PRECEDENT : Draco Malfoy II

09

            Easter is terrible, mostly because being home is not any fun.

"Who's your letter from?" my brother, Aaron, teases, holding it above my head.

"Give it back," I leap out of my seat, turning around. He dangles it above my head. I would climb on the furniture, but it would only piss off Da. "You're such an arse."

"Come on," Aaron laughs. He darts away with the letter, bolting toward the door.

"Don't you have better things to do than steal things from a child?" I ask. "You're fully grown."

Alfred rolls his eyes, not bothering to help me or chastise Aaron. When Aaron shoots out onto our lawn, no shoes on, I force myself after him. My socks are soaking through before I've even gotten off our porch. It is a wet Easter weekend, drizzling but not pouring. Puddles have formed despite that, and my feet feel cold. The letter is beginning to soak in Aaron's hand, held high above still.

I suppose I don't care. I wasn't going to answer Terry anyway. Just so long as Aaron can't read it, I don't mind never seeing the contents.

He seems to notice that I've stopped running. Aaron hesitates, looking at me, "come on. You're not a child. Kid sister, sure, not a child."

"Well, you're fully twenty-three, and you're still acting like a child!" I find myself shouting. My rage is boiling up inside me. I wipe the water off my head. If it were to rain harder, I might cool down. This is the perfect recipe for accidentally performing wandless magic. "You're supposed to protect me, you know? You're not supposed to do this stuff."

Aaron lowers the letter in his hand, staring at me, "hey, Martina, I... fuck, I didn't..."

"Think?" I ask, cocking my head. "You never think. You don't think about what you do and how it is going to impact me. You don't ever think about anything!"

Across from me, Aaron runs over. He begins to pull off his bomber jacket, throwing it over my shoulders. Mum hates that he wears it inside, and if we go back in she might be mad at me before she realizes how wet we are. The rain is coming down harder. I think it might be me, but I can't tell. Then, Aaron tries to hug me, but I push him away. My white blouse is probably see-through too. The material of my skirt is supposed to be washed delicately. I run inside the house and practically lock myself in my room, throwing the bomber jacket on the ground in front of the door.

Mum comes to check on me, but I don't let her in. She's always so emotional about these things. We were supposed to go to visit my Da's family. Mum's side doesn't get together much. Apparently, it was different before her sister died. Yet, I refuse to leave my room. My Da yells at me from outside. I wish I could cast a silencing charm without getting expelled and having my wand snapped. Eventually, I can hear him and Mum fighting. They end up leaving for Da's family late, since they waited so long for me to come. I won't go.

Around dinner, I hear a knock at the door. No one should be home.

"It's Alfred," the voice is muffled. There is a pause. "Without Aaron."

So, I open it. My brother, Alfred, is on the other side. As promised, Aaron is not with him. He looks at me, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't like getting involved," he says. "I snuck out of dinner though."

"You're going to tell me to get over Aaron being a dick," I cross my arms too, positioning myself between him and my room. He can't come inside.