letters from her ex-husband from... well their mother. Immediately Dusti rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Are you saying our mother was sleeping around? Why the bloody hell should we care?" In fact, it didn't surprise Dusti at all. Their father wasn't known for fidelity either after all. Then.... Dusti's heart stopped.

My ex-husband is your father.

Marcus wasn't their father. Dusti shouldn't have been surprised. The twins looked nothing like their parents. They'd always just brushed it off as recessive genes though. That the twins had taken after some ancestor. Not that... that it might have been due to illegitimacy. That they weren't, in fact, Flints at all. Dusti swallowed, her gaze moving to focus on her sister who hadn't moved more then an inch next to her. She had to be strong. For Rusti's sake. She had to act like this didn't affect her, when really Dusti felt her whole world crashing down on her. "So what do you want? Us to hug and thank you for finally explaining how messed up our family is?" She snapped with her usual aggressive tone.

Her entire life, as terrible as it was, was worse then she'd even thought. Because it'd been a complete and utter lie.

(Wow. I'm terrible. Sorry for the wait!)
@rosaria
parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Parvati felt terrible that her explanation was shoddy, and she looked between the two young women before her to gauge their reaction to the news. The one girl, the quieter one of the twins, hadn't said a word, although her sister looked positively infuriated. Even before she had finished speaking, the girl had said something that made her sound quite bitter about her mother.

Then, she, too, had gone silent, exchanging looks with her sister. She asked what Parvati wanted, assuming that she wanted anything from them at all. All that she wanted was understanding, if Parvati had to come up with any one word. She had already told the Flint girls that she felt that they deserved to know who their biological father really was.

The one thing that Parvati had noticed about the more brazen girl was how willingly she seemed to want to challenge authority. She had said something about “how messed up” their family was, which Parvati suspected to be part of the reason behind her defiance.

Until she could gain the twins' trust on a personal level, Parvati didn't think that offering a safe space for them to discuss whatever had been going on for them at home would have gone over very well. She shook her head to deny what the girl had suggested about her motives, and Parvati was surprised to hear her voice come out as a stammer. “No, no,” she corrected, “I just—I felt that you should know…”

In front of them, the tea was probably going cold, though Parvati was unconcerned with it. Her voice was nearly expressionless as she added, “My sons are your half-brothers.” She didn't expect the two sets of twins to become attached at the hips, but they were related by blood.

“Again,” sighed Parvati, “I'm sorry.” She was still feeling sorry for herself, too. “Is there… anything you want to know?” she asked, assuming that the girls must have had questions.

@rosaria
@dusti