Hello [Dustin]

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

Hogsmeade the weekend after Valentine’s Day. Cara should have known that it was going to be a mess. Obviously she didn’t have anything going on then or now, and instead the day was being spent going to Dominic Maestro’s for more strings for her ukulele, and then the remainder was for finishing up school work. Getting assignments done ahead of time instead of waiting until the last minute was a sure way to live a healthy, happy lifestyle. She didn’t need a bombardment of stress in the last few months of school. Finding a job that suited her was hard enough on its own. Anything additional would be a nightmare.

Finding what she needed inside the music store, Cara waltzed outside contentedly. It was short lived though, as the harsh reality of all the couples roaming the street came crashing down around her once again. Didn’t they have something better to do? Like say, school? Or clubs? She had already spotted a handful of people she knew; ones that could benefit from a little extra work here and there. The little voice in her head that was apparently dubbed her conscience told her not to interfere though, and to let the people have some fun. She was doing the exact same thing anyways, having just purchased items for her hobby. Being caught in a contradictory situation would only end up infuriating her, and the last thing she wanted to do today was blow a fuse. She still had homework to do after all. Focusing after snapping like that was nigh impossible.

So, she directed her eyes at the ground and walked. Seeing people having fun would only create more of a problem in her head. After a few minutes of this, Cara stopped to glance into the windows of Honeyduke’s, somewhat hoping to see it empty so that she could sneak in quickly and grab something sugary. To her dismay, it was mobbed like usual. Rolling her eyes at the line that extended out the door, she pushed herself between two people as best she could, so as to get to the other side. Somehow she managed to step on her own shoelace, and the fact that the lace was dragging along the ground peeved her beyond belief. Taking the first unoccupied bench she could find, Cara stopped to re-tie the shoe. Upon looking back up, she noticed a familiar figure walking down the street. Why was Dustin, her brother, in Hogsmeade on today, of all days? She titled her head to the side, observing him as he continued walking. “Dustin!” Cara called out. If he heard her, he would know that she wanted his undivided attention. Everyone in the family knew that. She was going to get to the bottom of why he was here.

[Deleted]

Dustin was satisfied with his work for the day. He had had a good conversation with Roxy, and he was hopeful that if one of the positions on the Falcons did end up being vacant, she would be the one to fill it. He didn’t want to get too hopeful, but he was probably going to end up talking to Yadi about it – later, though, because he didn’t think his Captain would appreciate him sort-of recruiting someone without his permission. It wouldn’t look good for the team or for Roxy if it looked like she only made the Falcons because of nepotism. Dustin was ambling around Hogsmeade now, wondering if he ought to go home or perhaps dip into Honeydukes to buy some sweets for himself. He couldn’t have too much sugar on his Quidditch diet, but a little treat every now and again wouldn’t kill him. He was halfway through debating that choice when he heard his name being called. Just as he had when Roxy had called him, Dustin tensed up a little, though as soon as his brain processed the voice, he relaxed again. Dustin turned towards the sound of the voice, raising his hand to show his sister that he had heard her. Dustin pushed his way through the crowd until he got to Cara. “CJ, my darling, how are you on this fine day?” Dustin asked, figuring that nonchalance would be the best way to get his sister not to tear him apart with questions. It was unlikely, considering that she had a voracious appetite for knowledge and the personality to keep people telling her what she wanted to know. Dustin was pleased to see that, despite the proximity to Valentine’s Day, his sister was out alone. He wasn’t sure what boy would be able to handle his sister, since Dustin himself sometimes had a hard time keeping her in check, but Dustin was not prepared to give the shovel talk to his sisters’ boyfriends, so Cara’s singledom was preferable for Dustin.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

Cara felt herself smirk slightly when her brother turned his head to see where she was calling from. That little feeling of success at getting him to come when called rippled through her as he pushed through the crowd to join her. She didn’t think it as manipulative because she wasn’t holding anything against him. Not yet at least. There were tons of questions to ask him, like why he was in Hogsmeade. That was the most important one. She crossed one leg over the other, placing both hands in her lap as she stared up at her brother. Was he trying to butter her up, knowing that she was going to ask questions? Clearly he knew how she worked. Now that she thought about it, that would make this that more interesting. Playing along never hurt anyways. “Oh I’m doing excellent, thank you for asking,” she stated, adding a small sigh at the end as she purposely looked away from her brother. “Though I could do without these crowds. Don’t these people have anything better to do?” The answer was yes, and always would be yes. There was always something better to do than flaunt around Hogsmeade without a care in the world.

“How’s work? Can’t say I’ve paid much attention lately. School gets in the way, you know?” That wasn’t true in the slightest. As much as she despised the concept of flying, she still enjoyed Quidditch to an extent. That little tidbit of information didn’t need to be tossed around though, because then Dustin would probably think that she wanted lessons or something. No thanks, not her cup of tea. Cara knew exactly what the scores of Dustin’s games were like, and how the team was progressing throughout the season. He was her brother after all. She was required to know that information. “Once the year is over I’ll try to find the time to see a match.” Cara smiled as she turned back to look at Dustin. “I do get free tickets, right?”

[Deleted]

Dustin grinned at his sister when she said that she was doing excellently. “No boy with you, I see.” He commented after she said how she was doing. He had spent so long mentally focused on that that it seemed silly not to say something about that. Maybe it would inspire a rant of some sort and then he’d be able to avoid being questioned mercilessly for why he was at Hogsmeade the weekend after Valentine’s Day. He was sure that the real answer wouldn’t be satisfactory for his sister, or if it was, she would somehow change his platonic meeting with Roxy into some sort of secret romance. Not that Cara knew that Dustin had already had a secret romance that none of his sisters had caught wind of… If that ever came to light then Dustin was sure there were going to be several very angry teenaged girls at his heels, which he was not a fan of. When Cara commented about the crowd, Dustin rolled his eyes. “All the better to adore you, CJ.” He said with a chuckle. Crowds were more of his scene, he was certain, because he liked people. And people, as a rule, liked him, so it all worked.

Cara asked how work was and Dustin rubbed at his face. “We lost a game to Puddlemere because Evelyn fell off her broom and I paid attention to that instead of the Snitch.” That barely scratched the surface of what happened, but Dustin wasn’t sure he wanted to get into all of that. He didn’t trust himself to remain neutral, and then Cara would pick at him, and… Dustin sighed. She could probably tell by his hesitance that there was something more, so it was better just to get it out. “Turns out their Seeker was her secret fiancé. But they’ve split now, because he announced their relationship to the world without her permission.” He couldn’t believe that Cara had missed all of the drama that had been consuming his life because of her school work. Next year, when she was working, that hopefully wouldn’t happen as much. Cara asked if she got free tickets, and Dustin snorted, glad to be on a lighter subject. “More like I get free tickets that I’ll give to you because you’re one of my six favorite sisters.” He informed her, hoping she caught the teasing barb that she could very well be his least favorite sister.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

She didn’t hold back the snort that erupted from her as Dustin pointed out that there wasn’t a boy with her. “And that’s why I said I was doing excellent.” She didn’t need some boy holding her back right now, especially at the end of the year. There was probably more bad to come from Valentine’s Day and dating than there was good. Expectations had to be set in motion and then maintained. Being the one to expect or commit to those was not something she wanted anything to do with right now. There was a time and place for all that, and while getting her education was not either of those. “The same could be said with you too. No girl.” Was there honestly any other reason for someone to be in Hogsmeade on this weekend, especially Dustin, who wasn’t a student anymore? At least she had the excuse that it was her normal day to escape the confines of the castle for a few hours. Her brother going out of his way to be here today was definitely interesting. “Unless that’s later. You’re definitely not here just to see me, seeing as I had to call you over,” she stated, tapping her fingers a few times on her leg as she thought.

Onto the Quidditch talk it went, and Cara nodded her head as her brother detailed the last match. She knew what had happened, again, not willing to give up that information. It was for his own good. It would keep his ego down, knowing that he had to explain everything to her. “Bet you got an earful for that one. Rookie mistake I suppose,” she shrugged. The next tidbit of information was new to her though. Evelyn apparently had a secret lover on the other team? That was rather scandalous. “Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest? Like possibly throwing a match and all that?” That seemed the most logical to her. Betting on Quidditch was apparently a rampant issue enough as it was, being able to set up large pools of money and throw it a certain way was only made easier with players on opposing teams dating. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out.

“One being number one I take it.” As the second oldest, she certainly deserved that title. The details of being second or third depended on which parent she asked, because one said one while the other said otherwise. In her opinion, she was always second to Dustin, and then her double at third. No hard feelings of course. That was just how it was. “I’ll have to take up that offer this summer then. Assuming my schedule is free.”

[Deleted]

Dustin couldn’t help but grin when Cara said that the reason she was doing excellently because of her lack of boy. Dustin hadn’t actually ever known his sister to date, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, considering how into school she was. Cara probably saw a relationship as a distraction from her work. Which was fine, but eventually Dustin hoped that she learned there was a way to balance being a hard worker and being a partner or a sister – though Cara didn’t really have a hard time balancing being a sister with her work, now that he was thinking about it. Maybe she would do better with a boyfriend than Dustin had originally anticipated. Cara made a comment about Dustin not having a girl with him, and he raised a shoulder in a half-shrug. “I like to be free, like the birds.” He said with a grin. His sister didn’t know that he was an Animagus – that was probably something that he ought to get around to telling her sometime – but she did know the name of the team that he played for, so she would get at least a little bit of the joke that he had made. Cara made a comment about him seeing a girl later, and Dustin rolled his eyes. “I was here for Quidditch business, not for a date.” He explained. He wasn’t going to go further than that. Cara would think that she wanted to think.

“No one was mad at me. I just can’t believe that someone who wants to marry someone else cares more about winning a game than saving their fiancée.” Dustin griped. So much for love conquering all. Cara asked if there was a conflict of interest, and Dustin nodded vigorously. “I don’t like to think that Ev would do that sort of thing, but…” Dustin let out a sigh. He didn’t want to doubt every game that they had ever played against Puddlemere, but would they have won the game where Ev had fallen off her broom if she had been willing to hit her fiancé off of his broom? Dustin didn’t want to say that winning was everything, but his reputation was on the line, and if he lost too many games, he would be out of a job, and he would be ruined, and… he didn’t know what it was like not to win all the time. He didn’t know what it was like to be ruined.

Dustin just smiled at Cara when she implied that she was his favorite sibling. “Can neither confirm nor deny.” He said simply. He didn’t want her crowing to the rest of his sisters that she was his favorite. “What are you going to be doing all summer that you won’t be able to watch a Quidditch game?” It wasn’t like shed have homework to do.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

Free, like the birds. That statement coming from her brother’s mouth made Cara cringe slightly. Was he really doing word play based on the fact that he was a Quidditch player for a team that had a falcon as a mascot? Witty, maybe. But she wasn’t exactly impressed with the answer at the same time. She really wanted to be able to pry into his life a little more. It had become increasingly harder to do that with him off and graduated, and even his last year at Hogwarts had been tough, with Quidditch getting in the way and all that. Cara found it hard to exert a certain amount of control over someone if she didn’t know what they were up to in their day to day lives. Her sisters were easy in that sense. Dustin not so much. “Prospects? Isn’t it a little late to be trying to pick up any current seventh years for next season?” Hopefully Dustin wouldn’t read too much into those questions and think she was paying attention to the professional scene. She was, but not like he needed to know that.

“Ex-fiancée.” Cara corrected her brother. “Sounds like the game was more important in the end.” And everything that surrounded it. Why couldn’t some of these players be more private about their lives? She understood that the newspapers liked to force their way into everything, she was no exception when it came to doing the same with her siblings, but they needed to at least give the players some privacy. Being under constant media pressure led to jerks like Evelyn’s ex-fiancée to announcing things that were better off kept in a private setting until necessary. “She’s supposed to be a professional and an adult. If she threw matches, you would know.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to reassure him after her previous comment about the possibility of throwing matches. It just felt like it needed to be said. “Now she has a reason to send a few bludgers his way next time you play them,” Cara shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind seeing that on a highlight reel.”

She rolled her eyes as Dustin dodged her claim. Of course he couldn’t say who is favorite was. Knowing him, there probably wasn’t one. Cara knew who hers was. All she had to do was look in the mirror. Dustin wasn’t that bad either, she supposed. He didn’t take enough charge of the family in her opinion, which left her to do all the heavy lifting with the younger ones. Not that she minded in the slightest. “Research,” she responded quickly. It was vague enough that he would probably ask about what, in which she would then have to break the news of what her desired career choice was. Being an author was both daunting and scary, but she could write and articulate points, so it couldn’t be that hard. She had the work ethic down pat, so it was coming up with an idea for a book that was going to be the most difficult part. But that was what her imagination was for, right?

[Deleted]

Dustin kept waiting for Cara to do something other than ask questions that actually seemed relevant to the conversation. He loved his younger sister, but she could be a bit of… a personality. That was the politest way to put it. Normally Cara wasn’t content with the status quo, unless she was the one who had determined it. Dustin wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, so when Cara continued to ask him questions about something that was easy for him to talk about, he didn’t hesitate to answer. “Surprisingly, no. Most of them won’t be signing contracts until after graduation, so if we can give them enough of an incentive, they can be swayed.” Dustin said. The team had done extremely well last year, which meant that they were more able to offer quite a bit of cash to anyone who would make a good addition to the team. He wasn’t entirely sure why the tradition was to wait so long to sign, but Dustin had a feeling that it had something to do with last minute changes of heart. Right before graduation a lot of people had serious life crises, and a few even ended up switching career paths. It would be awful to be seventeen years old and be locked into a career you weren’t happy with because you had signed a contract without really being sure of what you wanted to do. That was something that Dustin’s parents had been worried about when he had signed onto the Falcons in his seventh year, but the joke was on them, because he was still enjoying a thriving career and healthy social life, complete with way too much drama.

“Yeah, ex-fiancée.” Dustin agreed when Cara corrected him. The word tasted bittersweet on his tongue. Bitter, because he hated to see Evelyn so upset about something, but sweet because it meant that Rocco was out of their lives forever, and they could focus on mending their friendship without him sticking his nose into it. Cara said that the game was more important, and Dustin nodded. “Quidditch will never be more important to me than you are.” Dustin said. He was sure that wasn’t what Cara had been going for when she had made that comment, but he still felt compelled to state that his love for his sisters, and his parents, and his team was more important to him than a stupid game. It was a game that made him a lot of money, but at the end of the day, it was just a game, and Dustin was worried that his competitiveness had blinded him to that. “He left the country, Cara.” Dustin said. It had been barely more than a footnote in the paper, but it appeared that Rocco had followed some friends of his to an island someplace. Dustin had more than a few choice words about that decision, but none of them were appropriate for the young ears that were surrounding him.

Dustin blinked a few times when Cara said that she wanted to do research after school. That had not been something that he had been expecting. “But you can’t boss people around in research.” He said, somewhat dumbly. He had expected Cara to go into something managerial – become the assistant to some higher-up and then take over their position as soon as they retired. Sitting behind a desk all day seemed awfully boring to him… But it wasn’t his life, Dustin reminded himself, and if it made Cara happy, then he would find a way to be happy about it, too.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

Contracts weren’t signed until after graduation? That was news to her. Though she supposed Dustin’s case was a little different. There were probably plenty of Quidditch players that were recruited under different circumstances. Seekers had to be the most sought after as well, seeing as they had a make or break role in the game. Beaters and Chasers came in at a handful as far as she was concerned. There were plenty of replacements should one get injured or killed. Dustin though, his position wasn’t nearly as replaceable. That bit of information Cara was confident about. Dustin brought up the point that now was the time to get some incentives out to possible recruits, and Cara simply nodded her head. That actually made sense. “Who was it that you were talking to? Or is that a secret until they sign?” Not that she would tell a soul. Her say in official Quidditch matters was nil.

Cara tried to contain her smug look as Dustin agreed with her about Evelyn’s ex-fiancée. Of course she was right. And hopefully that was how he would stay. Her brother didn’t need his teammates going through relationship drama with players on other teams. That would only dampen their moods and effect their game. Quite the unique strategy if that was what the ex-fiancée was gunning for, though Cara figured he was just too overbearing. She scrunched her face up as Dustin gushed over how important he thought she was. “Gross. Save that for your girlfriend once you manage to get one.” She didn’t need that kind of validation from anyone, even her own family. She knew she was important, because if she wasn’t, then one of her siblings would have said something by now. As conceited as it sounded in her head, there was no denying it. Her way was the right way after all. “Well he can stay out of the country then,” she huffed. “For his own good, obviously.”

Did she stutter? Certainly Dustin didn’t think there was something abhorrently wrong with conducting her own research, did he? Because by the sound of his tone and wording, it was like she was talking and he wasn’t comprehending it. “Telling people what to do isn’t the only thing I know how to do you know.” This seemed to be a common trend lately. Everyone thought she was a bossy know-it-all. Sure, she kind of was, but nobody ever wanted to know what she liked to do in her free time aside from playing the ukulele. The whole writing gig was probably unknown to most. “I want to write. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

[Deleted]

Cara asked him if he was able to divulge the identity of the person that he had been talking to, and Dustin shook his head. “I also haven’t really talked to Yadiel about it…” He said, trailing off. Dustin liked to think that Yadi valued his opinion, but it was really Yadiel and the team’s owner who got to decide which players their teams signed. Talking about a potential recruit to the team without first talking to Yadiel was a sure way for someone to get false information, or for people to get false expectations. Besides, even if Yadi and the owner had been on board, it still wasn’t good to leak secrets like that. It would be so much more climactic when they had a whole conference about the new player and got to unveil her to the public and everything. Dustin had always had a penchant for theatrics, so no one would be surprised to hear that was the sort of moment that he lived for.

Even if his sister was trying not to look smug, Dustin cold read it on her face. For one thing, Cara wasn’t good at hiding it when she thought that she was right, and for another thing, Dustin had been looking at that same expression for literally his entire life, and knew what it meant. At his comment about Cara being more important than any Quidditch game, his sister looked intensely uncomfortable, enough that Dustin almost wanted to laugh. Leave it to Cara to make a face at the idea of being told that she was important. “First you want to be my favorite sister, and then you want me not to tell me how great you are?” Dustin asked, affecting a slightly disgruntled tone – which definitely wasn’t difficult, given her jab about getting a girlfriend. Dustin found himself thinking ‘if only they knew’ way too often when it came to his sisters and his romantic life, but he supposed that if he wanted to, all of his sisters could learn about Vi. Then again, Cara and Mia were in the same year as Vi, so it was probably better to wait until after they graduated to explain how their classmate had broken his heart. In any case, Cara said that Rocco could stay out of the country, and Dustin couldn’t even pretend to be disgruntled anymore. “What, are you going to do something to him?” Dustin had to admit, if he ever saw Rocco again, the first thing he would probably do was punch the guy in the jaw for everything that he had put Evelyn through. If Cara wanted to contribute to that, Dustin wasn’t going to say no to it.

Dustin couldn’t help but snort when Cara said that she knew how to do more than just tell other people what to do. “I know that.” Dustin said calmly. “But you’re not as good at all of those other things, and you should play to your strengths.” He said teasingly. He didn’t actually want Cara to switch her career plans, but ribbing her a little was irresistible. However, all idea of teasing was gone when Cara said that she wanted to write. “You’re right, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Dustin said. “And when I eventually wash out, you can write a ‘where are they now’ book about me, yeah?” Dustin said. It was the best way that he could say that he supported his sister’s choice without grossing her out again.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

Dustin went on about having to talk to Yadiel…who she couldn't put a face to. Was that the really elegant one that looked like he could be up on stage or something? Trying to pay attention to professional Quidditch was like watching paint dry at times. Being at a match and watching it first hand was vastly different than reading the results in the Prophet or getting a play by play from a second hand source. Cara even drowned out Dustin when he started really getting into it. Suffice it to say, remembering everyone on his team, or the other teams for that matter, was beyond her purview at the moment. Once she graduated and had the time to waste, she would concern herself with those things. Not like there was anything better to do anyways. “He’s an important one,” Cara remarked, trying to make it sound like she knew what she was talking about. “Going over him probably wouldn’t hold over well.”

She rolled her eyes at him. Hard. “There’s a difference between already being the favorite and trying to give me validation. I don’t need the latter like some do.” Some in this family, more like it. Kinsey was certainly giving her quite the attitude lately, and for nothing more than simply existing in the same space. Cara couldn’t understand why her sister continued to fight the inevitable. The younger Bainbridge lacked certain structural aspects in her life that would allow her to achieve her full potential. Somehow she couldn’t see that. Cara could. Dustin asked her if she was going to do something to the fiancé, and she snorted. “I’d expect you to put him in his place, Dustin. If he came back of course. Evelyn is…nice. I don’t think she would mind if it was you throwing a punch or two.” Complimenting Evelyn without really knowing anything about her was weird feeling. But she figured that was something her brother would do for his teammate, regardless of who it was.

Not as good at those other things. She hated that. There was a reason she was so critical about everything. It was because she wasn’t great at a lot of things and put herself through turmoil to get them done. She kept her face even while Dustin talked. The last thing she wanted to do was let on that she hated being bossy, but only did it because she didn’t know how else to interact with other people properly. The fact that people listened to her was all because she had built that reputation of knowing what to do. Maintaining that was all she had left. Kinsey always did a good job of ripping it down and then causing her to question why she did it all in the first place. Maybe Dustin was right. Her only strength was being bossy, and that was the validation she needed. Why she had to think of these things when all she wanted to do was talk to her brother was beyond her. They were devilish little thoughts that didn’t deserve to be in her head. “You have to be famous first before you can be washed out.” There it was. That was all she needed to get back to her normal self. Though her real self would have preferred to just say ‘thanks’ and move on.

[Deleted]

Cara commented that Yadiel was an important one, and Dustin nodded. That was one way to put it. She commented further that going over him wouldn’t go well for Dustin, and the Gryffindor boy nodded. He wasn’t even sure if he could go over Yadi – the owner of the team seemed to confer with him about almost everything. Maybe it was just that Dustin heard about those kinds of conferences from Yadiel himself, so if the captain didn’t know something, then Dustin wouldn’t know that he didn’t know it. But beyond just the fact that the owner respected Yadi, Dustin did, too. Trying to circumvent his influence on the Falcons would mean showing disrespect for his captain, and Dustin couldn’t think of a better way to keep his contract from being renewed. Yadiel was tolerant – more tolerant than most Quidditch captains, if you asked Dustin – so pushing the limits of his tolerance would be difficult… but definitely possible.

Dustin couldn’t help but snort when Cara said that she didn’t need more validation from him, since she knew that she was already his favorite sister. Her remark about others needing validation probably was meant to be a jab at their younger sisters – most likely Kinsey, Dustin thought with a sigh. He would have thought that Cara and Kinsey would get along better, since they were in the same house and therefore (supposedly) held the same values, but it seemed that the two were always at odds with each other in some way or another. “No validation for Cara, got it.” Dustin said dryly. That’s the last time he would try to say something nice to his sister because he thought it was what she wanted to hear. He would still say nice things about Cara, of course – he was just that great of an older brother – but not for the sole purpose of stroking Cara’s already huge ego. “Oh, trust me, I would.” Dustin all but growled when Cara said that she expected him to put Rocco in his place if he ever returned to England. He wasn’t as confident in her assessment that Evelyn wouldn’t mind if he threw a punch or two, but that wouldn’t stop him from doing it, if that’s what he thought was necessary.

The good thing about being in the public eye so much was that Dustin had learned to handle insults with more aplomb than most people his age were capable of. Most of his “handling” of insults involved making jokes at his own expense, though, so when Cara made a comment about him needing to be famous before he was washed out, Dustin clutched at his chest. He remembered doing a similarly dramatic gesture earlier in the day, but there was no such thing as too much practice in being melodramatic. “You wound me.” Dustin gasped out. “And that comment has officially dropped you out of favorite sister position, just so you know.” He added. If Cara was going to be so confident about her status as his favorite sister, Dustin saw no reason not to use it against her when she was being mean to him.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

Why was it funny that she said she didn’t need validation? Obviously she did, just not the kind that he was prone to giving her, or forcing on her rather. She didn’t need the lovely, mushy, compliments from her siblings, or anyone for that matter. Being told that she did a great job on a project or in a class, or wrote an interesting story; that was the validation that she wanted. That was also the kind of validation that she rarely got from anyone, if at all. The stigma of Ravenclaws always being studious and genius in their work was a given apparently. Nope, not true. The reason she always studied was because that stuff didn’t come easy. No one else really knew that though, and the bossy attitude eclipsed the real struggles immensely. Cara didn’t want to be the Ravenclaw that needed help from other people. It was completely messed up, and she realized that what she was doing was far more damaging than just admitting that she didn’t want to fail.

“Good,” she responded. That was the passion she had wanted to see from him when it came to Evelyn. At the same time, she knew that was the same visceral reaction that would be present should any of their sisters ever get their heart broken. Probably worse, actually, because despite her dislike for some of their philosophies on life, Cara would join Dustin in the beat down of the century. She could make someone’s life a living hell if she wanted to, always criticizing, constantly nagging, and definitely putting them down. It wasn’t difficult. She’d probably feel slightly bad about it in the end, but only after a sufficient amount of vitriol was shot their way.

Dustin grabbed at his chest as she pointed out that he needed to be famous to get a book. “No need to be a drama queen. That’s just how it works,” she shrugged. Sure, he was good now, but if injuries plagued half of his career like most Quidditch players, then there certainly wasn’t a book deal for him in the future. He went on about how she wasn’t his favorite sister anymore, and she blinked. That meant that she was his favorite sister, right? Or had been. “I’ll treat you to lunch. If that moves me back up.”

[Deleted]

Dustin blinked a little at Cara when she commented ‘good’ to his aggression towards Rocco. He would have thought Cara would caution him against something that could jeopardize his career, but apparently she cared about Evelyn more than Dustin had thought she had. Maybe there were other ulterior motives at play – Dustin didn’t really want to know why Cara would encourage violence.

“Me? A drama queen? Never.” Dustin said, his response emphasizing just how accurate that title was. “I’m a drama king, thank you very much.” As a Quidditch player, Dustin’s masculinity was very fragile and all. That was what he told himself to justify the name change, though he had also harped on the nomenclature as a part of continuing to bug his sister, because that was what siblings were supposed to do with each other. Dustin wasn’t sure if Cara had really gotten the handbook for sibling etiquette, with the way she interacted with their other sisters sometimes, but she was at least intelligent enough to figure out when he was teasing most of the time. Dustin ignored that Cara’s comment that reiterated that she still didn’t consider him famous. More people knew who he was than knew who she was, so at least he had that going for him, but Dustin doubted that his sister would respect a ‘at least I’m more famous than you’ snipe. He needed to be cleverer in order to deal with Cara… though Dustin had no doubt that she would always be at least a little cleverer than him. That was why the Sorting Hat had never considered putting him in Ravenclaw for even a moment. “It might.” Dustin said, raising his eyebrows at Cara. “I guess you’ll just have to see.” He told her, enjoying the feeling in being in a position of power over Cara. He couldn’t believe that being his favorite sister was actually worth paying for lunch for him, but hey, that was Cara’s loss. Dustin extended his arm to Cara so that she could take it and they could walk together until they could find their meal.

cara june bainbridge
(you finish?)

[cara june bainbridge]

@dustin

She rolled her eyes when Dustin said that he was never a drama queen. Not nearly as much as some of their siblings, sure, but he could get up there. He probably couldn’t tell either. Whenever he started going on about Quidditch this and Quidditch that, there was always something to complain about. She had learned long ago that paying attention to it for the few minutes it took to blow over was better than ignoring it and watching it all blow up eventually. This Rocco business was trivial compared to some instances. Again, he wasn’t nearly as bad as some. In her opinion, Kinsey took home the gold medal for drama queen. Trying to gain pity all the time was the epitome of a drama queen. Cara definitely knew that her younger sister didn’t realize it at all. She had said as much before, and Kinsey still continued to react the same as always. It really was quite sad. “Oh really? A drama king? When did you become a muggle world leader?” Cara answered, crossing her arms as she stared at Dustin. Why would he want a distinction for something like that? It didn’t really matter, because he admitted he was a drama-whatever regardless. It only proved her point.

Food was always a good way to win over people, as Cara had learned while at Hogwarts. If telling someone to follow her orders didn’t work, food did. Though Dustin’s response wasn’t exactly the one she wanted to hear. She knew he was joking when it came to waiting, but the fact remained that she had been the favorite at some point. Even though it was wishful thinking, the possibility of getting her title back was important. He held his arm out for her to take and she stared at him. “Really?” She knew the answer already. He didn’t have to say anything. Sighing, she took hold of his arm. “This better put me back at number one.”

[THE END]