Ava paced the snowy cobbles restlessly. It was 11.55am, and she had been pacing the same spot for over ten minutes. The stupid thing was that she didn't even know if he was going to turn up! She checked the clock on the small tower once more, just as the minute hand lazily twitched to 11.56. Heaving a sigh, she pulled her scarf around her neck and scuffed some of the fine snowflakes with the toe of her right wellington boot.

If he didn't show up...

Well, she didn't want to think about him not turning up. He needed to be there. They needed to talk. After the article had been released, Ava had been less herself than she had for a while. The hold over her had strengthened once more, though from what angle she wasn't sure. It had slackened once more over the last few days, which was when it had truly hit her that Sasha was her brother.

Her brother!

11.57. "By Merlin, you had better show up Schlagenweit," she muttered under her breath, producing steam as her words hit the cold December air.

It was clear his sister - his other sister - and the rest of his awkward welcoming crowd were not at all pleased with the idea of letting him out of their sight. As if, somehow, loosing sight of him for an hour or so in the midst of a crowded Hogsmeade would lead to him heading off on holiday for another month.  Highly unlikely though Sasha couldn't resist a quick glance around just to make sure Terry wasn't trailing him or anything.

Admittedly, he couldn't help feeling a little foolish moving about in his long, black raven-feather-trimmed cloak.   But, regardless, he made his way through the clusters of holiday goers.  He was late.  He knew that even before he saw Ava pacing.  It had taken longer than he'd anticipated to convince his sister he would be fine heading out on his own for a little while.  At the end of the day, after all, he had to head home alone - he couldn't very well show up on his parent's doorstep with Jacoba behind him.

An apologetic frown on his face, he stepped up towards Ava.

"Sorry I'm late.  I had to ... they didn't want to let me come.  And, if I'm not back in an hour and a half, my sister said ... well, some not nice things."  He supposed he couldn't blame her but it still meant he was late.

Eventually she saw him, as proud as though he was Harry Potter himself, with his stupid coat and stupid new swagger. Ava could have been sick right there and then, if it wasn't for the fact that she was so angry about everything that had happened over the course of the last couple of months.

"An hour-and-a-half?" Ava made a 'psh' short of noise. "That was very decent of her!" Her mocking tone could not be disguised. "So is she your keeper now? Or do the rest of your family get a say in anything? I mean, we are family, now, aren't we?"

Ava shrugged and shook her head as though dismissing her own question. Folding her arms protectively over her chest she frowned at him. "So what's with the fancy dress?"

Ava rounded on him with a curtness and edginess that Sasha knew all too well.  She was in one of her moods, again, apparently.  Whether this was one of those moods she'd remember, it was hard to tell.  "I-" Sasha started but he took a deep breath, reminding himself this wasn't her fault.  There was, therefore, no reason to get defensive. 

So, instead, he replied evenly - his voice, perhaps, a little too level.  He could have just as easily been a key expert witness for the defense being cross-examined by a hot-headed prosecutor.  "Given everything that's, you know, happened, they're just really being cautious."  The state they found him in hadn't helped any.  He glanced, sheepishly, down at his feathered robes before Ava's next comment caught his attention. 

He looked up, completely bewildered.  Were here touchy, forgetful moments making her a little senile, too?  "Family?" He repeated back, glancing around, just to make sure she wasn't talking to anyone else.  "How- We just ... it was just a simple kiss."  But, last Sasha had heard, it took more than a little (or even not-so-little) kiss to make someone family.  "I ... I got it at Kronos'" he said, dismissively.  Where he got his robes from seemed secondary - even if now Sasha was well aware that even saying the name would spark rather profound reactions. 

"Look.  You need to talk to someone," Sasha started and continued, hoping to get his words out before her mood caught up with her.  "Please.  Just ... you're getting confused about things too, now.  This isn't normal.  You need help."

As Sasha started babbling on about the 'kiss' they had shared - if it could have even been called that - Ava rolled her eyes as though really bored with the conversation. "I'm not talking about the kiss," she said pointedly, refraining from adding 'you numpty' at the end. "Besides, kissing you was how I could imagine kissing a flobberworm would feel." So maybe her attempt at regaining some of her dignity was a little childish, but she had to do what she could now; kissing one's brother was not acceptable, even in the wizarding world where attacking your sibling with an abnormal growth because he stole your biscuit was considered the norm.

Ava's eyes narrowed as Sasha's confusion became apparent. "You don't know, do you?" An incredulous look passed across her face, and she let out a sharp laugh, throwing her arms up in the air. "Well, this is bloody fantastic! They haven't even told you?!" She dug her hand furiously into the pocket of her cloak and pulled out a clipping from the Daily Prophet that had clearly seen better days. "Read this!" she spat, waving the clipping in Sasha's face. "Maybe then my poor baby brother should ask his precious Kronos what else he's been hiding!

It was safe to say that Sasha had some of his own, rather selfish, reasons for wanting Ava to talk to someone about her fluxuating personality issue.  Sasha really wouldn't complain if those cheap shots just ... disappeared one day.  But, until then, he'd continue to let them roll off his shoulder knowing they were nothing more than the symptoms of whatever she was struggling with.  "A flobberworm?"  Okay, so he wasn't entirely invulnerable.  Color spread across Sasha's cheeks and he glanced down at his shoes.  Wrinkling his nose, slightly, he shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned.  "Sorry it was unsatisfactory," he still couldn't resist saying, a little curtly. 

Of course, being petty wasn't going to do any good.  Even if it made him feel marginally better. 

What in the world was Ava going on about?  The confusion only deepened on Sasha's features as he slowly shook his head.  He didn't have the foggiest idea what she was getting at.  "Haven't told me what?"  He watched, closely, as Ava fumbled in her pocket but, as soon as he saw the Daily Prophet clipping, his shoulders drooped and he closed his eyes.  Fergie had warned Sasha Skeeter had written again.  "Oh no.  What did she -" 

Baby brother?  Sasha stared at Ava, his expression distorted from confusion.  "What?!"  He quickly took the article from her and read over it, his jaw growing slack.  "No."  Sasha shook his head, looking up at Ava.  "But - it's not possible.  How - I'm your brother?" 

A sort of satisfied smirk settled across Ava's lips as Sasha grappled for the article and began to read. Though she shouldn't have been taking any pleasure in this whole little mix-up, the look of horror that filtered across his innocent features filled Ava with a sense of control she hadn't felt in months. She had told him. Nobody else. It had been down to her to deliver the good news.

She calmed the sneer down slightly as Sasha looked to her for answers. "It is possible, and apparently-" she tapped the article with two fingers, "-it's true." Leaning her head to one side, she surveyed Sasha for a moment. "Aw," she cooed, "It won't be so bad. I'll let you stay up as late as you like, and I won't tell dad that you've kissed a girl before." Her mocking may have been considered cruel, but the hurt she was feeling herself was evident. Her father's betrayal and her own guilt at having kissed her younger brother were mounting up. She refrained from scrubbing his hair, feeling that perhaps that might be a little too far, considering the circumstances.

"Yes, you're my brother. Apparently my dad got bored of my mother and knocked yours up. Nine months later - well, I'm assuming it's still nine months in your breed? Muggles aren't quite mutants are they?"

It couldn't be true.  It just made no sense!  If Ava was Sasha's sister, then - as the article pointed out - Sasha's father was this Nathaniel Grosvenor.  Who was pureblood.  A pureblood wizard.  Sasha's father was pureblood.  Sasha was halfblood.  Ava was as much his sister as Jacoba.  His mother had had an affair with a wizard.  Which was the only reason Sasha belonged to this world. 

At some point, in the midst of knitting the long list of facts together in his head, Sasha's hands had lifted to cover his mouth as he stared at Ava.  He must have looked ridiculous.  The expression of bewildered, uncertain shock on his face a stark contrast to the attention-drawing robes and shined shoes. 

And, Ava's obvious bitter amusement and cutting commentary wasn't helping. 

I'll let you stay up as late as you like, and I won't tell dad that you've kissed a girl before.

"Wait!?"  Sasha half demanded, half begged from behind his hands.  The secondary implications of that biting remark hadn't been lost on him.  "I'm ... he wants me to stay with you?  All?  But ... I have a home.  And a family.  I ... I can't ... would he care I kissed ... a girl?"  It was then Sasha made that last connection.  It wasn't just that Sasha had kissed a girl - he'd kissed Ava.  The color drained from Sasha's face.  "I ... but ... I didn't know!  How was I supposed to - you kissed me first!"  He felt compelled to blurt out, a little louder than expected. 

He clenched his fist, trying not to let the comment about his breed prompt a response.  In fact, he reminded himself of the fact that, "I know you don't mean that.  That's just ... look.  You being my sister doesn't change the fact that you need help.  I - please.  Look.  If you don't tell someone, I will."

Ava chortled slightly. "No, he doesn't want you to come stay with us. I somehow don't think my mother would be too pleased." She raised an eyebrow - that had been the understatement of the century. Her mother was probably plotting her father's downfall as it was.

As realisation and then horror washed over Sasha, Ava smirked. His bumbling excuses only amused her more. She heaved a sigh. "I don't think my father would really care what excuses you try to come up with. All he'll care about is that his slimy little bastard son had his hands on his precious daughter." The words were spat out in the harshest way possible, only wishing to add to his frustration and confusion.

Whatever he thought, Ava definitely did mean what she had said. The thought of having a half...muggle brother, was enough to make her want to vomit.

"You being my sister doesn't change the fact that you need help.  I - please.  Look.  If you don't tell someone, I will."

"Don't call me that," she hissed as her eyes narrowed, not realising that her fists had clenched with fury. "Never call me that! I do not care whether you are the fruit of my father's disgustingly cheap loins, you are not and you never will be my brother! You are just an accident and a mistake. A huge, pussing boil of a mistake!"

She was seething, and after a moment of heavy breathing, she added "And tell whoever you like."

Taking a deep breath, Sasha nodded, trying to let the not so subtle dismissal of the idea of him staying with them just roll off his shoulders.  Though the rejection had been harsh and crass, he hadn't really expected them to take him in.  He had  enough experience playing the bastard child at home to know the role wasn't a welcome one.  And, he knew what to expect from his own family; he really preferred to stick with the familiar. 

"Alright," he said, awkwardly, trying to continue to dismiss her tone as one of her moods.  But, dismissing it was proving harder and harder to do. 

"I don't think my father would really care what excuses you try to come up with. All he'll care about is that his slimy little bastard son had his hands on his precious daughter."

Sasha flinched and his face turned beet red, his gaze dropping to the snow-packed street.  She made it sound so ... so wrong but, the truth was, there really wasn't anyway to make it sound right.  "I didn't know."  Was really the best and only defense he could come up with.  "And, even if he doesn't care, you ... you know that.  I mean - we're friends.  When you're not ... like this." 

Then, Ava's anger really started to boil.  Sasha flinched again, taking an involuntary step back as his vision clouded.  His mouth opened and formed the shape of several words before falling closed again.  This mood - it would pass like the previous ones always did.  He had to believe in that.  As much as what she was saying hurt, he had to believe it wasn't really her. 

"Look," he said, desperately trying to push her words from his head.  "I know you don't mean that.  I know ... it's just ..."  Then it occurred to him and he cast a quick glance over his shoulder.  If he could get her to talk to talk to Dreogan now - maybe they could solve this.  And, then, she'd stop saying these things.  "There's someone you can talk to here.  Just -"  He reached out to grab her hand.  He'd pull her over to see Dreogan if he had to; there wasn't really much worse she could say, anyway. 

"I mean - we're friends.  When you're not ... like this."

"We are not friends," Ava put emphasis on the negative part of that statement, ensuring that it couldn't slide by unnoticed. "Any notion of friendship we had, any ounce of kindness you had from me - just forget it all!"

"There's someone you can talk to here.  Just -"

As Sasha's hand reached out for her, Ava's wand was pulled quickly from her cloak and aimed in the general direction of Sasha's face. "Don't move another inch towards me!" Her threat was far from empty, and expression on her face conveyed just how serious she was. "I don't need to see anyone, I don't need to explain anything, and I certainly don't need to see you anymore!" Her wand was lowered ever-so-slightly as though she was giving up a fight, and for the smallest moment, the fire disappeared from her eyes. "Just leave me and my family alone."

Sasha visibly flinched back from the older Slytherin as if her words had been a harsh slap to the face.  This isn't her, this isn't her he repeated to himself as he dropped his gaze to look down at his hands.  He felt ridiculous, standing there in that long, black, feather-trimmed cloak, his face beet red from the verbal lashing. 

But, ever stubborn, he shook his head.  "No.  I won't forget it.  I know it isn't you." 

Sasha stopped moving towards Ava as the wand was raised to his face though he didn't, immediately, drop his hand.  For a moment, he hovered in indecision, clearly considering his options.  He didn't doubt Ava would follow through on her threat.  For a moment, the defiance and anger faded from her face and Sasha saw her - her, the Ava he knew.  "Ava, please," he said, quietly, dropping his hand but, ignoring the still raised wand, took a small step towards her.  "I ... I care about you and I'm not going to give up.  Look, just ... wait here.  I'll - I'll go find him, alright?"  He raised both hands as if that would further encourage her to stay where she was before he turned and hurried through the crowd in search of Dreogan.

The scorned laugh that escaped her lips shot out at Sasha as he proclaimed that he cared for her. But no sooner had she opened her mouth to come back with some witty retort, Sasha had stated that he was going to find some 'Dragon' to 'help' her. As Sasha hurtled off into the distance, occasionally casting a wary glance back to make sure she was where he left her, Ava licked her dry lips. "I'm not waiting for him to bring a dragon back. No matter what he's been getting up to with this Kronos of his, rearing dragons without a licence is illegal."

Once she was sure Sasha had retreated far enough to not see her, she swiftly turned and mingled with the small groups of people moving swiftly away from Hogsmead village, not leaving a trace behind of ever having been there in the first place.