We Might Just Be Related

[Stefan Archer]

If this year would prove anything it was that Stefan's dead father was still springing surprises. Following what had been a largely uneventful start of the year, Stefan had received an odd letter in June. It had arrived by post, and was addressed to his father. Stefan had discovered the letter, while going through the muggle mail, which he did every so often, though clearly not often enough. It was a typed letter from the looks of it, and since it was not like any of the bills that Stefan had found, it had created a whole mound of questions for him. Having carried most of the mail inside, Stefan had rejoined Kate at breakfast, where he had glad taken a drink of his warm tea and proceeded to open the letter. The letter inside was again addressed to his father, and skipping to the end was a signature and name which meant nothing to the former slytherin. Stefan had never thought of his father much out of the context of the home. His father had gone out every so often. Generally to buy the tiny amounts of food supplies, and alcohol. Though there were times Stefan knew when he had not been conscious enough, or in reality enough to have always known where his father was. For all Stefan knew, his father could've had plenty friends. Though clearly this one had no idea that his father had been dead four and a half years. Going back to the start of the letter, Stefan began reading, scoffing slightly at the opening line, My dearest Mason, this was a girl obviously, but Stefan would've hardly called his father dear, or thought his father couldn't be kind enough to anyone to be called dear. He ignored this and just read on. As the words continued, Stefan put down his cup of tea, and took the letter in both hands. Our daughter, is a witch They had a child, a girl named Joanna. Stefan just stared at it. As he finished the letter, the woman was clearly wanting answers, and well, Stefan just couldn't provide them. The last line of the letter, made him just stop, She started school that past September, and both her and I miss you. Where are you? I want answers. I need them where have you been these past years When he did the maths in his head, it would've made him about eight, maybe nine when this girl was born. Why hadn't his father told him, why hadn't he told this woman about Stefan. And so, hastily, Stefan had written back, explaining that his father had been dead over four and a half years, and that he was his son. Thus had started up a small correspondence of general confusion at what had happen, and why either one hadn't known about the other. All of which had been building up until Stefan had come up with a time line with events, all of which he couldn't understand.

From what he gathered, this woman and his father had been friends, and had a child, of whom he had loved, but where was Stefan in all this. And from their side, why hadn't his father brought the two sides together. One thing it did help explain, as Stefan thought of it was the slight change in his father's behaviour when he'd been about eight or nine. For some reason things during that time had been better. His father had drank slightly less, worked more and had just been more stable than in the years that followed. Well, it was worth thinking that for Stefan what was stable to him, was not that of others. It was all relative really. But, to the former Slytherin as he thought back on those years, which was not something he liked to do, those were the years where things had been better. Not perfect, but Stefan had spent fewer nights nursing injuries, and fewer long periods without any real food. Which in his younger mind hadn't ever registered, possibly because it just hadn't lasted long enough to make an impact. Stefan now when he thought of it, he remembered his father being rejected from work, and there had been that social worker visit, which had done nothing to help things. Things went back to how they'd been before, and when he thought of it, it had been about that time, when he'd actually noticed things getting worse. Which had accelerated exponentially when Stefan had found out about the magic, Stefan remembered that part. Where it had just kept getting worse and worse, and there had never been an end. But, this other family, his father's other family seemed a lot more normal, and the mother had appeared to be incredibly kind, which Stefan was thankful for. Eventually Stefan had suggested that they meet, that they finally do what his father should've done. Setting a date just after the school term had started seemed good. It had been by the suggestion of Elliot who hadn't wanted Ty or Lydia getting in the way of the conversations that needed to be had. And so it was just that day. Which Stefan felt just so nervous about. Thankfully his work had been alright with giving him the day. He worked at a local bookstore, it was muggle, and it was easy work, but Stefan enjoyed it, and the man who ran the store was someone Stefan had known for a good few years, and was now a good friend. A man who understood that Stefan needed this day. Kate was gone for the day, which was also good, and Stefan had taken the time, to clear up the living room, which generally stay forever a mess since he was still filling things away, and discovering new items. Although, the house no longer looked anything like it once had. His old bedroom was the last task, and with Ty's help he'd managed to get started. Stefan had decided that it would only serve as a bedroom in so far as when they had guests. He knew he was the only one with bad memories of that place, but it just the one place he wanted to be completely different.

The rest of the house was a mix between modern and old. Wood floors with rugs of various sizes had replaced the stained and old carpets. The walls were bright, with much more neutral colours. The rooms looked nothing like they had when Stefan had been growing up, and they looked nothing like they had when he and Kate had spent that first christmas together. He had set up the living in a much neater fashion, with various things that belonged to his father that she might like sitting on it. He had water in the kettle and juice in the fridge. He was over prepared. Nervous, much like how he'd been when he'd first met Tybalt's family. But this was endlessly different. This woman's daughter, his father's daughter was Stefan's half sister. Finally a sibling, something he'd wished for while growing up, and for some of it, she had existed. If the girl hadn't been magic, then Stefan might've never learned about her. He would've continued living his life, and she hers. Finally, once he was sure everything was ready, Stefan just sat in silence in a chair in the kitchen. He'd made more of an effort in his appearance. While it was casual, he'd been sure to pick out nice clothes, and with Kate's confirmation that he looked good, though Stefan did believe her to be fairly biased about this, he just waited. Finally, there was a loud knock on the door. Stefan had left the gate into the front garden wide open, and was glad they'd just headed in. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the door and opened it. In that moment he wondered what the girl, his half-sister knew about him, what her mother had told her. "Hi there," He greeted the two warmly. "Do you want me to open the gate more so you can bring in the car? It's a quiet neighbourhood but, just" Stefan had been about to continue when the elder woman had just said that she'd have to leave, an emergency at work, but that if she could leave Joanna with him, so that they could at least meet. Stefan just nodded and watched her walk away, looking down at the girl. "I'm Stefan, I think I'm your half-brother. Do you want to come inside?" he stepped aside, and motioned into his house.
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[Joanna Archer]

An alarm beeped and the little freckled girl woke up, smashing the button of her alarm. ''Mum, why do I have to be awake so early?'' Joanna shouted from her room, hoping that her mother heard it from somewhere around the house. ''You are going to meet someone special today, honey.'' Joanna did not want to meet someone special, she just wanted to sleep more and learn about magic. After one year at Hogwarts, Joanna was dying from the inside, she just could not take being there anymore. She had missed her daddy, he had left her and now the only family she had left was her mums' family. Maybe if she was ready, she could attend Hogwarts again just as a transfer student. Joanna had not learned any magic since, she just went to a normal Muggle school and to be honest, she was better in maths than in spells. She was not really studious and some girls had pestered her for getting a poor at charms, it had made Joanna cry. When she told it to her mum in a letter, she got a reply back that after the second period ended Joanna could just attend a normal Muggle school again. Joanna loved her Muggle school, she had made some friends and Joanna actually liked the children on the school. It had made her life a whole lot easier and today was probably going to change everything. Joanna was thinking that the special person would be her dad, that he would came back for her. He had left so abruptly without saying goodbyes or giving her a tight hug. Joanna was still in her bed when her mom was barging into her room, telling that she had to dress quickly otherwise they were going to be too late. Joanna took her most prettiest dress from the closet and undressed herself quickly. The dress looked good on her and she had even put some make up on, she had to show her dad that she had matured and maybe she would convince him to stay again. A single tear rolled over her rosy coloured cheeks, she missed her dad greatly and when she found out that he had left her, she had thrown all of his pictures out of the window out of anger. Joanna was not someone that had anger issues, but what he did to her just went to far. How could you abandon your daughter for god sake, your own flesh and blood.

Joanna sighed and ran down the stairs, just to be greeted by the strong smell of eggs and bacon. It was Jo's favourite and she devoured her eggs quickly, her mom was commenting on her manners and that if they would arrive at the guests place she had to watch herself. How important could meeting her dad be, he knew her already. Jo took her pink polka dotted jacket from the hall and followed her mum to the car. Their car was not that large, their house was not either. Her mum was the head chef of a little restaurant and that job was not a goldmine and her dad stopped giving money to them. Joanna buckled herself in the car and sang along with the songs on the radio. It was long drive and she loved seeing the landscapes of New Zealand. After a while her mum started talking about this special guest, but her hints were really cryptic. Why did she not say, she was meeting her dad that would make Joanna mood go over the moon. She would love to see her dad only once more, just to give him a tight hug to never let him go again.

When they arrived she was sure that her dad would not be here, it looked like a decent neighbourhood and her mum had said that they were going to meet someone young. It was really quiet where Jo lived there were always children playing on the round and cars zooming by. Her mum had found a parking spot close to a nice looking house ''He probably lives here, or is it a she?'' Joanna thought to herself, it was sad that she was not going to meet her dad, but this person had to be special if her mum drove so long to only get here. The car door closed and Joanna walked behind her mum, just looking around to find something that looked even remotely similar. She could not see anything that gave of clues of who would live in the nice looking house. ''Come on Joanna do not walk behind me, he will not bite.'' Her mum joked, she would always try to lighten the air. So it was a he, it was defiantly a he. Her mum stopped at the door of the house and knocked rather loudly, a man just stood there greeting them. ''What is so special about him,'' Jo thought to herself, until she noticed some familiar features of her dad in this man. She needed answers about her dad and today seemed to be like it was going to be a good day to receive them. Jo was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a familiar ringtone of her mums, it was work. Her mum quickly took the phone and told Joanna that she had to leave since the sous chef had called in sick. Jo just merely nodded and saw her mum leave, she wanted to stay strong with this man standing before her. Without her mum everything was one hundred times more scary. ''His name was Stefan and my half brother, wait what?'' She had clearly missed part of the conversation. ''Well my name is Joanna and that would make me your half-sister.'' Jo said jokingly just going along with the story. She was afraid to go inside his house, but her mum said he would not bite and mums never lied. ''Yes, please.'' Jo waited for Stefan to go inside and after that she would follow him.

 

[Stefan Archer]

Honestly speaking, Stefan wasn't sure what to expect from this meeting. He wasn't sure what kind of father his dad had been to this girl, to this family. He couldn't really wrap his head around the fact that his father might've actually been a nice and kind man. All he could really think about was the dad that he had known. The man who had just made the first 14 and a half years of his life absolutely miserable. His life had been a living hell, and while Stefan for the most part believed that some of it was his own fault, that can't have been true for it all. Simply it couldn't be possible, so he wondered if the same could be said for her. The young girl that he was suppose to be meeting, the woman who had caused a change in his father that Stefan was only beginning to realise had even happened. At eight and nine, he was hardly concerned with his father and if he was being nicer than normal. In his young mind it had just all been the same, though, when he gave it a lot of thought, it was also the ground for which he had always told himself that his father had just been going through a phase and that eventually he would get over it. That eventually everything would be alright and they could be a family. If this meeting was anything to go by then it couldn't have ever been possible. For Stefan and his father, the idea of them being a family had gone out the window when he'd hit Stefan that first time, a time that Stefan didn't altogether remember, he just never remembered a time before it. However, thinking of his father in such a way did nothing for his confidence about this day. The girl, he figured must have been about six or something when their father had died, and so if his father had been just like he'd been towards Stefan there was a chance that she was alright, that she'd be better, and just lead an all round better life. It probably also helped that this girl had her mother around. Unlike the last time with Elliot and Branson, Stefan felt more confident about this meeting. The woman, Ellen, had already known where Stefan had stayed, well, where Mason had lived previously, and well, that had to count for something. It couldn't account for nothing. He also felt like this was an entirely different situation. This was his sister, his half sister, who probably knew very little or nothing about him. He had no idea how much Ellen had told about him. Which was why, when Stefan had opened the door to them, he had been hopeful that the mother would stick around, but it appeared that she wasn't. Stefan waved goodbye and took a deep breath, smiling in as friendly a manner as he could to the girl who was now at his doorstep. "It's nice to meet you Joanna," He said, he looked at this girl in front of him. He could see the features of his father in her. In the little things. He wondered then if she had the Archer blue eyes. Stefan had learned from Kate, that him, his father, Tybalt and Tybalt's father all shared the exact same eye colour. It was the one of the things that seemed dominant in the Archer family.

The girl however seemed nervous, and Stefan couldn't help but be as nervous as her. This was strange and it didn't help that Joanna's mother, Ellen had left. Stefan stood away from the door and motioned the girl inside, he wasn't so bothered about the door being closed. This house was located pretty far from any others. The only person who frequently came round was the man who ran the book store that Stefan worked at, mostly just to give Stefan a lift, or to talk to him about the different things he planned to do with the store. The man never really came inside the house, and usual just called Stefan from the gate, no one would try to break in. Besides the house had nothing of real value, well, Stefan stopped, and then reminded himself that the house now contained something of huge importance, and value. He glanced round at Joanna, "Are you hungry or thirsty? I have some chocolate biscuits, some fruit, some fruit juices" He waited for a reply, before heading towards the kitchen, "Just take a seat in the living room! I'll be right there" He said. Opening the door and showing her inside the room. Stefan had taken to putting various pictures up on the various walls. Most of them were of him and Kate, of their time in hogwarts and after. Some were of him and his cousins. All to make this house more like a true home for him and Kate. There was a copy of the picture of Stefan and his parents sitting with several others on the table where Stefan had laid out various items that had belonged to his father, that the girl might find of interest. Only leaving her for a few moments, he headed back into the room, using his magic to bring in a tray with drinks and various bits of food and such. Placing it down on the table, he just looked at the girl, Joanna, "So, how old are you?" He started off, hoping to get a better idea of the time line of things. "When was the last time you saw our dad? Did your mum tell you what I told her?" He was referring to the fact that their father was in fact dead, he wasn't sure if Joanna knew, and if she didn't, he wasn't going to be very happy having to be the one to break the news to her. "This is very strange. From what I remember of our father, I would've never imagined him having another family" he said with a light tone, but he just couldn't understand why his father had done such a thing. Stefan hadn't expected his father to be completely alone the entire time, but, well, hadn't Stefan been enough for him. Stefan had always figured that his father had hated him, but, did he hate him so much that he might've just gone to this new family and left Stefan without another word. "I didn't have a great relationship with our father, so maybe that's why" Stefan shrugged, and took a seat. This entire thing was going to be so odd.
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[Joanna Archer]

It was weird to think about the idea that somewhere she still had family. She was 12 now and this was the first time that she had seen another Archer than her dad. She loved her dad to bits and this man reminded her of him. He had the blue eyes that her dad also had, Joanna had bright green eyes and she was jealous of the blue colour that Stefan and her dad have. Her mother had left Jo since she had another emergency at work, Jo was now alone with the man that was somehow her half brother. ''Likewise Stefan'' Jo stuttered when she spoke, it was scary that she had finally found her family. Stefan lived in a really nice house and he was really nice for her, just like her dad was. Jo just followed Stefan into his house, he had frames with pictures hanging all through his house. Stefan had not closed the door and Jo had forgotten it, she had made her first mistake already. ''This is going great Jo.'' Jo thought to herself, she had screwed up in the first couple of minutes, could she do nothing good or what. ''I would love to have a glass of water, please.'' Jo had learned her manners and she did not want to make Stefan angry on her for not being polite. She would also love some chocolate biscuits, but she did not want to bother Stefan with it, Jo was not good in meeting strangers and him being family of her made it even worse. When Jo took a seat in the living room she saw all of the pictures hanging here, she stood up and began to look at the different frames hanging on the walls. Some of them had Stefan with a girl and others where Stefan with a boy that Jo knew, she had met him in the Hogwarts kitchen. What was his name again Archibald, Tybalt something baltish. His last name was also Archer and at the time she had just found it a big coincidence, but he was obviously family from her. 'I know him.'' Jo said and she traced the picture with her finger.''His name is Tybalt or something, he goes to Hogwarts right.'' Jo needed to know that she had met another family member, but she had not known then, how could she be this stupid. The girl in the pictures looked nice, she and Stefan were a really cute couple. Jo did not want to bother Stefan so she just did not ask Stefan about her, it was something that she thought off for now.

When Jo walked back to the living room she saw all of this stuff laying on the coffee table in the living room. She recognized some of the items laying on the table, they were her fathers. ''Dad'' Jo said in a broken voice, she missed him, but something in her sad that he was gone somehow. How could a parent leave their daughter, there was no reason to abandon a little six year old girl. When Stefan came back he had her glass of water and some food on a tray. ''I am 12 at the moment, the last time I saw him I was six and then he kind off left.'' A tear appeared in Jo her eyes, she wanted her daddy back. She hoped that Stefan had not noticed her tear, he was a really loving man and she would give everything for another hug or good nights kiss. It was weird to think that her dad had two families, she would have loved to meet Stefan earlier. He was the family that she pictured to have, something that reminded her of her dad. ''Mum has not told me anything about my dad, she does not like me bringing him up in a conversation.'' Jo muttered very silently. All the things seemed to point to that he was dead and Jo accepted it somehow. Even if he was alive, Jo was not worth it to go back for her, he had Stefan obviously. When Stefan said that he and her dad were not the best friends, Jo was shocked. She could not picture her dad as a bad one, he was the best daddy ever for her. He had spoiled her with stuffed toys and every time when she was sick, he would bring tissues and other things that she needed then. ''He was really nice to me and he would always cared for me.'' Jo said with a stronger voice this time, it was a shame that she only had six years with him. Not even six years since he had to leave a lot, the reason must be that he was with Stefan in those times. Jo brushed a hair back behind her ear and her bright green eyes focused on Stefan. She needed the water and sipped it, also taking a small chocolate biscuit. He had brought the tray with magic and Jo was sad that she could not learn magic anymore. ''How old are you and did you go to Hogwarts?'' Jo had no clue in what she could ask him, so she just wanted to start with the basics. There was one question that she wanted to ask, but did not dared to. It was if she had more brothers or sisters that she did not know off, she already knew by now that her daddy was gone. She could only hope that she could lay some roses on his grave.

 

[Stefan Archer]

It was entirely odd for the former slytherin to be in his kitchen getting the girl, Joanna a glass of water, knowing that she was his half-sister. Even if this was the first meeting, and clearly to him they'd been brought up differently. It was just strange that after all this time, after so many years his father being gone he would still manage to surprise him with something that he'd always thought would be impossible. He took a bottle of water from the fridge and filled a glass for Joanna, placing that on the tray, as well as a plate of various biscuits and another glass of water for Stefan. He looked at the picture she had been talking about. The one of him and Tybalt, if his father had been so secretive about Stefan, Stefan doubted that he would've brought up all of them. "Yeah, Tybalt, Gryffindor. He's our cousin, our dad's brother's son" He explained quickly. While Stefan took a lot after his dad, he also had a number of Archer genes which he shared with Tybalt. Mainly the blue eyes, but the hair, ears, which was something that Elliot had picked up on. Stefan just knew that he looked like his dad, which he didn't see very often. Stefan didn't really like to think of himself and his father in the same line of thought. Stefan shook his head slightly, looking away from the picture and following into the main living area. He watched as Joanna acted towards the various bits and pieces. The way she seemed upset at the items, the way it was clear to him that his father had loved this little girl. Shown her everything he had never dared to really show Stefan. he brought the tray down and with his magic placed it on the table as she spoke, so twelve, well that put about eight years between them. It was interesting to know that there was such a gap between them, but it felt better. Stefan wouldn't have wanted to met a sibling who he shared his father with that was only a little younger than Stefan. This was better. It made Stefan feel a lot less like he'd simply not been enough. He took his glass of water and sipped it, as Joanna spoke again, answering his question about what she knew. He gave her a small sad smile, "Well, I think you've probably figured it out." Stefan spoke softly and chose his words carefully. He didn't want to upset the girl. "He died about four or five years. So that might explain where he went to. I didn't know about you or your mother so there was no way of letting you know" He said quickly. He was surprised that in all his searching he had found no word of this woman. Perhaps his father had had a mobile phone or an email something muggle that would've helped him keep in contact with this woman and her daughter.

Stefan placed down the glass of water and rubbed his eyes slightly. This was stupidly hard. Why did it have to be like this. Why couldn't his father have just told him earlier, brought the families together. Maybe things would've gotten better. Maybe he'd be better off now. His father hadn't probably wanted to taint this new family with anything of his old. Even if that meant leaving Stefan behind. He looked at the girl when she spoke again, saying that he had been kind and cared for her. It made Stefan so deeply wish that he had Kate with him. Wish that she was here for emotional support. For any kind of support. Stefan hadn't realised how hard this would be. In all honesty he had thought the girl would not have known their father that much. "That's good" was all Stefan could think of to say. All he could think about was his old bedroom, where he had spent many cold nights wishing and praying for it all to end. For his father to stop, or to just let it all end. Not overly positive, but that was all he could really think of. He closed his eyes, and let the memories slip away, just as the girl spoke again. It was a nice simple question. Easy to answer, and didn't overly require him to think of his father. "I'm 20, and I did. On and off for about the seven years. I was in slytherin" He nodded at this. He knew that she had problems at Hogwarts, "You went briefly right? Where are you now studying?" He asked her, giving her a warm smile. Stefan felt like keeping the conversation more on her would be better. Stefan had liked going to Hogwarts, it had been nice, but he'd taken a lot of breaks between it. "What do you remember about him? Do you have any questions about him that I might be able to answer? Since I knew him for slightly longer" Stefan didn't really want to talk about his father but he felt like he should for this little girl, who seemed to have like their father. Who their father had been nice to. He wasn't sure how he could help in many ways because of how terribly he'd been treated growing up, but Stefan would figure out a way. He would figure something out. Stefan had no intentions of making this girl realise that while he'd been nice to her, he'd been the complete opposite with Stefan, or even that it was probably for the best that this was the first time the two families were coming together.
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