Daley Manor Party

[daleysabrina]

You can do this.Sabrina took a deep breath, looking herself over again in the free standing body length mirror inside her bedroom, flatting out the flowing top that Martha had helped her pick out for the party. Even though she had a walk-in closet filled to the brim with brand new, gorgeous clothes for literally every occasion, Bri still felt her

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[daleysebastian]

He was trying to keep his distance from most of the party. Maybe it was ridiculous, grumpy, sulky, and any number of things multiple people had deigned to describe him as, but it worked for him.

Sebastian had mostly been trying to keep an eye on Sabrina without being too over protective big brother and ruining the whole point. He'd lost sight of her, though, at some point, and was just making his rounds, eyes rolling at pieces of conversation he passed, when someone backed into him.

Luckily, he had decent enough reflexes to lift his arm, protecting his drink from pouring all over the woman in front of him and limiting the spillage mostly to a slight drizzle over his hand.

"Thanks. Other than a little crowded," Sebastian shrugged, doing his best not to smirk at how awkward she sounded. His tolerance for awkward was definitely increasing lately. "I guess it's not too bad." He took a step back and switched his glass to his other hand, shaking the liquid off the other.

"Linney, right?" There were a few people he could pick out of a crowd. She wasn't exactly one of them, but he'd come across her when he'd been digging around on Dean.

[marloww]

Sebastian and Riley had been in the same year and yet he was never mentioned, Marlow never knowing anything about him. Not that she asked, though, the story of his family's murder far too horrific to just toss into casual conversation. But it did feel slightly surreal to know that an old dormmate of Riley's was back from the dead, so to speak, and here she was standing in the middle of his house.

It had made her want to write to Riley, tell him.

But even that idea made her feel a little ill.

She tilted her head back slightly to catch Sebastian's eyes, an odd quirk of smile tugging at her lips.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, brow furrowing more in amusement than anything else.

[daleysebastian]

"I make it a point to know things." He went purposely ominous with it, mostly to counter the suspiciously amused look she was giving him. "You're close with Thomas, right?"

That gave a bit too much away, but Sebastian didn't care very much. It's not as though he tried to make it a secret that if someone was going to be that heavily involved with his sister, he was going to look into it.

[marloww]

"The closest," she nodded.

She knew where this was headed, she could sense the older sibling tone in his voice- one she had herself when it came to Jonah, hell or any of her friends. It was easy to fall into that kind of attitude when it came to the people she cared about.

"Though I think Seamus might disagree with that," she added, as a bit of an afterthought, her nose wrinkling slightly.

"This was a nice idea, by the way-" she told him. "For your sister-"

[daleysebastian]

Sebastian shrugged and glanced around. Every time he looked for her, Sabrina had been dragged off in a different direction by someone completely different. That definitely seemed to say success. At least, for now. When she tried to run away or something, he'd intervene.

He didn't remember that little cluster from Hogwarts, not paying too much attention to the younger Gryffindors other than Potter and his sidekicks. From what he'd picked up recently, though, those three - Dean, Marlow, and Seamus - were their own inseparable trio at least at one point.

"She's kind of disconnected." He ducked his head a little, evaluating just how much he could give up before everything became obvious. "I am too, but she doesn't like it, so. Thanks for coming." Sebastian did mean it. He might be uncomfortable with his sister being this far into a serious relationship this early into her return, but Dean got bonus points for integrating Sabrina into his life.

"She hasn't said it, but I think she's nervous about meeting you." Not that Sebastian had had many conversations with Sabrina since the full moon, but there had definitely been a nervous air about her earlier.

[marloww]

She didn't want to let Sebastian know that she knew his secret- that his sister was a werewolf. She could tend to have a big mouth, sometimes, when she felt nervous enough, but this was hardly something that came out in casual conversation.

But she could understand what he was saying. The disconnect, the social anxiety Dean had alluded to. It wasn't exactly a shock considering the way werewolves were treated in society.

"Really?"

That surprised her most of all.

"She shouldn't be-" Marlow laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not- well, I'm not exactly the most intimidating of girls out there-"

She smiled.

"Dean has said some really lovely things about her. I'm excited, actually-"

[daleysebastian]

"You could probably be intimidating." Sebastian looked at her carefully, eyebrows scrunched together a bit. Marlow looked anything but intimidating, but those could be the sneaky ones that pulled it out when you least expected it.

"He better be saying good things." Maybe he didn't sound as snippy as he could have, but Sebastian didn't really have the need. From what he could tell, Dean was actually a decent bloke, if you ignored the whole unfortunate first-name-as-a-last-name thing. "She says good things about him, too. Some I'd rather not hear, but boundaries aren't really her thing."

[marloww]

"I'm only intimidating to first years," she said, though that might even be a stretch considering some of the boys managed to reach her height.

She couldn't help but laugh.

"He literally can't shut up about how wonderful she is," Marlow said, shaking her head. "If she's going on about him in the same way, then, well, I do feel very sorry for you-"

She grinned.

"You don't have to worry about him, though," she told him with a knowing glance. "He's a good one, and I say this as unbiased as possible."

[daleysebastian]

"I appreciate the sympathy." Wincing, he took a long drink and shook his head as he swallowed. He was absolutely going to make a better effort with his sister, but there were certain things he never wanted to have to hear about ever again. Ever. Lest he actually set out to make Dean's life miserable.

"I doubt your unbiased opinion." Actually, it sounded about right. Dean had won a lot of bonus points with Sebastian when he'd come by after the full moon and been so preoccupied with find her, all while carrying chicken soup.

Soup. It was actually terribly cute, if Sebastian would ever admit something like that.

"No. I do hear good things. Even if I want to be suspicious that anyone is that well liked."

[marloww]

"That's sort of your role, though," she shrugged.

"Being the big brother and all that-" she laughed, shaking her head. "I'm the oldest, too- and I've got a bunch of cousins I've taken to looking after- and hell, I don't trust a single one anyone brings home- well, at least at first-"

She offered him a sort of hapless smile.

"I'm sorry- this must all be incredibly bizarre for you, huh? This whole party- your sister dating Dean after just-"

She paused, frowning, not wanting to finish her sentence with the 'coming back from the dead' because hell, that wasn't proper one bit.

[daleysebastian]

"Then hopefully you won't be too offended when I side-eye your friend for a few months." Or forever, but that wasn't the point.

He grinned a little - short and quick - and shook his head. At least someone was willing to admit that, ridiculous or not, Sebastian's over-protective nature was completely justifiable.

"Bizarre doesn't even cut it." Sebastian would use a lot of words to describe what this was. His entire life since Sabrina came back - admittedly, also a bit before - having taken a turn for the absurd, obnoxious, stressful, infuriating, entertaining, interesting, and of course, bizarre. "But we'll go with that because it's nicer than most other adjectives. I just want her to be happy, so. If that means Dean and a party full of people I don't know?" Sebastian shrugged as if it was obvious.

[marloww]

"You're a good brother-"

She didn't know him from a hole in the wall but considering what she did know about Sabrina, she could see very easily that he meant well. Really, what did you do when your sister comes home a werewolf who's been away in some sort of wild commune for ten years?

Maybe she wouldn't have thrown a party, per say.

But she could see the intention behind it all.

"She's lucky to have you," she continued.

[daleysebastian]

"Thanks." It was nice to hear that, even if it was from someone who knew nothing about him. When he'd had Sabrina yelling the opposite at him, her voice hoarse after the change but no less damning as she'd said you're not my brother, Sebastian wasn't going to take it at anything more than face value.

At least he was trying? He probably wasn't going about it the right way, but he was making an effort. Too little too late, probably.

He turned to see where his sister hadn't gotten off to at this point, someone constantly apparently ready to snatch her up. He smiled a little, sad and fond all at once, and shrugged.

"I appreciate it. But either she hasn't told Dean everything or he hasn't passed it on to you. It's nice of you to say though."

[marloww]

The problem was, Marlow knew more than she actually should. Far more. And while she had told Dean she'd keep that secret, she still couldn't help the way she shifted where she stood, a sort of sympathetic smile creeping into her face.

"Well, situations like these-" she started, trying to choose her words carefully. "I mean- there's no rule book for it, is there? Nothing to point out how you should act when family you thought was gone ups and walks back into your life?"

She could say that much, at least, the attack on the Daley family something that glossed the cover of the papers for weeks afterward.

"So it's going to be rough," she offered. "Probably suck a little bit to be honest-"

[daleysebastian]

"More than a little," he admitted. Why was he saying any of this to a relative stranger that was friends with his sister's boyfriend? Sebastian's life was strange.

He had to say it to someone, though, and he was trying not to overburden Jemma with Sabrina. After the disappearing act Sabrina had pulled and her continued annoyance with Jemma, as much as he hated it, Sebastian was trying to let them deal with that - or not - on their own.

"I've messed up with her. A lot. More than is forgivable, probably." He imagined she'd be willing to forgive a lot of things, but the nightmare around the full moon had been when he'd crossed lines he wasn't proud of and hadn't been aware he even could.

[marloww]

"Unforgivable?"

She didn't mean to say it as curiously as she did, but hell, could you blame her? She was standing in the middle of Daley Manor, a place she'd heard about since the beginning of the War and here was Sebastian standing in front of her, no one having seen him since the attack happened. People thinking he was dead along with the rest of his family.

And now his sister was back too? And as a werewolf? Raised by some commune?

It was a lot. And she could sense the frustration in Sebastian from the start. She offered him a half-smile.

"Have you two tried to work any of this out?" she asked gently, trying so hard not to pry.