InsaneJournal

Who: William Rosier and Isabelle Montgomery (but really Rosier, says Will).
What: Sibling chat.
Where: Will's flat
When: Wednesday night (15/7) after the event.
Rating: Low
Status: GDoc



After the event, Will and Izzie had gone back to his flat instead of going out to any after parties. He understood of course, with Gwennie he usually went out after but Iz was less the partying type and most of the past half week had been birthday celebrations for her. A quieter end to an evening would be good and a chance to catch up. He’d told their mother that Isabelle was staying the night so they were free for the night with no rush to get her back home.

Will had shrugged out of the jacket of his dress robes and taken off his shoes once they’d come in, heading over to the fridge and trusting Izzie would make herself at home as always. “So, what did you think of it? And did you want anything to drink Iz?”

---

Izzie wasn’t as bad as she used to be, she did like a good party and after party sometimes, but there had been so much going on in the last week that she was happy to just stop and breathe.

Kicking off her heels, she padded over to the sofa to sit down and fold her legs up next to her. “Water would be nice” She answered with a soft smile, looking around the flat as if something major would have changed since she was last there. “It was a nice night, some of the members had some interesting idea, and it’s always interesting to watch how people light up when talking about certain things, it gives you an insight if you pay the right attention.” She did like having insight on people. “Are you going to miss these sorts of things once you’re a ministry employee?”

---

Staring into the open fridge to figure out what he wanted, Will summoned glasses for them both before deciding on sparkling water for himself and getting her water for her. With a wave of his wand he sent the glass of water ahead of him over to his sister. "I'm glad you liked it, Izzie. It was nice to have you as my plus one to one of these things again," Will smiled before sitting next to her on the sofa and loosening his bow tie as he considered her question. "Yeah, I am. I'm going to miss it as a whole actually, not just these sorts of things. But there wasn't to much room to move up left, at least not within the time frame I want, and I think I got what I wanted out of that job. Now the next step." He paused and smiled over at her before putting an arm around her in a hug. "But I'm definitely going to miss being able to take my little sister to random fancy parties like this that we'd normally never get invites to."

---

Izzie loved society events, watching people, listening out for the gossip and the little things that slipped out. Truthfully, she was a little sad she’d be going to less now that Will was changing jobs, but she understood why he had to do it. He was just trying to do the right thing.

Will’s smile got him one in return, and she relaxed under his arm and against his side. “You’ll have ministry events to go to, and you’ll just have to work your way into a position where you’re getting invited to lots of them!” Izzie reminded him easily. She had no doubt her charming big brother could still get them into a fair few things. “I’m really proud of you by the way.”

---


"Not as many random ones like this but...you're right, I'll be doing my utmost to get us invited to whatever I can," Will grinned back as he let her lean and settle against him comfortably. He'd miss the variety the prophet job gave him, and the odd but still flexible hours. But there was more power to be had in government, more esteem, and it would certainly do more for the Rosiers if he was there.

William paused for a brief moment before pulling his sister closer in a thankful hug and leaned down to kiss the top of her head affectionately. "Thanks Izzie." He meant that, and it meant a lot to hear her say it. Somehow he'd needed to hear it without realizing he'd needed it. Things were better with Gwennie but their fight, the cold silences, how much they were both clearly holding back when it came to the journals, not to mention hiding the fact that they were on the outs from the rest of the family...it took its toll. Will had felt betrayed and hurt like he rarely had before, Gwennie turning on him like that had been a blow that he'd tried to shrug off but had in reality shaken him to the core. So it was nice to have a little sister to hug and tell him that she was proud.

Though soon he'd have to tell her the plot that had caused all the trouble. He was still going to let himself have this family moment. "I'm really proud of you too, you know? I really am Iz."

---

Izzie spent all this time pretending, trying to fool people or please her family, sometimes she just needed to let it go. Sitting there being hugged by her big brother, letting herself be vulnerable, letting herself just be the baby sister and feel protected by him, it was nice.

"I know. I just still don't know what for." She laughed softly. "I really don't know what I'm going to do with this year and afterwards. I don't have that same drive and clear plan you and Gwennie seem to have." Sometimes she felt like she didn't really belong in her family, and it had nothing to do with how she was treated by them at all.

---

Will smiled and shook his head like she was missing something. "You don't need a clear plan for me to be proud of you." He gave her arm a comforting rub as he kept it around her and settled into the couch. "You're always going to be family to me, we're blood, but that doesn't mean I'm going to necessarily have a sister that I'm proud to show off or admit is my sister. But I have two. All the important things the rest of us do, you do too, you have it down Izzie. Do you know how many of your schoolmates I wouldn't be able to say that for if they were my sister? And I do mean the Slytherins too." He loved the family house and would always say it was the best but a lot of the students had a long way to go in his opinion, and they didn't seem to get the very lesson that his sisters had down already.

"You're practical Iz, you get our position and the importance of looking at the big picture, of pretending to be nice to people we shouldn't have to, of making the right connections, of the power of information, of etiquette and being respectful to the right people. You know what's important, and you do it, and you do it in a tougher position than Gwen or I had to." A veiled reference to her house. William had never once said or reminded her of a fact they all knew well, that being put in the wrong house had caused some pureblooded families to disown or effectively disown those members. But he hadn't once even considered their family would do such a thing, and he was fiercely protective of her for that. One housemate of his had made a joking comment about it shortly after Izzie's sorting, though that boy had learned the hard way a few months later what that got him. "And through it all you're still you, I'd never want to change that. I have a list of reasons to be proud of you, so why wouldn't I be Izzie?"

---

Of course Will told her all the time not to worry, and that he was proud of her, but it really helped for him to say the rest, explaining to her all the things she did. Izzie never resented having to play the roles she did, it was part of being a good daughter and sister, a good member of their society. It was nice to hear she was still doing enough though.

“Thank you…” She whispered, looking up at him with a soft smile. “I really should think about what comes next though. NEWTs are coming, I need to know which ones I need to pay the most attention to, which people I need to be building stronger links to, I need to know where I’ll go after Hogwarts, where I’ll be most useful.” Izzie’s voice was stronger as she told him, more definite. “Not tonight, but soon. It’s important to me. I know eventually I’ll be looking to marry right, to help that way, but that won’t be happening straight away.”

---

Will gave her a fond smile in return, which got a touch of pride to it as she talked about her plan for the next year and became more confident. "Sounds like a clear plan to me. If you need any help with it, planning or implementing, I'm always available." She was more than capable of pulling it off on her own but, as always, he was going to offer his help so that she could turn to him if she ever needed it. Even if it was just about being the charming older brother who would take her friends out to places so she'd look better to them. Whatever he could do to help his sisters, he'd do.

While it was nice to hear Izzie had the right idea about her future, marrying right to help them, it did give him an obvious opening to tell her the plan. Had he done this before talking to Gwennie there wouldn't have been much hesitation about using it, but after what had happened...part of him was reluctant out of the fear that there was a chance he'd alienate or lose Izzie temporarily too. But William squashed those fears with the same ruthless determination he did anything. "That'll be down the road, not anytime soon for you. Though speaking of marriages to help us, I did want to talk to you about that actually."

---

She wasn’t sure Will completely got what she was saying about needing a plan, but she did feel a bit better having voiced it all. Maybe she could work it out on her own. For now though, he seemed to have something else to say, and she switched off her worries about her future, listening to him.

“Oh?”

---

"I might need to do something of the sort soon. A beneficial more than a suitable arrangement, but if I do it right we should profit. If the lead up doesn't work out..." Will shrugged slightly. "It was still worth it for the connections it got in the process." He was giving less information to start than with Gwennie, but that talk hadn't exactly gone well so he couldn't base this one off it exactly. He just wanted to gauge how she felt about the very general idea first before launching into any more explanations.

---

Oh. Izzie blinked a couple of times, pausing to process it. “You’re looking to get married? You’ve moved on to that part of your plan? I didn’t even know you were thinking about it.” She questioned carefully. “Is it someone I know? How far along are you in this?” Izzie’s tone was one more of surprise and confusion than upset or anger. She hadn’t been expecting the news, but it didn’t sound awful.

---

"Well I wasn't just yet, but the opportunity came up that agreeing to it alone would net an in into the right crowd. It wasn't something to let slip by." He suspected refusing also might've made things difficult, though he was sure had the offer been worse he could've managed to without too much trouble for their future. Will paused and considered whether Izzie would know Bina. Her last name, yes, but the woman herself he suspected would either be a mystery or only known vaguely by reputation. Izzie wasn't in the duelling club as far as he knew so she wouldn't have met Bina through there. "No...I don't believe you know her, her last name yes though. But it's not far along, nothing official." He gave his sister a smile. "I'd hardly have progressed too far without telling my sisters. How am I going to pull off a plan that uses marriage if I don't have you?"

---

“I can’t argue with that.” She nodded softly. “Are you sure you want to do this? Will you be happy?” Her questions were genuine. Somehow, even though she knew he’d have to marry eventually, Izzie had never really thought about her brother marrying for convenience or to further their family, that had always been what she thought she’d do for the family. It made sense for him to marry, but she still wanted him to be happy, not doing something he’d hate just to help the family name. “If you’re happy though… I’ll try to help if I can. What can I do?”

---

Will was rarely someone who was caught off guard, and it was even rarer for him to show if he was, but Izzie's question stunned him for a moment. He blinked down at her, momentarily baffled by the question. He never thought about his happiness, he only looked at what would benefit the family. No matter what it took. His sisters could marry, a suitable person, for happiness but as the Rosier heir his obligation had always been to furthering the family name and bringing it up. There was never any doubt in his mind that his life decisions would be defined by that, and marriage was hardly going to be the exception.

"Izzie," he said softly when he'd recovered from that moment of astonishment. "What will make me happy is for us to be as great, and greater, than we once were. To have that respect back, to never want, for mother never to be looked down on, and for you and Gwennie to want to put Rosier back into your name because it means something and it's a name you can be proud of. That's what would make me happy, more than anything." Will gave his sister a soft smile and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a hug. It meant more than he could say that she'd just offered to help, without him asking, without him explaining the details. It was the reaction he'd wanted truly, and had expected of Gwennie but was too scared to expect it of her too after how badly the talk with their sister had gone. Over the years he'd been clear that he always had their backs, they could ask for anything and he'd do it, and all he had expected from them in return was their trust and loyalty. And at least in this moment he had it, and nothing felt better.

William pulled back from the hug and smiled again. "I need to talk to mum about it, and I could use your backing, but more importantly...I need you to meet her sometime and let her try and win you over. It's okay Izzie, I don't mind if you like her or not, we just need to make it seem like you do and that she earned it. Because anyone who knows me even vaguely knows that my sisters are vital to me, and I’ve told her as much, that she needs to win you two over.”

---

Izzie knew damn well that her brother would always put her and Gwennie before himself, that he'd do anything to protect them and their family. That was why she worried. She didn't want Will to marry someone he hated just to increase respect for their family. They could find other ways. They WOULD find another way if that was what he was planning to do.

"I'd put Rosier back in my name tomorrow if you wanted, no matter what else you do. It's still my name too." But that wasn't the point here. I

---


"One day you'll put it back Iz, I'm sure. You deserve a pureblooded name back, and even more so one that means something." Will did actually want his sisters to take the Rosier name again, if not before they married, then to put it in when they changed their names upon marriage. Their mother kept her maiden name and the Rosier name officially after all.

Will's next smile was an affectionate one, as much as he was fiercely protective of his sisters, it was nice to see it returned and applied to him too. Of course, in his opinion it didn't really matter if he liked the woman or not, but that wasn't an opinion Izzie seemed to share. "I’ve already known her for a while now and we get along very well,” he reassured his sister. Both he and Bina would be working against each other though, and he had to try and turn her to the purist side, which would mean an unfortunate end to the arrangement if he couldn’t manage it. But in his opinion even if the arrangement only worked for a few years, there was still much to be gained. “If I didn’t think it was worth doing this, I wouldn’t be doing it, you know me. How about l introduce you two, and you can meet her and judge for yourself alright?” It was a better idea than letting Gwennie meet her first, perhaps Izzie would be the best help here.

---

“Hopefully we can all do the name proud then.” She said giving him a small smile. Perhaps he had a point, they were all now legally adults, it might be time to put Rosier back in and present a more united front with a name that reflected where they came from as well as where they were.

His reassurances helped, but he still wasn’t telling her too much. “I’m glad to hear that. It will be easier to keep up the illusion if you at least like her. Easier if Gwennie and I like her too, I’m sure.” Izzie knew her older sister could make this woman’s life a living hell if she didn’t approve, and she could do some damage herself if she really didn’t think it was a good idea for Will to marry. “Just tell me what day works for the two of you and I’ll be there willing to try.”

---

"Thank you Iz," Will smiled, almost relieved she was being reasonable. "I like her just fine, and if you and Gwennie don't...that's okay. I just need you to pretend to then, because it'll be much easier to have you both over if she thinks my sisters like her." Also easier to pull the whole plan off. Will had promised his sisters that no matter where he lived or who he married, they'd always have a standing invite to visit and a room set aside. He planned on delivering on that promise. "Perfect, I will. We'll figure something out."

---

“I’ll try.” She repeated, a yawn sneaking out at the end of her words. Closing her eyes, she wriggled a little to get more comfortable against him even as she spoke. “Whatever it takes to keep my new old name in good standing. I can pretend. I do it all the time.”

---

"And you're very good at it, I wouldn't ask it of you otherwise," Will smiled at her. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him. It felt like old times when they were kids and Will had found himself the pillow for sleepy younger siblings. He never minded of course, they were always his priority. "I'm glad you came tonight Izzie, thanks."

---

"I'm glad you brought me, and that you talked to me about your new wife to be. Thanks for that." She murmured, feeling happy and safe in her big brother's arms. "Rosiers first."

---

“Exactly. Rosiers first, always.”