Sisterly duty

[Autumn Branning]

Autumn had to admit she had been surprised at what had seemed to develop between her brother and Geovanna Volt. She'd never imagined that Austin would have enough about him to not only attract someone like her but to actually make something happen. Autumn had her own thing for the younger Hufflepuff but her feelings toward the girl had changed dramatically in recent weeks. No longer was she some pretty girl she had admired, now she was a threat to her brothers happniness and Autumn felt her protective instincts kick in while Austin had caught her up on their budding relationship. What Autumn had focused on the most was that Austin and Geo had spent a lot of time together, opened up about personal things and done their fair share of kissing and yet despite all of that they were not a couple. Autumn suspected that Geo was keeping Austin at arms length for some reason, perhaps to keep her options open. Austin may have been in the middle of some strange metamorphoses into someone with a backbone but she still felt the need to protect him.

At lunch time Autumn found herself stalking the entrance to the Great hall waiting for Geo to arrive. Ideally she would be alone but if she showed up with Austin it wouldn't stop her quest for answers. Finally the female Hufflepuff showed herself and Autumn wasted no time rounding on her. "You! We need to talk about my brother,"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Since returning to the school for her fourth year, Geo was finally finding the balance between her work and social life, and despite having many things on around the castle she felt for once as though she was on top of them. She'd been spending an increasing amount of time with another Hufflepuff too, and in the recent weeks was finding it less necessary to hide her feelings towards him. Something had clicked the moment she'd first laid eyes on him at the New Years party, but it was only later that she realised the extent of what was happening. Geo would have been the first to admit that it was a little difficult, considering they'd never specifically discussed what was between them, but given his smile alone could make her day she was content for the time being.

On her way to the Great Hall for lunch, she'd purposely left any sort of reading material in her dormitory. This was the year for branching out and change, and so far the fourth year had done a reasonable job of not letting herself get bogged down too heavily with her school work. Approaching the entrance to the hall, she spotted a familiar face, and sending the Gryffindor a small wave Geo quickly realised that Autumn had more than just a welcome in mind. As the adrenaline kicked in and her eyes widened at the older girls words, she was suddenly a little on edge about what she could want. "We do? Is he okay?" She'd not spoken to Autumn properly before, and it was certainly odd for her to come out of the blue like this and she glanced nervously into the Great Hall. "Where is he?" she asked, before her eyes landed back on the girl in front of her.
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[Autumn Branning]

Autumn watched the girl react to her and wondered what was going through her head at the mention of Austin's name. Geo looked around to see if the boy was nearby to which Autumn shook her head. "He isn't here, I came to talk about him," She rolled her eyes, she'd been pretty clear and had no intentions of going all protective sister in front of Austin. "What's going on between you two?" She demanded. Austin had been gushing about his fellow Hufflepuff for months and she was sick of there being no development. Her brother was clearly crazy about her so why was Geo holding back?

"Are you leading him on? Because you two had this thing for months but as far as I know you're both still just friends. He's nuts about you so stop messing with him!" Autumn could hear her voice getting louder as she talked at the girl. She didn't realise how angry she actually was until the words started to flow.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

The more Geo watched Autumn talk, the more she reminded her of Jess. They were both so strong and would seem to speak their mind with little regard to whether anyone else was listening in. She'd also had a thing for both of them at various times but that was beside the point. As she listened to Austins sister begin to question what was happening between the Hufflepuff couple, it didn't take much for Geo to realise where this was going. When she was done talking, the fourth year was left in shock for a few seconds although it was a tough debate to call on whether that was down to the fact he was nuts about her or that Autumn was accusing the blonde of leading him on. "Excuse me?" She frowned herself, not expecting that on her way to the Great Hall she was about to be interrogated. She wondered how Austin would feel about his sister going behind his back to say these things to her, and it took her a moment to consider how to handle her response without getting too angry in return.

"Why is it any of your concern what's going on between us? You might be his sister that is between me and Austin and you need to step out of it." Her blue eyes bored into the older girls, defensive at her tone and accusations that she found apparently easy to lay into her somewhere where so many others could hear them. Her mind was running as she wondered why Autumn was even saying these things. Did Austin thing she was leading him on too? Just the thought of it made her feel sick.
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[Autumn Branning]

Autumn raised her eyebrow at Geo's response, of course it was her concern what was going on with her brother and she couldn't she was taking the tone she was. "He's my brother of course its my business, he's been through a lot, he's fragile," Autumn could feel her protective instinct kicking into gear. "I'm all he has so its up to me to make sure he isn't messed around by some harlet who wants to keep her options open in case someone better comes along," Autumn could a faint echo of her own voice which is when she knew that perhaps she was getting too loud and decided to reign it in a little. "Do not hurt my brother," Autumn said firmly to the Hufflepuff.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo wasn't really sure what to make of the fact she'd calls him fragile. As far as she could see, Autumn was just trying to protect him and it was understandable form their history, but the Hufflepuff wasn't convinced he was quite as delicate as the girl was making out. She should have given him more credit, but not wanting to argue about someone Autumn was supposed to know about best, she remained fuming, eyes glaring as she pressed on.

"A Harlot! Are you kidding me?" Geos mouth rose into a smile but only out of shock. Shed never been called such a thing and while it was may have been true a few years ago she would have been closer with a few people, it had only ever been out of friendship and admiration. Shed kissed Anthony after the Quidditch game in her first year but it hadn't meant a thing. It was only when she started to develop real feelings she thought it had been inappropriate. "It's not about whether there's anyone better." Geo was angry now, angry this girl thought so little of her, and terrified Austin felt the same way. Surely they must have spoken about her for Autumn to even know some of these things. "The only reason we're not together, at least for me, is I've never fallen for someone quite as hard before, and the last thing I want to do is mess it up." She didn't even realise she'd started shaking as the adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She knew Autumn cared, obviously, but she was no longer the only person he had as the Gryffindor had herself believe.
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[Austin Branning]

Austin was in a great mood as he made his way out of the common room and made his way to the Great hall. Things were going well with Geo despite them not yet defining what they were to each other, as much as he wanted to have that conversation with her he didn't want to push her away and ruin what they had. Austin made his way down to the Great hall and was surprised to see two of his favourite people standing in the entrance hall talking to each other. The conversation didn't seem to be all that pleasant and that was unsettling. Autumn and Geo didn't have much of a relationship other than they spoke on New Years Eve.

After trading outbursts Austin decided that he needed to intervene in case whatever they were fighting about escalated. "Hey, what's going on?" Austin asked coming between the pair. While he could hear their voices across the entrance hall he couldn't make out what they were saying.

 

[Autumn Branning]

Autumn struggled not to laugh when Geo protested being called a harlot, she was ridiculous if she didn't see it. Geo was everywhere, everyone knew her, she had heard things about how she had acted before so it was no surprised that she was now messing her brother around. When Geo went on to explain that they weren't together because she was falling for him and didn't want to ruin it. That was crazy, she was falling for him? They'd known each other for all of five minutes. "What are you talking about?" She yelled at the Hufflepuff slightly dumbfounded. Autumn knew Austin was crazy about Geo but she didn't think he was falling in love with her like she claimed to be with him, but what did she know? It seemed the pair were more serious than she thought.

Just as she was about to yell some more Austin showed up, he always had the worst timing. "Not now Austin," She grumbled. Autumn wanted to yell at Geo more or at least get some more information about her feelings for her brother. "Oh to hell with it, you two need to just talk this out, she's falling for you you idiot,"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo hadn't meant to let slip quite so many details about her feelings and when Autumn acted as though she was incapable of it, it only emphasised the embarrassment she was feeling. Spotting Austin over her shoulder, her heart dropped out of her stomach. The only resolution was that perhaps he hadn't heard her, although Autumn quickly made up for that herself by announcing her words. "Oh please, say that a little louder why don't you, I think there's some first years at the end of the room who didn't quite hear you," she was glaring at the Gryffindor, for her assumptions and intervention that was no more required than a glass of ice on Christmas morning. She could feel the tears prickling behind her eyes but she was much too angry to let them fall. Maybe she's been wrong to think anyone would have taken her feelings seriously, and removing herself from the Gryffindors presence with burning cheeks, she briefly looked up at Austin as she crossed his path. "And I bet you think the same thing, right?" Her voice wobbled a little as she said it, the idea that he shared the same opinion as his sister hurting more than she cared to admit. If Geo had such a reputation how did she know she wasn't the one being played here, after all they were both to blame for not taking their relationship further. Of course she'd been stupid to think someone may actually like her for her, and the fourth year tried not to think about the last few months that led up to this moment, the times when she'd sought comfort and Austin had always been there. "Forget it." Unable to stop tears from escaping any longer she moved past them both quickly, heading out towards the entrance hall in the hope of reaching it at least to the courtyard before the truth of the situation hit her properly.
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[Austin Branning]

Austin couldn't believe the words that came out of Autumn's mouth. Sure they were exactly what he wanted to hear but he hadn't wanted them to come from his sister. "What are you talking about?" He asked his sister not daring to look at Geo but whatever was said between the two girls before he arrived had clearly bubbled over as Geo strode passed them. The tone of her voice when she asked if he felt the same as his sister broke his heart. He didn't know what Autumn said to her but it had clearly upset her and before Austin could respond Geo had bolted passed him and made her way across the entrance hall. Austin didn't even look at his sister and instead immediately followed his fellow Hufflepuff and grabbed her hand to stop her from going any further. "Geo wait, talk to me what did Autumn say to you?"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo hadn't got far at all when she felt herself being stopped in her tracks. Reluctantly she turned back to face Austin, swiping at the tears that had fallen half way down her cheeks with the back of her free hand before he had a chance to realise how much the conversation had really effected her. "Really? You don't know?" she said slightly sarcastically. She knew they were close and it would surprise her if Autumn hadn't mentioned her feelings on the subject to her brother. It took all of her strength not to shake herself free from his grasp, a sense of disappointment at letting herself get so close to someone she knew was too good to be true. "Your sister seems to think that this," she motioned in the space between them "whatever the hell this is, is nothing more than a game. What even am I to you?" she shook her head in disbelief, a few minutes ago she'd been perfectly content and now she felt as though her emotions were through the roof. "A harlot?" she quoted, eyebrows raised as she continued to try and look everywhere around the room except towards his gaze. "What do you what from me?" She'd been so hesitant to get involved with him in the first place, protecting herself from an inevitable heart break, although it seemed no matter what she'd done to avoid it or cast the doubt aside, it would be coming back for her.
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[Austin Branning]

Austin shook his head when Geo sarcastically asked if he really didn't know what had been said between the two girls. Austin had talked about Geo to his sister but he had no idea how she truly felt about the whole thing. Last he knew Autumn had had a crush on Geo now all of a sudden they were yelling at each other in the entrance hall. "I don't care what my sister thinks," Austin said firmly as he kept hold of Geo and took hold of her hand. "You're not a harlot Geo and what I want is you, this," Austin was beginning to suspect what Autumn said had been true to the point he was confident enough to take a risk. "I'm falling for you too," He blurted out.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

The Hufflepuff frowned slightly when she saw him shake his head. Had they really not spoken about her in the way she believed? As Austin proceeded to defy his sister, it was as though she forgot how to think. Her eyes met his as the shock of the situation took hold, her brain barely able to register coherent thoughts, and it took her a good few seconds to react to what he'd admitted. There were so many things running through her mind but none of them she was able to make sense of as she stood in the entrance hall, her tears frozen in her eyes as she tried to take in what was happening. "Then what are we doing?" she asked nervously, her voice almost breaking as she thought that if this was all some kind of trick that she was going to have a job recovering from it, and she'd not even noticed she was holding her breath.
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[Austin Branning]

Austin froze for a moment as he stood across from Geo. She had asked him what they were doing, it was a conversation he'd wanted to have for a while but it wasn't the way he had wanted it to happen. "Whatever this is, I want it to keep going," Austin said though he suspected it wouldn't be enough for Geo and it wasn't really enough for him either. "I want this to be official, Geo I want you to be my girlfriend," He finally said. Austin was nervous to say the words, what if after all that Geo didn't feel the same after all. What if she wasn't in the same place as he was.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

If Geo thought that it wasn't possible for her mind to explode anymore than it already was, she would have been lying to herself. This wasn't exactly the time nor place that she'd expected this moment to happen, but if she'd learnt one thing over the last few months with Austin it was that situations would usually have a habit of springing up out the blue, but it was who was beside her that was important. Her earlier anger about Autumn had melted, as it usually did when she was in the company of her fellow house mate, and she'd known for a while that she wanted to make him as happy as he made her. As she came back to her senses, it was obvious that Autumns words about her behaviour were out of defence, and while she certainly hadn't been impressed with the way the Gryffindor had handled things it was clear Austin felt differently. She flashed him a small smile as her nerves started to take over, certain that she was going to be light headed soon if she didn't snap out of it, but also wanting nothing more than to stay with this feeling. There was so much she realised that she wanted to tell him, things that had been accumulating over the last few months, but seeing him now in front of her caused the blonde to forget how to speak. Geo released his hand and wrapped both arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly and feeling her heartbeat against his chest, "I want that too." Her voice may have been barely more than a whisper but there was nothing that would have made her happier in that moment.
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