Chapter 53 ~ Siblings.

"Morning Rose." Maxine entered the kitchen on Boxing Day, greeting her friend as she took a seat at the table. "Have a good night?"

Her friend shrugged. "More or less. I think the chocolate from dinner kept me awake though." 

She laughed. "You did eat a lot of it."

"Well yes, but now I'm back on track." Rose admitted, pulling a face at Maxine. "My diet starts now."

"So you won't be eating coco pops then?" She nodded at the bowl in Rose's hand from which her friend was shovelling chocolate cereal.

Rose paused, then looked down at it, grinning sheepishly. "Well - after breakfast I'll start." She scooped up another spoonful then changed the subject as Maxine chuckled. "Anyway, what are we doing today?"

Maxine shrugged, putting two pieces of bread in the toaster. "Don't know - probably just staying in the house and then going off to Riverside Manor for the ball."

"Ah yes, the ball." Rose's eyes gleamed excitedly. "Your Mum invited Jack, by the way."

She nodded, grinning. "Yeah, she told me. Now you have date!"

Rose smiled. "Yup!" She looked at Maxine closely, pausing slightly. "What about you?"

Maxine looked bemused. "Why would I have a date? Me and Stefan are going together as friends and that would spoil everything." She laughed. "I'm just gonna have a good time."

Rose ignored the problem in plain sight for the umpteenth time and steered away from the matter of dates. "Well of course you'll have a good time. It sounds so fun."

She laughed again. "It is a merry occasion - most of the time is spent having mad fun and mucking about, or at least, that's what the attending cousins usually do."

Rose grinned. "I may have to pass, though - in front of Jack I have to look mature."

"Who's Jack?" Lily came bounding in, curious at the mention of a name she didn't know. 

Maxine grinned. "He's Rose's boyfriend, Lily. He'll be at the ball."

Lily looked up at Rose with a cheeky smile. "You'll have to introduce him to me."

"Oh, I will." Promised Rose, grinning down at the girl. Lily retrained the gesture and moved to sit at the table, Maxine asking after a pause;

"Where've you been, Lil? You neglected your awakening duties."

"Not that that's a bad thing." Slipped in Rose with humour.

But Lily suddenly looked downcast. "I was visiting James - I gave him some socks for Christmas and I wanted him to the wear them." She leant on the table and signed, chin in hands. "Then he told me he'd thrown them in the bin."

"What?" Maxine and Rose questioned in unison. Both their voices were doused in disbelief, but Maxine felt herself growing angry as well. Lily was sweet and generous with her present giving and they'd just been socks - what on earth was up with her brother? She knew he hated her and accepted it, but treating Lily that way was not acceptable, especially she'd gone to the trouble of buying him a present with what little pocket money she had. Yes, Maxine began to fume. Her temper swelled within her and she was silent in rage, oblivious to the comforting conversation Rose was sharing with Lily. However, Rose, after speaking to the little girl, did notice Maxine's ominous silence and realised what was going on.

"Maxie." Rose's voice was wary. "Don't go loosing your temper with him."

Maxine looked up, slightly irritated. She had every right to, this time, and of course, she told herself dishonestly, she wasn't going to loose her temper with him. "I have no intention of getting into a temper over James." Said Maxine after a small pause, standing up. Her voice was calm but the answer was a lie. "I'm just going to talk to him."

"Maxie! You know how that'll end!" Rose came forward, rightfully unconvinced. "Just stay away from him."

"Hang on - why is James a major problem all of a sudden?" Albus had entered the kitchen, unaccompanied by his two friends. "He hasn't started bullying you again, has he?"

His question was addressed to Maxine and she shook her head, opening her mouth to answer. However, Rose got there first. "He will if you go and wreak your temper on him." She warned her.

Maxine sighed, then spoke with resolution. "Look - James has been a dick - or to me he has anyway - but as we three siblings know, he's a good guy underneath. And now, I'm going to see if I can find that good guy again."

Albus looked her her. "Max - that's unlikely. Plus..." He trailed off but claimed his sister's attention.

"What?" She questioned.

Albus sighed, opening his mouth to obviously refuse, but the Lily spoke. "James isn't doing well with his school work." She blurted out. "That's why he's so awful, apparently. He might fail his O.W.L.s."

"Wait - what?" Maxine said in deniable for, not really sang for an answer, just shocked at the news. She and always though he'd had no reason to hate her...well, perhaps this one wasn't a brilliant one, but there was still a reason. She felt guilty and sorrowful, presuming he must have ignored and attacked her because he wanted to to take it out on someone. Maxine looked at Rose, who was also surprised, though not guilty as she was. Her brother needed some comfort, she told herself, he was just unhappy, she had to go and talk to him....Maxine convinced herself that she was suddenly the guilty and James the hurt.

Albus, seeing roughly what Maxine was thinking, ran his hand through his hair and spoke hesitantly. "Max, it isn't just about school work. James is being peer-pressured as well, but mostly, as you say - it's because he's a dick. Don't go apologising to him."

Maxine looked up at her brother, moving to walk to the door. "I'm not going to apologise to him." She stated firmly, though unsure whether it was true or not. "I'm just going to talk to him."

And with that, she left the room, making her way up to the second floor where James was lodging. She hoped his awful friend wasn't around - Josh was her least favorite of her brother's peers and by far the most hostile towards her. Still, whatever happened, she needed to speak to James. Thinking about it, it felt strange, the fact that they hadn't talked in over a month. And those exchanges of conversation had been relatively short, typically ending in a duel or one of them attacking the other. He'd left off her after a while, though; perhaps because she had gathered some friends or their parents had threatened him, she didn't know. Or perhaps there was a still a shred of brotherly affection for her inside him, from before his peers and prejudice had poisoned his mind. Well, it wa time to find out.

Maxine faced the door to his room, moving her hand up to pull the door handle down and enter the bedroom. James was sat on his bed, reading a Magazine, and looked up slowly as she entered. However, as expected, his voice and face were hard and cold. 

"Get out." Were the few words he said, letting the magazine lie back. "Now."

Maxine ignored this, turning to close the door, and approached. She wasn't going to take no for an answer, resist land and determined as ever.

"I said get out!" James said as she moved to sit down on his bed, throwing down his magazine. "Get out now!"

She looked up at him sadly, finally speaking. "Look, James, I know about the whole O.W.L. work thing. I know why you've been taking it out on me these past months."

"Oh you do, do you?" The loathing in his face was alarming as he titled his head and smiled a mock smile. "And you think that's the reason behind my hate for you? Really?" 

Maxine marvelled at he hostility in him with disbelief, not feeling anger, only hurt. "Then why do you hate me, James?" She questioned.

He laughed bitterly, a laugh that ate away at her heart. "You want to know why I hate you?" She nodded, looking at him closely with solemn eyes. He scoffed at her, turning his head back. "Well, where should I start." He looked at her. "Why don't you have a guess?"

She looked at him, eyes and voice harder as she answered. "I am at loss as to why you hate me, James, that's why I'm asking." She shrugged. "Perhaps you're stupid enough to listen to your prejudiced friend and loath me because of my birth. Maybe you think I shame our family for similar reasons. Possibly, even, you think I steal your thunder as the older sister." She stared into his dark eyes. "Which one is it, James?"

He laughed again. "Oh, you think it's like that, do you."

"Just tell me why you hate me." Maxine's voice was stony. "Just tell me what I have done to make you treat me like this. Tell me what crime I have committed."

He raised an eyebrow. "You want my honest answer? Fine. Here's my honest answer." Suddenly he was close, grabbing the collar of her shirt and pulling her towards him. "You're an evil, manipulative horror, like the grandmother you try to leave behind. She hurt our family and you will too. Think I'm prejudiced against your family? Look back at the Lestraneg family tree and see what they've done. You're related to the Malfoys as well - surely you know about them?" His words tore at her heart like poison. "You should be in Slytherin, you little bitch."

She stared at him as he let her go, anger rising in her heart. Her brother, her own brother....whatever he said, she knew it was prejudice speaking. Prejudice and pressure. But it was so extreme, so vicious,mashed could scarcely believ he had just spoken those words. There was a pause, then he spoke once more, using words and a tone of voice that brought rage to her heart. 

"You got what you wanted. Now go, Lestrange, like I told you to."

Maxine turned her head to look at him, eyes sparkling with anger. She tried to keep her trumped under control, though, answering smoothly and with an equal bite to her tone. "James, we're not at school now. You can't call me by my last name like any bully, you can't push me around with you spiteful words. If you think you think you can hurt me with you malicioun, then you've got another thing coming. At home, I am your sister, and I will  always remain so, whether you like it or not."

James glared at her venomously, spitting his answer. "My foster sister. A hag I've been living with all my life because of my father's bloody honour." He came close again face still bathed in hatred. "Let me tell you this, 'Maxie'. You will never be my sister. I will always hate you. Furthermore, I will remove you from my life at the earliest point. Already, you are dead to me."

Suddenly, all thoughts of keeping her temper deserted her, Maxine blew. Her hand came up to slap him and her mouth opened to yell to at him. But somebody stopped her.

"Max, no." Stefan leapt forward from the entrance to the room and grabbed her hand to stop her from hitting James, knowing that, as Rose had stated, it would not end well. Stefan looked at James with equal venom. "He's not worth it."

Maxine, despite having been stopped from fulfilling her urge, felt overwhelming gratitude to Stefan. Always there to help her, always there to save her from herself. Her anger for James was the only thing that stopped her from hugging him at that moment.

There was a pause as she moved to stand up, still staring at her brother. Then, in silence, she turned to walk out, Stefan beside her. She looked back at James from the door, however, not saying a my thing, just meeting his gaze and injecting sadness into her eyes that was quite genuine. It felt like she'd lost a brother - of she'd ever had one to start with.

Oh, the joy of siblings.