Margo didn’t typically interact with her family.  She avoided them, created a bubble around herself to protect from the barbs and stings of family life.  She hated being made fun of, always wanting to prove herself, and fiercely objected to being compared to her siblings.  So, when the rare moment came that she was contacted by a singular sibling, one she did not find threatening, it took her a few days to answer it. 

She weighed the options, forgot about it for a little while, stumbled on it again in the drawers of desk, weighed the same options she had done the previous day, forgetting all of them, then to repeat the process for the better part of the week.  By Wednesday, she finally realized she should probably answer it, and honored her brother with a response.  Mateo wasn’t the brother that she worried about – he was soft, hopelessly romantic, from what she remembered, and it made her roll her eyes.

But, he had graduated, probably refused the trust fund (at first –he’d change his mind eventually, when he realized how much it sucked earning his own money and all the cool stuff he could get with galleons behind him), and she could give him a Congratulations meal, she figured.  Even if it was late – mid-August.  Had she really not talked to anyone for that long? 

She shrugged, after sending the owl and was glad to see her suggestion seemed alright enough – dinner and a round after work in the Leaky.  Margo wasn’t fancy, far from it, actually, wearing a draped shirt in her favorite colors and dragon leather pants, as always.  Even if it was summer, there was always a chill in the air in the alley, plus, she didn’t wear shorts. 

So, she walked into the pub – no fanfare, no one cared, like she liked it and grabbed two pints from the bar before selecting a table.  Hopefully her brother liked beer – if not, she’d drink it.  It was really a win-win.  She looked like a great sister, regardless, and got one OR two beers.  Excellent . Leaning back, she kicked her heels up on the table, this wasn’t the type of place people cared about something like that and waited for her little brother to arrive.  It’d be so weird, seeing him – she reminisced.  She wondered if he’d be the same as he was the last time they met.

Maybe he grew a backbone! The thought! She sipped her beer with a smile, almost endless possibilities. 

After being whisked away by one of his older brothers to embark on a life journey that ended in a trip to the perfect jewellery store, Matty assumed all of his family had known by know that he intended to marry his long time friend turned girlfriend. Though just to be courteous he had sent a round of owls to all of his siblings letting them know that Addie had said yes. He hadn't been surprised when Margo hadn't replied, that was just her way. He wouldn't have gone as far as to say that she was the black sheep of the family but she definitely did things her own way in her own time and on her own terms. Matty had come to respect that and actually admired his sister for it.

He was actually surprised when he finally did get an owl from her. He had swiftly sent a reply letting her know that he'd come to dinner with her. The Leaky Cauldron wouldn't have been his first choice but he wasn't going to argue especially if it meant being able to spend some time with his sister. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her. Matty was the baby of the family and there was quite a few years between him and his siblings, most of them were adults and out of the house by the time he had started Hogwarts.

Matty stepped into the pub with a slight air of caution about him. It wasn't the first time he had been there but he wasn't particularly fond of the place. He instantly felt out of place. Having just come from work Matty was dressed in his best. His long chocolate hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, his goatee perfectly groomed. His shirt had been freshly pressed that morning, his tie still tight at his neck and his pants still held their crease. It was all topped off with a pair of neatly shined dress shoes that looked as though they had been charmed to keep dirt off them. He ignored the eyes that had gravitated towards him the instant he walked in and made his way to his sister.

Matty sat down at the table across from her and gave her one of his rare yet genuine smiles. He took the frosted pint without a word and sipped it slightly. A barely noticeable wince crossed his lips as the bitter taste trickled down his throat. He was a full grown wizard now, an adult to the rest of the world, he may as well get used to the stuff, even if he preferred to kick back on his couch with Addie and a bottle of wine.

"How you been sis?"

Margo wouldn’t have recognized Mateo if he didn’t walk straight up to her.  He was all dressed up and fancy, obviously had some kind of job now – not entirely surprising.  She was the wild card in the family, not him.  He was following that age old path – graduate, get the job, be a good citizen, whatever it was – she didn’t prescribe by the ideology, obviously.  But, he was all snazzy and she looked like a ragamuffin, her grandmother would say – oh well!  Wasn’t like she picked anywhere fancy.  He should have known better – and judging by the time he arrived, well, looked like he was at work late to boot! 

Raising her eyebrows, she might have even kicked him out of the table, if he didn’t have that familiar look in his eyes.  Margo all but laughed in his face as he sat down and took the beer.  He looked like he was going to spit it out.  Definitely didn’t enjoy it – he could dress like a big boy, but she was sure he couldn’t drink like one. 

Ah well, maybe later.  “Bloody fantastic, Mateo,” she grinned, taking a long swig of her beer.  She had no manners.  It was fine.  She’d go home later and pass out – also fine.  He’d probably have to fold his underwear before he went to bed – seemed like the type. 

“What about you?  Strange to hear from you!” she commented with a wry grin, “I hear you graduated, congrats – assuming by the get up you got yourself a job too, eh?  Very nice.  Now just need a wifey and a wee one and you’ll be all set,” she rolled her eyes with a laugh.  “Did you even have a childhood? Sew wild oats, riding wild hippogriffs, whatever they’re calling it these days?” she grinned and took another drink of beer. 

“Consider this a congrats, on me,” she said, spreading her arm out and motioning to the whole place.  What a fantastic person she was – and so willing to throw money out of the window, by the looks of the venue.  “Get whatever you like, little brother.”

Matty couldn't help the smile that crossed his lips as his sister spoke. While he had spent the last seven years growing up Margo seemed to be perfecting staying the same and he found he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. When it came down to it Margo was almost like a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of their siblings. She was just so different, and wild and free. While Matty didn't envy her, he knew he could never be like that, he definitely admired her.

He took another sip of his beer thankful that the second sip didn't taste as bad as the first - perhaps he just knew what to expect now - and chuckled at his sister, "Well I'm working on the wifey thing, I think I'll save the wee one for a few years though." He wondered what Addie would think of them having children. He knew his girlfriend was preoccupied with them now living together and the eventual planning of their wedding. He hoped the thought of children was still well away. He'd prefer to be set in his career before he had to worry about providing for a family.

Matty shook his head with a well humored smile, "You know me, I've never been - average, shall we say. I've watched the boys at school, sewing their seeds, or whatever they call it. None of it ever made any sense and everyone always just got mad in the end." He couldn't help but think of George, the guy had spent an extra year at Hogwarts and made a career out doing well . . .

When she offered dinner on her Matty nodded, "I appreciate it Margo," He smiled slightly, "Will be nice to have a meal that wasn't flash heated. Addie's family have been going so crazy over the news it seems like everyone and their cousin has been sending up casseroles and dishes of traditional family recipes. I can't remember the last time I actually had a fresh meal." When the barman came over to check on them Matty ordered a simple plate of fish and chips then took another larger sip of his beer.

"Got me an internship at the Department of Magical Cooperation. You still working with Dragons?"

Margo made a visceral reaction to the idea that her brother was looking for a wifey.  That was just... unacceptable.  She groaned and leaned back in her chair, rolling her eyes.  "Mateo!" she whined with displeasure, practically falling out of her chair.  Her long limbs jerked and she anxiously pushed herself around to sit more comfortably on the chair - she couldn't worry about falling off right now.  And then, it resonated what he ACTUALLY said. 

He did not say he was waiting of a wifey.  He was waiting on children?! What was this?!  What was this nonsense?  "Mateo, Mateo, Mateo," she said, almost sympathetically, like he did not know what he was doing and needed her guidance to make is way in the world.  Good thing they were meeting now - he could use all the help he could get!

"I mean, I know mum and dad gave us all the galleons we could ever need," she leaned forward, thinking about her Gringotts vault, all of the gold inside, and then took a drink - her brother was insane totally interrupted the thought about how much gold she actually had. "But, you know... just... no.  I mean, I don't know how else to put it, but no!"  She looked him up and down once more.  "You're 18, for Merlin's sake! Not 18,000!" always one prone to hyperbole. 

She shook her head - truth be told, Margo did not read anything as closely as she could and neglected to realize that he was actually half-way to the marriage point.  She just thought he was putting himself out there for that kind of torturous institution.  "So you're living with one, eh?  Sending food to keep you from starving, I assume?" She raised her eyebrows, "Or are they just that excited that you blighters actually finished school?" She laughed, shaking her head.  He never ceased to surprise her... she wasn't sure if it was negative or positive yet though. 

She wondered if her brother was as delusional as he seemed right now - wanting to get married, still thinking she worked with dragons.  Hadn't even even known she wasn't in Romania anymore?  Did he think she just apparated back for the occasion of eating a meal with him?  Such vanity! 

"More like working with the people working with the dragons," she huffed, "Not so much field work now," She shrugged - if he didn't know, he'd ask.  If not, she hated talking about it.  Not really her deal - talking about what held her back.  "But Magical Cooperation, eh?  That had to give the family a right shock, eh?"

Matty had his pint glass lifted to his mouth but refrained from taking another sip. He was simply going through the gesture to hide the rather rare smirk that was curling his lips. Leave it to Margo to be completely against the idea of him being married. The rest of their siblings were happy for him and he was sure his mother was estactic. Given his usual detached and almost stoic behaviour they were all probably just happy he found a woman who was actually willing to marry him.

"I think it's just their way of welcoming me into the family." The extra meals were definitely nice while they were still settling into their new apartment but he was sure as soon as they ran out Addie would be more than capable of keeping them fed. If she was smart she actually wouldn't let him in the kitchen at all, he was a disaster with a stove.

Matty visibly winced when Margo made her response about work. He knew full well what had happened, he wasn't entirely clueless but he had been trying to refer to her current work at the Ministry without bringing up the incident that had caused her to leave Romania. He could graduate, get engaged, move out on his own, get an actual job and he was still just as socially awkward as he had ever been. Thankfully she seemed to want to get away from the topic as quickly as he did.

He finally took that swig of his beer before responding, "I blame Addie. I attended a seminar with her during the career fest and there was something about it that just stuck. I doubt I'd be any good with actually negotiations when it comes down to it but I've always been good with languages and paperwork. Right now I'm working on piles of translations. I'm not supposed to know what any of it pertains to but I have a feeling it has something to do with the Tetra Wizard Tournament they're running this fall."

Margo didn't see any of this as a viable life path for an eighteen year old boy.  Shouldn't he crave adventure and excitement?  Wasn't this the time for dating like fifteen people at once and dealing with the consequences in the most hilarious way possible?  That was what Margo though - and actually, a stage she didn't really drop yet.  She was having too much fun.  Maybe her brother just didn't know how to have fun, and that was his problem. 

"Don't go getting fat," she shrugged, "girls don't like the fat ones," she cautioned.  He thought he was in love, but the next thing to walk down the street in a short skirt might catch his eye, or things would go sour, or he'd just lose interest... it was all in their blood, she assumed.  And he was a young man! They were supposed to be assholes.  Maybe she was enough of one for the whole family, but it didn't seem likely.

He just seemed... boring.  Like plain toast.  She frowned at the description of his job and shook her head.  "Brother, I sometimes think maybe you were switched at birth."  She took a long sip from her drink and sighed, rubbing her face.  "Alright, let me get this straight..." Margo may not have been the smartest person ever, but that didn't mean she couldn't understand everything - this was just strange...

"So... you're not supposed to know what it's about... but you have to translate it...?"  Her eyebrows quirked and she pursed her lips, trying to punctuate how strange that was with a glance.  "Sounds like a heap of fun," she rolled her eyes.

Matty couldn't help the string of soft chuckles that escaped his lips at almost every word his sister spoke. It was rather amusing, getting the chance to see the obvious differences between them. They were almost complete opposites. Margo was wild and untamed and Matty was, well Matty just was. He had never been rebellious, he didn't get into fights, he didn't do much of anything other than study and now that school was over with all he had was his job which he had fully intended to pour everything he had into. It was enough to make him wonder just why Addie was with him to begin with.

"I don't think you have to worry about me getting fat." Matty had always been wiry, his intense study schedule at school left him often skipping meals and he was prone to losing ten to fifteen pounds every time exams rolled around. He doubted being out of school was going to suddenly change that habit. He no longer had exams to worry about but there would be deadlines and crunch time to consider now.

Now that it had been said out loud, especially by someone like Margo, the job description did sound rather ridiculous. Often Matty found himself translating the words without letting any of them sink in, "They give us just snidbits. Pages from different transcripts, not in order, not always from the same conversation. Does seem rather unnecessary but it's a foot in the door and that's all that matters." He flashed her a rare smile, wondering what colourful phrase she'd have for him next.

"I don't know..." Margo drew out the last word, leaning against the table.  "You're getting casserole by the dozen and working a desk job - can't imagine, even for you, that would be a recipe for staying in great shape."  Margo had spent most her early twenties running around with dragons, and then pulling a year long stunt in the hospital - and even she, with a high metabolism and horrible life habits, wasn't in great shape anymore - though she supposed the horible life habits had something to do with that.

When you forgot to eat, then drank yourself into oblivion, and then didn't really sleep - plus all of the extra "fitness" she threw into her routines nowadays - even she was not protected.  She couldn't imagine being Matteo.  He would plump out and look like old Slughorn in no time!  "Just watch out - a mean case of the chubbies will sneak up when you least expect it..."

She snapped her fingers in his face and then leaned back in her seat, confident that she had made her point.  "A lame foot in the door," she rolled her eyes.  "I mean, I can understand not understanding something - but making it impossible. And I bet you're doing it for peanuts." 

"And let me guess," she laughed, "you probably turned down mum and dad's vault offer, right?" She could just see it - living like a pauper, having to work for everything - Margo wasn't opposed to work, but she didn't want to do it to survive, she wanted to do it because she liked it.  Having a safety net was a good thing, not that everyone thought that way.  "You'll change your mind," she shook her head, "especially if you want to shackle yourself to some bird." 

"Rings don't come free," she raised her eyebrows, "and neither do houses and fences, and whatever other boring things you want..." she smirked. 

Matty's face went pale as Margo presented the reality of his new lifestyle. Perhaps he would start to gain weight just by not doing anything. It was possible that his teenage metabolism wouldn't keep him fit forever. He doubted Addy would have a problem with it if he did but the thought wasn't exactly appealing to him. He started to think of ways he could increase his activity at work and outside of it. He shuddered to think he'd have to become one of those men that did nothing but sleep, eat, work and then work out. He wouldn't be left with any time to do anything else (not that his previous routine had given him much time for the extras in life either)

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He nodded and sipped some more of the pint in front of him.

When Margo started to talk about his birthright to the family fortune so to speak he lowered his caramel eyes and became silent for a moment. Thankful that the food had arrived and he didn't have to answer right away, he took a bite of his fish before finally giving her a response, "Actually I accepted it. I'm not a complete idiot. Between the entry level job, the new apartment and a whole wedding, it'd be ridiculous not to take Mum and Dad's money." He kept his eyes on his food not sure how his sister was going to react, "Tomas even helped me pick out the ring."