Birthdays and Fun. ((Closed))

[hollow]

Adrian looked around impatiently, dark brown eyes attempting to seek out the three figures that he was desperate to see. Where are they? They were meant to be here half an hour ago! Adrian ran a hand through his hair fretfully, showing his worry and annoyance clearly. His parents had promised to be here so Adrian could celebrate his younger sister's birthday with them. Just as they did every year since Adrian had been accepted into Hogwarts. Next year it would be both siblings traveling to Hogsmeade to meet their parents though as Litana was turning eleven next week. "Tempus." Adrian flicked his wand and anger grew into worry when the smoky numbers appeared; 9:45. His parents had promised, promised!, to meet him at nine o' clock, outside the Three Broomsticks. And there he was, outside the Three Broomsticks but no parents, no younger sister appeared. So where were they?

Adrian stumbled backward as a small figure launched itself through the air at him, latching onto him and hugging him. He chuckled weakly, looking down at the small head of brown hair affectionately. "Litana, what took you so long? I've been waiting for just under an hour and that means that you're late." Adrian picked his younger sister up easily, accustomed to the weight of the girl, and kissed her forehead fondly before ruffling her hair and spiking it up with his fingers carelessly. This was the Adrian that no one ever saw; the Adrian that could easily show affection and love to people and who wouldn't dream of insulting the people in front of him. His family were the most important people in his life and to lose them would be worse than losing his own life.

"Mum started talking to an old friend. I guess she forgot about you." Litana grinned up at her older brother wickedly, a lock of dark hair falling over one of her lighter brown eyes cutely and hiding the impish twinkle in them. Their mother had done no such thing and both siblings knew it but Adrian played along, pretending to be insulted. "Mother forgot about me, did she Lita? Well, I guess that you did too since you were late too and girls who forget about their brothers don't get birthday presents..." Adrian smirked at his sister, producing a brightly coloured wrapped gift with agonizing slowness. Dark brown eyes flicked to the corner and Adrian nodded at his parents with a slight smile, acknowledging their presence silently before turning back to his younger sister. Litana was bouncing up and down, tugging at his sleeve insistently and trying to grab the present.

"Adrian! Adrian! Mum, Dad! Adrian won't give me the present!" When Adrian refused to give in to his sisters whining, Litana turned to their parents beseechingly. Alaric, their Father, approached with a quiet chuckle and pulled the present out of his son's hand and further out of his daughters reach mischievously. "Dad!" Litana glared at her father, desperately trying to hold back a laugh but not succeeding. Especially when her Mother grabbed the present from her Father and handed it to her with a gentle smile. "They're children at heart, my love. All men are. You'll learn it for yourself as you grow older." Morganna grinned, ruffling her son's hair with the same careless love that he had shown to his sister. "So, my son, do your weary parents get a hug and kiss too?"

Adrian hugged his Mother dutifully and dropped a loving kiss on her cheek before transferring his attention to his Father and offering another hug. In school he might seem to be heartless and uncaring, not to mention derisive and insulting, but he was an entirely different person around his family. Slytherin's weren't allowed to show their emotions and Adrian kept that in mind as he pulled his parents and sister away from the prying eyes of the students in Hogsmeade. Adrian might have to work even harder to quell the rumours about his family that could end up flying around Hogwarts but the three hours that he would spend with his family was more than worth it. Doubly so as it was his sister's birthday and today everything would revolve around her.

[hollow]

Morganna watched her son intently, a small, loving smile softening her features and lighting her face. Her hand reached out for her husbands instinctively and their fingers twined together easily as Morganna switched her gaze from her son to her husband. The similarity between the two was shocking and the woman almost stopped walking in surprised shock. Morganna had noticed the resemblance between her beloved son and husband of course, but seeing Adrian again after so many months apart had simply driven the resemblance home. The thick dark hair, twinkling brown eyes with just a sparkle of mischief in them, impish smile that could turn to a cold smirk in less than a second...yes, Alaric and Adrian were almost scarily alike. Not just in looks but also in personality. Both males adored reading and abhorred being interrupted whilst reading. Just as Adrian was starting to hate Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, Alaric had also hated them albeit in his fifth year rather than his fourth. Yes, the two males were more alike than even Morganna had realized and it was rather a shock to the system to suddenly notice it.

Morganna ruffled the dark locks of her son once more, delighting in the mock-annoyed look that was sent her way. "He'll be a heart-breaker one day, my love. Just like you were." Morganna tugged her husband to a stop, relieved when neither of her children noticed and continued walking. This wasn't a conversation for their ears and it would be easier to handle without Litana's laughter and Adrian's embarrassment. "He will be but I wasn't, my darling. I was lucky to have found you and even luckier when you fell in love with me." Alaric looked down at his wife lovingly, obviously believing his words as sincerity poured from each syllable. "You think he'll be alright, that he'll treat the girl right?" Morganna tilted her head as she watched her son's back, truly concerned by the plight of a girl that would undoubtedly appear soon, but hopefully not too soon. "We've taught him well," Alaric pulled her to his chest in a hug and soothed his wife easily. "He'll be fine and so will she, whoever she will be when she appears." And he was right, the two Ravenclaws had taught both their children everything they knew and also taught them to seek knowledge, so they would know what their parents hadn't been lucky enough to discover. Knowledge is power but knowledge is also knowing how and when to use that power.

Litana skipped ahead of her brother, completely oblivious to the serious conversation between her parents only a few shops back. If she ha been aware of it then Lita probably would have collapsed with laughter. Her brother was her brother, not some object for girls to drool over mindlessly! The young girl wasn't stupid, she had seen the few glances toward her brother and immediately resented them. Who did these girls think they were? How dare they look at he brother like that, with no respect for him, only longing for his attractive looks? Litana narrowed her eyes decisively, Merlin help any girls who dared to flirt with her brother for the pure purpose of flirting when Lita arrived at Hogwarts next year. Lita stopped skipping abruptly, her mood suddenly brought down by her dark thoughts. Life was getting more and more complicated and Litana wasn't sure that she liked it. Why couldn't life remain as simple as it was when she was younger, why did complications have to appear?

Adrian crashed into his sister, completely unaware that she had stopped, and sent both siblings crashing to the floor ungracefully. "What the heck happened, Lita?" Adrian pulled his sister up gently, dark brown eyes filled with loving concern. The boy laughed when his sister told him what was bothering her but his cheeks tinted red in slight embarrassment. "Lita, Lita, Lita." Adrian knelt down and faced his sister squarely, meeting her eyes with no hesitation. "Sister, if any girl shows interest in me and I even partially return it then she will be introduced to you and our parents within a week. Family first, remember?" Lita nodded reluctantly but grinned at her brother, utterly reassured by the comforting words of her adored older brother. If Adrian said something would happen then it would, Litana had no doubt about it. He had never let her down before and obviously had no intentions of ever doing so.

"Adrian, Lita!" Morganna and Alaric finally caught up to their children, as oblivious to their conversation as the children were to the conversation of the adults. "We only have an hour left, Adrian. I'm sorry but our lateness in getting here cut off almost an hour from our time here and we've just wasted another hour doing nothing." Morganna drew her son into a hug, releasing him from her tight grip unwillingly. "Mum, it's fine." Adrian shrugged easily, used to only spending three hours with his parents and younger sister during the school year. It had been this way for four years but would change next year, providing that Litana was either Slytherin or Ravenclaw of course. If she was Gryffindor or Hufflepuff then Adrian would have no choice but to publicly shun his sister and only see her without one of the Slytherins finding out. It would be hard on both siblings but hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. "So what do you want to do for the next hour, Litana?" Adrian smirked at his sister, the smirk somehow conveying more love and caring than one of his smiles or hugs. Must be one of the side effects of spending so much time in the snake den, as Adrian called his house.