You never know when a lunatic will come along & give you a sadistic choice to make -- Early Winter 1997

"You have got to be kidding me." I said under my breath. Linc really couldn't have picked a worse time to come. He didn't need to see Draco and I like this. I sighed and forced a smile up at him. "'We're fine, thank you. Just talking about....the...um...school work I missed." I looked over at Draco, "You know how I hate to get behind on anything." I was giving him my best 'be nice to him' face. I knew they didn't really like each other but I couldn't understand why. They had quite a bit in common.

I stood up and glared across my sister at Matthews.  "This is a family matter -- a private matter, really.  So feel free to leave," I stated simply, my icy gaze sizing him up.  What was it that he wanted wiht my sister?  I knew what he did -- feeling the need to save everyone and protect the under dogs.  Did he really think my sister needed his protection when she had mine?

I raised my eyebrows.  Their stories did not exactly match up.  I looked from one to the other.  "I just came to check in on Juniper... so, if you don't mind, I'm going to do that."  I smirked slightly when I saw that I was getting under Draco's skin.  I looked at June and felt so bad.  I sat down, ignoring her brother the best that I could.  I knew he was about so say something, so I kept speaking to June as if he was not there.  "I'm sorry, June... I wish I would've been there.  I could have helped protect you or something," I told her.  I knew she did not always need protection, but clearly in this case she did.

Who did he think he was?  I could to help but to scoff at his comment.  "She doesn't need your protection, Matthews," I said, looking down at him the way I had seen done by Father so many times.  "She has me."  There was just something about Matthews that drove me mental.  I was not sure if it was the fact that he always seemed so smug or if it was because I thought he was being inappropriate with my sister or what it was.

"Guys!" I said to get there attention. I had to force myself to calm down, I could handle this, maybe. My headache was coming back so I placed a hand on my head and squinted my eyes shut for a moment. "Draco, Linc is being a nice friend and visiting me. Linc." I said, opening my eyes and turning to him, "we had been dealing with a family matter but we can finish the conversation a bit later." I said as I turned back to my brother. I knew Draco would be mad but I really didn't want to have this conversation right now with him, I just hoped he didn't storm out. "Can we all try to be civil to one another?"

<< I love their power plays with each other!  They are going to be too much fun to write! lol Poor Juniper... >>

I bit back my retort for Juniper's sake.  I kept myself from doing a lot to her brother for her sake.  I was pleased to see that he looked like utter shit, though.  Maybe the fact that he had failed in his plan to protect his sister was eating away at him slowly.  I know my mistake ate away at me constantly.  "Of course," I said, knowing that I could be civil to her brother so long as he was civil towards me.  "How are you feeling, though, June?" I had been extremely worried about her.

I resisted the urge to punch him and sat down reluctantly.  To be honest, it may have been for the best that Matthews interrupted Juniper and I as we were starting to argue about what had happened to her.  I would find out which Death Eater did this to her.  I was not sure if I would be joining in on the conversation, but I was sure going to monitor it for as long as I could.  "You know I can keep up appearances," I replied to June as Matthews had responded nearly at the same time.

<<yes! And poor June is right, she's not really sure what to do with all these guys right now.....lol>>

I cringed when they answered me at almost the same time. I forced a smile and laugh to make sure they didn't say much else. "Oh okay, wow, haha, ummmm this is going to be interesting." I laughed again and gave an audial sigh. I tuned to Draco, "Of course I know you can keep up appearances." He had been doing so more or less since we were born. I just hoped he could keep up the appearance of being civil since I was sure that was the best I was going to get from him at this point. Looking at Linc, I answered his question. "Thank you for coming to visit me, you really didn't have to, but it means a lot to me. I'm feeling a bit better, still some pain but it's improved a lot. Thank you for asking." I closed my eyes and sighed again. This was going okay, I could get through this.

I sat there, glowering at Matthews.  I was absentmindedly cracking my knuckles, lost in my own thoughts.  She had been attacked by Death Eaters... I was watching Matthews closely -- if he saw her Dark Mark... I took a deep breath and started to think about the plan of attack from here on out.  Now it was just timing that needed to be figured out.  How on earth was I going to get to Dumbledore?  He was as strong as ever and... I sighed slightly and tried to focus more on my sister than my task.  I looked at her, trying to get a good read on her.  "And you're sure you did not see who attacked you?" I asked, having a feeling that it was a lie she was telling everyone, but it was hard to tell.

I had brought something that would help her, but I did not want to give it to her with Draco there.  He was driving me mental already.  I made it a point to never be this close to him unless I was defending students that crossed his path.  One good thing was that Draco asked the question that was on my mind, I just was not going to press the matter.  Juniper was still in a fragile state and, even if she did know, she might not want to speak of it due to fear or something.  "Maybe we should just focus on her health and well being," I suggested quietly, giving Draco a pointed look.

I clenched my jaw.  "Finding out who did this is in the best interest of her health and well being, Matthews," I warned, a deathly chill on his name.  He distracted me from my sister, though, so I may have missed even the slightest of tells that she was lying.  Great.

I looked over at Draco when he first asked. I was about to answer when Linc's spoke, then Draco retorted. "Enough!" I looked over at Draco, "Draco. I told you, I don't remember. I may have seen but I don't remember." I spoke slowly, hoping he would hear every word. "The only thing I remember is the pain." I was so frustrated with him right now my normal tells weren't there, for which I was happy. I knew he would be looking for them. I didn't ever care that when I mentioned the pain, he would probably take it personally again. "I thought we were dropping this conversation." I rubbed my head where it was hurting most, wondering if the company I was keeping was adding to it.

I sighed and leaned forward to give Juniper a kiss on the forehead.  I honestly did not care if Matthews saw me giving affection to my sister.  "I will get to the bottom of this, June.  They will pay," I whispered before my lips touched her.  I stood up and left, though not before another glare in Matthews' direction.

"Draco wait! You can't! I don't remember...aww." I has tried to sit up but had done so too quickly, my headache doubled in pain. I squinted my eyes shut and used one hand to press against my head and the other to reach behind me and readjust my pillows so I could sit up. I was vaguely aware of the fact I had the Dark Mark on my wrist, it was still slightly burning. I just hoped Linc wouldn't see it. I pulled myself back slightly and leaned against the pillows. I took my hands away from my head as the pain somewhat subsided. I tuned to Linc, "I'm sorry about him." I apologized, "He does care about me, I don't think he's slept since it happened though." I don't know why I was attempting to make excuses for Draco. I sighed, "Do I even want to know what you thought of us as you came in here and heard us arguing?"

I was not sorry at all when Draco left.  I would never understand their relationship dynamics between June and Draco.  She always felt the need to apologize for him; it was not her place.  I held up a hand and shook my head, trying to get her to stop doing so.  "It doesn't matter what I thought.  Siblings fight," I told her, trying to reassure her.  it really was not any of my business, though I did worry about her.  Draco liked control, it was obvious, and I feared that he tried to control Juniper whether either one of them realized it or not.  

I looked at her and sighed.  "Well, with him gone, I did bring you something that I think might help," I said, pulling a flash out of my robes.  "One sip and it'll help clear your mind a bit so you can rest and it'll help ease the pain.  I make it myself for... well, with everything I have to deal with.  I thought it might help a little bit more than Pomfrey's old remedies."  I set it on the stand next to the bed.  "Just, if you want to visit, I wouldn't recommend taking a drink now.  It might knock you out the first few times."