Who: Adrian and Narissa Where: Adrian's dorm room/bed When: Morning - after the Scribbler is released 10/22 Warning: None really Status: Closed, Complete While most of the gossip rag was just that… obviously the author was not a complete fool… Although most of the rumors were easily dismissed, they were not all false. Where had they gotten their information? Only a few people knew. It had only been two months that anyone had known. Adrian didn't know if Wallace even knew who his father was yet. And now everyone knew he was the unwanted child of the Quiddich star and the billionaire.
Narissa woke slowly but when she was awake the existence of a new Scribbler caught her eye. And the fact that her brother... fuck. She threw aside her journal and sprinted toward Slytherin, ignoring the fact that she was still in her pajamas. It didn't matter. What mattered was getting to him. She banged on the wall, angrily growling when finally she was let in, and bolted to his dorm. She didn't care who saw her. She wanted to be with her brother. The look on his face- though most people wouldn't even detect it- told her everything she needed to know as she crawled in and hugged him tightly.
Adrian was good at keeping himself together. He was good at keeping his distance. For years, he and Narissa had managed to dodge any serious inquiries into the fact that he did not share her - or his father's - surname. Everyone likely knew there was a reason Adrian had been given his mother's maiden name, and there had to have been talk, but none this direct. None this correct. It was out… He wasn't Narissa's brother. Adrian couldn't just lie and pretend this rumour was another of the gossip rag's idiotic stories. He had never lied about it, not really, only evaded. He was too rattled to properly evade in this moment.
A swift wand wave silenced the bed and Narissa held her brother tightly, trying to let him know that it didn't matter. That she was still there. "Fuck them. Fuck them all. You're my Adi and no matter what they say or do, that's not changing." Her voice was fierce, determined. She loved Adrian and nothing could change that fact. There was nothing in the world she would not do for her brother and she knew it was the same for him. She stroked his hair lightly, trying to offer some sort of comfort, though what comfort could really be had?
Adrian wanted so desperately to be her brother. He wanted his parents to actually be his parents. He wished for it every birthday. And now the fantasy he'd lived for almost eighteen years was revealed as just that. He wrapped his arms around Narissa, hiding his face. He wasn't ready for this.
"Adi," Narissa spoke more softly now, her tone firm but gentle. "It's not always blood that makes a family. You're my brother because of the love we share. No matter who had you, there's no one that loves you the same as I do. Like a brother. Because you are my brother." In her mind the different parents didn't matter. He was always there, more than anyone, and she could think of him in no other way.
He wasn't her brother though. He was Wallace's unwanted child, left with his parents… no left with her parents. "I'm not though, am I?"
"Did you suddenly stop loving me, Adi?" Narissa continued to speak in a gentle but firm tone, wanting to reassure him. "No matter what happens, you're my brother. I've never seen you as anything other than that. You're the most important person in my life, Adi." She ran her hand over his shoulders. "I don't care what this stupid thing says. I care that I love you. I care that my brother is hurting...and I can't fix it..."
Adrian had worked so hard to just be accepted as he was, and if he was honest to be a little overlooked. He did not want the notice that was likely to come from this announcement. It would take so little work for other news agencies to confirm the rumour. "Love doesn't mean… Everyone is going to know… I can't just… deny it… pretend it is just another dumb rumor… How did someone put it together? Why?"
"People don't believe what's in there." Most of the students didn't even bother to deny things. "Love means what we say it does. You're my brother, and I don't care what they ask. You are not and will never be anything but my brother to me. Nor to anyone that matters." She sighed and held him closer. "I don't know why they'd do this but we can get past it. We always have avoided things before. You're my brother. That's all."
"It won't take much for a real journalist to confirm it now that it's out… I've been dining with Professor Stark every week since the school year started. And Wallace is on my birth certificate as my mother… And they are both fixtures of the tabloid journals… A story about either one would be good sales - linking them… me." Adrian trailed off.
"You're not listening, Adrian Battye. Listen. No one here is stupid enough to cross me when it comes to this. You are my brother. They can't prove otherwise. Aside from the birth certificate there is no proof to link you to Stark, and..." Narissa frowned as she looked at him, her eyes meeting his. "Even if you're not blood, you're my brother. You're mom and dad's son. It doesn't change the fact that we are a family and we love you. You're ours."
Adrian just clung to her, hiding his face in her. He wanted so desperately to be her brother. Wanted so much that his parents really were his parents. That there was no Wallace… no Tony Stark… "I love you, Sissy." It wasn't enough, he worried.
"I love you, Adi." Her fingers stroked through her brother's hair gently and moved to his shoulders, rubbing his back to try and show what affection she could. She loved her brother and there was nothing else to it. She wanted to make him happy again, but she knew it wasn't likely at this point. "I'll always love you. No matter what."