A Simple Solution

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew had been so unsure of how to proceed in his quest to find his sister in this big school. He could have passed her in the hallways twenty times already, but he didn't know enough about her to recognize her. A part of him still thought that if he saw her he would just know, but he couldn't trust on that silly notion. He had been wondering if he should ask anyone, but telling someone about what he was really here for. Everyone here was a stranger, even the people he had met and liked. How weird would he look if he just walked up to a classmate he had only met once or twice and started telling him this entire story? He had to try starting this search on his own.

He still didn't know how he was going to approach her when he finally knew who she was, but he did know how he was going to figure that part out. It had been so painfully obvious once he had thought about it. Yearbooks! He knew her age and he knew her name, so he could just look her up! He had been eager to get started on that once the idea had finally entered his head, though it had been a small struggle to find the library. After asking a very helpful third year (and feeling incredibly silly to ask someone younger than him), he found it. He had time to think of how much Leah would love this library before he was consumed again by his goal. He found the yearbooks quite easily and grabbed the two recent ones. He was fairly sure she was only a second year, but not completely. He found a table near the back of the library and put the book in front of him on the table. For a few moments he stared at it in silent contemplation before finally opening it and finding the page of the first years. His eyes scanned the page full of unfamiliar smiling faces until his eye fell on a blond girl. He nearly didn't have to glance at the name to know it was her, and he couldn't help but grin. He had found her! She looked... like Charlotte, like him. She looked like his sister. He read the name over and over, just to make sure he got it right. But there was no doubt about it.

He had found his sister.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

If Reuben was going to enrol in Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Charms again - which he had - one thing was certain: he needed to study. Hard. It was bad enough that he'd missed out on so much already; it was worse that it took him twice as long to catch up as it did everybody else. Still, the Hufflepuff was nothing if not determined. At six o'clock each morning he rose and took himself straight to the library, sometimes even skipping breakfast in order to cram in as much information before the day's lessons began. Then, after lunch, he came back to the library and studied some more, stopping only to get some Quidditch practice in in the afternoon. His studies were important, but visions of triumphantly raising the Quidditch cup still inspired him to visit the pitch for training.

The young boy tickled his nose with the end of his quill, staring into space as a Quidditch-related daydream suddenly grasped him. He'd been reading a book on defensive spells for so long now that his eyes were having trouble adjusting to long distances - but even through the blur it would have been difficult to miss Matthew Harper walking by. Reuben watched his new friend pass him by, oblivious to his existence, his sights clearly set on something at the back of the room. That was strange. After short deliberation, Reuben stood up, leaving his book where it was and venturing to the back of the library, where Matthew was sat over a pile of yearbooks. "Hey," he said, smiling goofily. "What're you doing?"

 

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew was staring at the picture in the yearbook and forgot about everything else around him. He was trying to remember if he had seen this girl around, but he was fairly sure he hadn't. She was in Slytherin and he tried to remember what Reuben had said about that house. Something about dark wizards? But he had also said most of them were okay. Obviously, she had to be. She was his sister. There was no doubt in his mind that he would love her.

For a second he thought thinking of Reuben had made him hallucinate his voice. But no, the boy had found him here in the library. Matthew blushed and put a hand over the page automatically, like he had to hide it. That was silly, he was just looking through a yearbook. He removed his hand and tried to smile casually. "Hey Reuben. Not much, I'm just looking through yearbooks." He bit his lip. He couldn't really say why he was doing this without lying to his new friend.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

Reuben's brow tightened a fraction as Matthew covered the page, like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have. As far as Reuben was aware, there weren't any rules against reading through old yearbooks - though now that he came to think about it, it was a little strange. Matthew had only just arrived at this school. Who could he possibly be looking for?

As Matthew removed his hand, Reuben came to stand beside him and look at the page. If Matt had told him his surname, he couldn't remember it, so seeing Odette's face meant as little to him as all the other faces around it. "What for? Do you need help?" he asked, thinking he might have a better idea where to look for whoever it was Matthew was looking for. "Oh! Have you seen the one from 2039? Man, Rudolf and I were tiny. It's soo adorable. And all of our friends are there, too - although, some of them haven't changed that much. Anyway, sorry, yeah. Are you looking for someone specific? 'Cause I pretty much know where to find everyone."

 

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew could see that Reuben was confused by what he was doing and he could almost feel the question he was dreading coming. He was sick of keeping it all bottled in. Sick of being unable to share his joy. His fears and worries.

When Reuben offered him help, his resolve crumbled. He knew he had to say it, he hated lying and he hated hiding things almost as much. He pulled up a chair for him, still looking at the yearbook page as he tried to gather his courage. "I haven't seen that one." He said, his voice a bit quiet. "I would like to later, if you want. I wasn't looking at ones that old, though. There wouldn't be any point." He played with the edge of the page somewhat nervously before he looked at his friend. "I don't need your help looking for anyone. Because... I already found the person I was looking for." He hesitated. "Look, can you keep a secret?" He had to ask that first, he couldn't just blurt it out.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

Reuben sat down on the chair Matthew moved for him, his face growing concerned. Why was he so hesitant and quiet all of a sudden? Reuben kept quiet, deciding to let his friend finish whatever it was he wanted to say, rather than interrupting again with his pointless rambles. Already found them? But already found who?! Reuben nodded, hoping the secret wasn't going to be anything so terrible that he was morally obliged to tell somebody else. It was a strange feeling, being entrusted with something personal. Maybe that meant they really were friends. "Uhuh. You can tell me anything," he said. "I won't judge."

 

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew was glad Reuben seemed as understanding and open as he had hoped for. He almost smiled, feeling like he really had a friend here right now. He glanced back at the open page of the yearbook before addressing his new friend.

"I wasn't completely honest the other day when you asked me why I transferred. I mean, I didn't lie." He bit his lip, wanting that to be clear. "My dad did want me to go to a different school for a semester, but this one wasn't entirely what he had in mind. I had my own reason for coming." He paused. "I have a half-sister I didn't know about before the past Christmas holidays." The words had escaped him with a slight waver in his voice and now it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He shouldn't have kept this as secret as it was. It wasn't his secret anyway, he had nothing to be ashamed of. "My dad had a daughter with another woman." He told Reuben, his voice growing steadier. "I never met her, I didn't know. But she goes to this school, that's about all I know. That and her name and age." He laughed nervously, realizing he was rambling. He ran a hand through his hair. "I just found her in the yearbook." He smiled as he looked at the picture again. "That's her. Her name's Odette. She's a second year now." He shrugged. "I only just put a face to the name, I haven't talked to her yet or anything. But yeah... that's why I'm here."

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

Reuben smiled back at his friend, hoping it wasn't obvious he was a little apprehensive about what was to come. He listened quietly, not wanting to interrupt Matt's flow; clearly this subject was a tender one to him, and that he was sharing it at all made Reuben feel honoured. Occasionally the prefect nodded, acknowledging understanding, and then finally, when Matthew was done, he sat back. "Wow," he said. "That's deep. I mean - not in a bad way. But wow." Reuben didn't really recognise Odette by her face, but her name was connected in his mind to an incident regarding some very malicious flyers. Did Matthew know what sort of person his half-sister was? He couldn't have. Quickly Reuben decided he would not be the person to break it to him. Matthew would have to meet her himself, form his own opinion on the Slytherin. Reuben only hoped she took the news well. "Hey, I'm glad you told me. And now that you know what she looks like, you can talk to her, right?"

 

[Matthew Harper]

Matthew was relieved by Reuben's reaction. The boy stayed pretty chill, but it was clear that he had listened intently and was taking what Matthew had said seriously. Matthew gave him a shy smile. "It is, isn't it? I found out... and I think I'm the only one that knows, except I told my best friend." His expression shifted to one of annoyance, "and my dad knows, obviously. I'm pretty sure he's been paying her mother to stay quiet." He grimaced, hoping Reuben wouldn't think worse of him for the sort of father he had.

It didn't seem like Reuben knew Odette, which was not a surprise. He nodded at Reuben's last suggestion. "Yeah, I will. I just have to think of how to approach her. I really don't want to scare her off or anything. I have no clue how much she knows." He shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed now. "But yeah, that's why I came here. To find her. I couldn't just abandon my sister, you know? I had to make sure she was at least alright and I want her to know that she has someone to look out for her. I'm sure you know the feeling since you have a brother. You're twins, so it must be even stronger with you two," he looked at his friend with a smile. He felt like Reuben was going to be a good friend for a long time, even if Matthew moved back to America at some point.