A Rumor Confirmed / Nick

[jaylen]

Danni was a quietly sitting in the stands of the Quidditch pitch watching the Slytherin team practice. She enjoyed watching her brother play, he was a chaser and while she was good she had no enthusiasm to actually play. She wasn't competitive, not like Nick and Stefan, especially Stefan. She was hoping to corner her older brother after the practice. She had heard that things had been going on with him and Darla and even though she tolerated the Ravenclaw because her brother was with her she did not like her and that was fairly well known.

As she saw him fly by she pointed to the seat next to her to let him know when he was done to sit next to her. She was at the moment writing down spell combinations and potions that could work in her little black book and most people knew when the quill was furiously moving along that black book that she had some plan going on, luckily she couldn't get into trouble for just writing otherwise she would have been expelled by now. The spells that she had written in the book could be deadly, one of her favorites though was when a student a year younger than her got the bright idea to take the book. She had been fairly nice to him in her mind when she stuck him to the Great Hall for two days only to release him so she didn't get detention, she was lucky with that one, still not many people knew she had done it.

So far the day had been quiet for the female Slytherin, other than a few words that Nick and Darla were on the rocks. She knew better than to believe rumors, so went straight to the person who could confirm or deny the rumor. Rumors, Danni was fond of those, she had helped Caterina Zabini and Marcus Harding with the rumor that had ruined Dominique Weasley and her practical older brother Stefan Krum. A small part, but a part none the less. She had really just helped spread it, they were the masterminds.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Nick circled the Pitch, watching carefully just in case the Quaffle should come his way. He hadn't had a decent practice ever since his knee had healed and he was finally letting loose again, careful to not get knocked off a second time. He needed to play the next match. From high up, he watched as the Captain talked to the Chasers and he let his eyes roam. He squinted as he spotted a familiar head in the bleachers and noticed Danni's gesture. He nodded,a confused expression on his face. It was rare for her to show up at practice, just to corner him. She usually did that in common room.

Twenty or so minutes later, he smiled at the team's successful practice and flew down to the bleachers, landing smoothly and taking a seat beside his sister. He couldn't remember the last time they'd had a chance to have a proper conversation, since he was spending every moment he had left, with Darla. And with Dom and Stefan on shouting terms again, he had to keep an eye out to make sure his almost brother didn't blow up the castle or something. "Don't tell me you're here to watch eye candy or some bullshit like that," he said, groaning. He wasn't interested in hearing.

He did notice her slightly somber expression though and raised a questioning eyebrow, shedding the heavy protective gear. It was weird, the feeling of sweat and mud with the biting cold. It felt odd to have goosebumps when he was sweating so much. "Shoot, dear sis. I have a shower to take and dinner to have," he said, making himself comfortable.

[jaylen]

Danni didn't watch the Quidditch practice. It hadn't been worth her time at the moment to care about a Quidditch practice. For the most part the female didn't bother to come down to the pitch even during matches. She just wasn't into Quidditch as much as her brother and Stefan. When she heard the practice was over which had been about twenty minutes after she had got eye contact with him she closed up her book and put it in her bag.

She watched as he just flew right into the stands. ”Oh, yes because you boys are the best eye candy in the world,” she said with a sweet smile but said it extremely sarcastic. Boys were toys to her, you need a new one every few weeks or months, her longest relationship had probably lasted about four months. She wasn't attracted to the guys that were on the Quidditch team, well Scorpius wasn't half bad but Nick and Stefan she was okay never having a relationship with, they were her brothers and than there were the girls. She wasn't one of the girls who fancied the Quidditch boys.

When he told her to start talking she looked at him. She was okay with never being told what to do, she would talk when she damn well wanted to talk. She looked at him with a somber smile and took his hand. ”I've heard a few things around the castle, about you and Darla,” she started. She had been supportive of her brother but was also the first one to tell him that she wasn't right for him. ”That you two are on the rocks, is everything okay?” she asked.

She cared when she needed, well she always cared about Nick, but she also needed to make sure she was there to support him. Danni needed to make sure her brother was okay. She felt the cold but Danni didn't get affected by the cold and therefore didn't think about other people being cold so she didn't offer to walk with him to go get dinner or towards the shower areas.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Nick couldn't help but grin at her amused tone. He was glad she wasn't eying boys while on the Quidditch Pitch because then he'd never be able to look them in the eye again. It was the perils of having two sisters, the instinct of wanting to always look over them. However he didn't miss the way her expression stayed plain as ever. He was starting to get a bit confused and worried at her dismissive tone, as if she wanted to get right to the point and he nodded, waiting for her to say what she had to.

He gripped her hand back, giving it a reassuring squeeze and a small smile in her direction. But her words made his grip tight and rigid and his smile dropped. For a second he was furious. What was it with and all these talks of rumors these days. But it wasn't his biggest problem because even if things were rocky, thanks to him, it was nobody's business to be talking about him or her. He glared at Danni. "Who told you what?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and leaning closer. "I'm serious. You know how much I hate people talking and rumors, tell me the truth," he said, keeping his eyes level and guarded, letting her know he wasn't joking around.

He wanted to make the break up clean and simple, knowing there was next to no chance of that happening. But he didn't want to make things worse for Darla by having people talk about the break up wherever she went. If Stefan was still being haunted, then how long would both of them, who's relationship had been much longer? He knew his sister was looking out for him and she'd told him already that Darla was no good for him. He hadn't listened though, but now that he thought about it, maybe he was right. What good had it gotten him to now? Nothing but heart break.

"It's - complicate" he stated, closing his eyes and running a hand through his hair, in annoyance. "We're falling apart, and if things keep going like it, I'm going to walk away," he said, letting it get into Danni's mind. Let her think he was done and over and that he was not affected by this at all. If news reached Darla then maybe she'd dump him, thinking he wasn't serious about her at all.

[jaylen]

Danni looked at the temper her brother was getting and sighed. ”Nicholas, don't worry about rumors they're nothing bad,” she told him softly. She actually heard it from several people but the only person she'd give up was the person who didn't do even a little bit into the rumor, ”what's her name, that girl Stefan was with, you know the Weasley, I had overheard her talking to someone,” she said. She looked at him and sighed. ”You know I hate the rumors too, that's why I came to you so I could find out the truth,” she told him with a little bit of a laugh. Little did he know that she had a part of Stefan's ordeal. She wanted him to understand that she was there for him though.

The rumor was just that they were on the rocks, it was nothing compared to Stefan's who she pretended to still not know it was a fake rumor. It wasn't that one was cheating on the other and Danni was going to make sure he knew this. She continued to hold his hand and tried to comfort him. ”I can hex anyone who I see speaking this rumor if you'd like me to,” she told him with a big grin. She knew he would know how much she'd love to hex someone. ”Remember when I told you that she wasn't good enough, sure her family is okay, but you deserve a Slytherin girl, or at least a girl your own age,” she told him softly. She pecked her brother's cheek just a slight bit.

She didn't like hearing about it being complicated, and the way he spoke of obvious reason to set a better rumor. ”You know you don't have to try and set a rumor yourself, why don't you just end it with her? If it's falling apart just end it, you can do it,” she told him. He could but did he want to? He wondered if he was okay. ”Well dear brother, are you okay about this all?” she asked him softly.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

He nodded, extremely glad that she'd come straight to him because he didn't want other people knowing about such stuff. For all the open mindedness and confidence he had, he always kept relationships extremely private. He frowned, turning to her. Dominique had been talking about him and Darla. Another flash of anger towards her went through him. The girl seemed to be messing up with all of their minds this week and he was beyond irritated about it. What scared him was, though, that she was best friends with Darla and if she mentioned it to her and then she'd surely confront him. "I'm glad you came straight to me. It's just that, I don't quite know how to explain it. But it's not a future I see" he lied, right through his teeth. He knew for a fact that a future was exactly what he saw with Darla and it was that fact that scared him; that he was so attached to her.

He smirked at the idea and loved the though of watching Danni hex somebody on his behalf. Danni could be very scary when she wanted to be and he knew that anybody who got on her bad side would have a tough time getting off it. It was one of the many things the siblings had in common. "Sure, I don't mind, but as Head Boy I'm going to ask you not to," he said, momentarily hating his title as he grinned at her, a grin which was laced with pain and confusion. He hated how the end of the one meaningful relationship he had was coming closer and closer. Nonetheless, he smiled and squeezed her hand as she kissed his cheek.

"I want it to be a clean break, no heart break, no pain, Merlin, nothing like Stefan's was!" he said, his voice sincere. He didn't want to hurt himself or Darla, only save both of them the pain which was surely set in their future, which he was hell bent on destroying. He looked at his sister, who was encouraging him to do it and he frowned for a few seconds, confused as to why she was trying to split them. But he let it slide. "She's barely a year younger than me, Jaylen" he said, rushed and quick to find excuses but then sighed. "But you're right. She isn't for me," he said. He snorted at her question, looking her in the eye, hoping the pain there would be enough to let her know how he felt.

[jaylen]

Danni smiled as her brother told her that he was glad that she came straight to him. He also told her that he didn't see a future. She knew that Nick half the time was head over heals for the girl so she wasn't actually sure what was going wrong. Danni looked at him carefully, ”Well you know I'm here for you,” she told him softly. If she had truly been there for him she would let him know that she knew he was lying. She didn't believe that he was ready to end it so she would help him along. She'd broken it off with her share of boys and she didn't understand Nick.

A grin went from ear to ear when her brother gave her the permission to hex someone. ”Don't worry I won't,” she winked. She knew she couldn't get him into trouble so if she hexed someone she would come up with a good reason on why she did it and with it having nothing to do with him. She might have been a trouble maker but she was always careful to do it when he wasn't around so he wouldn't have to stop her. She was smart in that sense, maybe she would be smarter if she just wouldn't get into trouble.

”I want it to be a clean break, no hear break, no pain, Merlin, nothing like Stefan's was!” she heard him say and her eyes looked down. She had helped in the pain that Stefan felt. She looked at her brother, and sighed. ”I can't act like I don't know,” she told him, ”you don't want to end it with her, you want to be with her, I might as well tell you that I will support your decision with what you choose, and I'm not taking another frown like that again, I'm voicing my opinion, and I don't like you with her,” she said. Her eyes were a little cold at that point, ”I love you but I'm not going to lie to you, I want you with a Slytherin girl your own age, okay!” She had heard him use her name minutes before and she glared at him, ”my name is Danni,” she hissed at him. She wasn't going to take that, even from her brother. She was given the name Jaylen but it didn't ft her, she wanted to be called Danni and everyone knew that especially her brother. He was lucky she didn't decide to hex him right there.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Nick nodded mostly to himself, because he knew just how much he was confusing his sister. Truth be told he was confusing himself and that was why he needed to get away, from the confusion the pain. "I love her, Dan," he whispered, his voice shaking and he looked away. He was supposed to be the big brother, the one protecting her and he was complaining like a little child. "And that is exactly why I need to get away, I can't feel that way," he said in a colder, cutting voice.

"Why do you hate her so much?" he asked, looking at her with confused eyes. As far as he knew, Danni was one of the nicer people around and Darla was plain amazing. Why they had to not like one another was beyond him. After all, Darla was a pureblood. "I don't care at this point, Danni," he said. "This confusion and vulnerability, I can't be a part of it all. I won't let her make me weak," he resolved.

He let his mind wander to what Stefan had said that morning. He didn't believe Dominique one bit, truth be told because he hated the bitch for doing what she had to his near brother but he turned to Danni anyway, a bit curious and voice light. "Hey, did anybody ever find out who Dom cheated on Stef with? I mean, who found out?" he asked.

[jaylen]

Danni looked at Nick. She didn't like her brother so upset. He was her brother and she couldn't stand it. She wanted him happier. ”I love her, Dan,” he said. If he loved her why were they ending it. 'God, does this boy confuse me or what?' she asked herself. She shook her head when he looked away. Love was just something that confused her. Why love when you could just have? Why was there a need for love when you could just like a person? There was no need for love in Danni's world.

”Because you're my brother, that's why I hate her, she takes all your attention from me,” Danni blurted out. She wanted him to herself. He was her brother. ”You're the same way like when Stefan was with Dominique, you don't give your friends and family the attention that is wanted,” she said adding fake tears to it. Everything she did seemed genuine and she was good at hiding everything from those who were close to her. Sure she was a little strong headed and had the same temper as her brother but for the most part she was the sweet little Danni. ”I want you to be my brother, not sit there and be with some girl when I need you,” she told him the tears actually slightly real at this point. It scared her if she were to lose her brother. In fact it terrified her.

Danni looked at her brother and cleared her tears. ”Stefan said something about it being a rumor,” she said as if she had just found out a short bit ago. ”I mean if it was would there be someone to find? But I bet it's one of those Gryffindor boys, probably another blood traitor like herself,” she said a little coldly. She hated the Weasleys. They were purebloods like herself but they liked the stupid little mudbloods. They disgraced purebloods and hell even one of them had been married to a mudblood. They just need to keep magic within magical families.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Nick's head was starting to hurt with all this thoughts and feelings reeling about. Truth be told, it had all started a few months ago. He and Darla had been serious as ever and he was seriously thinking he'd fallen for her but things had changed that night. He'd talked to Cathy about it and she'd cried and told him that love hurt and love was nothing but a pain. He'd always assumed that Cathy had never known love but when he really thought about it, he guessed that maybe love had made her so cruel. And he didn't want Darla's love to change him like that and so he decided that maybe it was best to get away from it. And now with Danni saying something similar, he knew he'd agree with both of them.

His mouth fell open, shocked at her admitting that he wasn't paying attention to the people that matter and he straightened up, putting an arm around her. He started, speechless, until he saw her tears and he pulled her close, reassuringly. "Hey, relax. I'm not going anywhere. Whoever, whichever girl is in my life, you both will always be my number one priority, okay. Family first," he whispered as he realized that maybe he hadn't been as good an elder brother as he always thought he was. "Now stop crying. Danni Avery does not cry" he said, trying to dissipate the fear he'd heard in her voice. How could Dom accuse her, when she sounded so hurt?

He nodded as Danni mentioned the possibilities. But he decided to not say much, given his promise to Stefan to not talk about Dom. He wouldn't do it for others, but since he asked, he was ready to give Dom the benefit of doubt. But that didn't stop him from trying and find out the truth behind the very public and messy falling out which had changed each of them in some way or the other.

[jaylen]

Danni didn't want to change her brother but there had been so much that he needed people to understand. He looked upset and she just wasn't sure if what she was doing was the right thing. She then reminded herself that she was doing what was necessary for herself. She was glad that he seemed a little shocked as she cried about losing him. She felt an arm go around her and her brother straighten up. She wondered if her brother knew if she was faking the tears for a good reason to not like the Ravenclaw her brother was with. The true reason she didn't like the girl was that she was just a Ravenclaw and that she associated herself with muggleborns and blood traitors, after all she was friends with Dominique Weasley, maybe if she had been a respectable pureblood Danni would be fine with her.

She listened to her brother's words, ”Hey relax. I'm not going anywhere. Whoever, whichever girl is in my life, you both will always be my number one priority, okay. Family first.” She wondered if he would still say family first if he found out she had a part to do with Stefan and Dominique. She knew her brother and knew he wouldn't forgive her, or at least she was sure. She knew that when she got into it and it hurt having an idea she could lose her brother. He was not a forgiving person and typically didn't like someone after he'd formed a bad opinion. She knew that well about her brother. She took the risk and she was going to soak up all the attention she could get from him while she had it.

”Now stop crying. Danni Avery does not cry,” it was a true statement. She only cried fake tears, she was good at that but the real tears, well those were rare. She curled up to her brother and wiped her tears a little more. ”I just don't want to lose you as my brother, ever,” she told him.

[NICHOLAS DAMIEN AVERY]

Ever since he'd been a kid, Nick never had any memories of being an only child. He'd been too young to remember the birth of Danni, so he never remembered being by himself. He had blurry memories of his second sister being born, but Danni had been a constant through out his life and he'd always been thoroughly protective of her. When she made a decision or did something, he always had an opinion, even if he didn't always give it and he was always watching over her.

And the fact that she felt equally protective of him never ever annoyed him. He'd always thought that Danni's opinions on his decisions was just a reciprocation of the love he had for his sister, but even the thought of her going as far as removing somebody from his and Stefan's life was appalling. Because he had never ever thought of removing somebody from hers, let alone hurting her so deeply in the process. He remembered his words he'd spoken to Stefan and he meant them. No person who could hurt him so much was a sister of his. And if she had a hand in these rumors which were running about, it would be a very long time before he even thought of talking to her, let alone forgiving her.

He opened his mouth, the words stuck. He wanted to say that she wouldn't but he warned her softly, subtly with his words. "Neither do I, Danni," he said, letting her know that if she knew anything then she better say it and admit it now. Because the only thing worse than her playing a part in all of this was him finding out from somewhere else.

[jaylen]

Danni was thinking of all the great times she had with her brother and them being so close. From the time she could remember Nick had been there in his life. So had their younger sister but Nick and Danni were only a year apart. Danni was extremely close to him. The thought of losing him made her sick. When he gave her a warning she wondered what type of information he was looking for.

Danni knew a good amount of the on goings at the school. She kept mental notes and was always quite aware of everything. ”What is it that you want to know?” she asked him seriously. She wasn't going to admit to anything that he didn't care about, like a few days back when she cursed a young Gryffindor, chances are he wouldn't want to know that. No, what Nick wanted to know had to have something that wasn't a curse, in fact Danni had a good idea what it was but that she wasn't ready to fess up to just yet. If he confirmed what it was than maybe she would after all he was threatening their relationship.

Nick's words usually had meaning behind them even if they were short and simple, there was a far bigger meaning behind them. Danni had a way of reading such words from his mouth. She called it listening to the breaths, like reading between the lines. She knew he wasn't happy about something and he hadn't told her anything so far except with him and Darla and spoke a little about Stefan and the Weasley girl. She really would rather him ask about her cursing the Gryffindor instead of what she was almost positive that was coming from his mouth next.