Author's Note: Well, this chapter breaks a few records, so let me start off with that.
First, this chapter has the most OC of any other chapter in the entire story. As in, chapters I've already written and all the chapters to come. I really hope it is easy to follow and enjoyable to read. Of course, the only way I'll know that is if you review! ;)
Second, this chapter takes my word count up over 150,000. That's a lot of words! I know I have a long way to go, but I feel pretty good that I'm still writing and you are all still reading.
June 7- Duality
Dean
"So much for some alone time," Ashley whispered with a smile as she and Dean watched three of his four sisters bound towards them with a ball. Dean had to admit that he was slightly disappointed. In the last few weeks, 'alone time' with Ashley had gone from going to the movies, reading comics in the park, or sketching at the museum or the zoo to snogging at the movies, snogging in the park or, well, you get the idea.
But his sisters had arrived. Dean was excited to see them and knew he and Ashley would find some alone time later.
Liz and Vicky were out front, kicking the ball back and forth between them. Dean was taken by how athletic Liz had gotten. He knew she was involved in every school sport possible back home, but having only spent a few days with her before coming to America, he hadn't appreciated how grown up she looked now. Vicky, on the other hand, still had the round, childlike face he'd seen back in August, though now she was smiling instead of crying as she had been when he packed his bag and said his goodbyes all those months ago. Though the girls were only eighteen months apart, it was easy to tell who the eldest sister was.
Megan- Merlin was she really seven now?!- struggled to keep up as her scooter wedged itself in the tall grass. He was glad to see her the most, having missed the chance to be reconciled between the war and his departure. Megan had been born only a few months before Dean went off to Hogwarts. Their relationship was based solely on school holidays and summer vacation and yet he missed her more than the other three girls during his time on the run. Maybe it was because they knew he wasn't going back to school, that he'd likely be in danger. He wasn't sure what his mother told Megan about why he didn't come home for Christmas or Easter, but she didn't ask when Dean and his mother collected the rest of the family at the airport earlier this week. Megan had simply beamed at him and let him pick her up and swing her around like he'd done every time they met him at King's Cross at the end of his school year.
Of all his half-sister's, Megan looked the most like him, the rest bearing a strong resemblance to their biological father, Gary. While the other girls had lighter skin and darker eyes, he and Megan had skin like their mother's; a rich deep brown. They also had her eyes; dark gold with flecks of copper. The most distinguishing characteristic was the Mueller neck, which Seamus said made Dean look like a giraffe, while to Dean, Megan looked more like a gazelle; bright eyed and quick to jump into the mix.
"Fancy some footie?" Vicky said when they reached the blanket he and Ashley were sitting on. She kicked the ball up onto her knees before bouncing it over to Liz.
"Show offs," Dean said and looked to Ashley. "You want to play?"
Ashley knocked back the rest of her Coke and smiled. "Soccer? Yeah, sure."
"It's football, actually," Liz grumbled, peering at Ashley suspiciously.
"Lizzie, shut it," he countered, kicking the ball from under her foot. "Um, listen, Ashley, these are my sisters, sisters, this is Ashley."
Ashley grinned shyly and waved.
"Just 'sisters', huh? We don't even have names anymore?" teased Vicky, returning Ashley's wave with a smile. "I'm Vicky. Alright?"
Ashley furrowed her brow. "Um, I'm fine, thanks. You?"
Dean grinned. "It's an expression. Like how you always ask me 'What's up?' Anyway, I was getting to names, Vick, relax, will you? There's a lot of you and I don't want her to get overwhelmed!"
Vicky laughed and Dean hazarded a glance at Liz who was still bouncing the ball and not looking at any of them.
"So, yeah, this is Vicky, as she already told you. The football star over there is Liz, she's the oldest, if you can't tell. Oi, Lizzie!"
Liz looked up and missed the ball coming back down on her leg and rolling away. "What?"
"I'm doing introductions here."
Liz arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, I heard you. Ashley, right?"
Ashley nodded, looking a little intimidated by Dean's younger sister. Though Ashley was three years older, Liz was taller, leaner and more athletic. She also wasn't coming across as very friendly, much to Dean's annoyance.
"Right, so that leaves this little pain in the arse!" He reached down and grabbed Megan, flipping her less easily than he remembered. Either he was out of shape or she'd put on another stone at least.
"Dean! You can't say that! I'm telling Mum!" Megan yelled, giggling all the while as he righted her. "Alright, alright, calm yourself. This is Megan. Megan, this is my friend Ashley."
Megan tucked herself slightly behind Dean and waved shyly. "Hi."
Ashley smiled at him and then dropped her eyes back to his little sister. "Hi. I like your dress."
Megan jumped out from behind Dean immediately at the compliment. "Thanks! I got it for my birthday. It has owls on it. Owls are my favorite animal. Do you have an owl?"
Ashley laughed and shook her head. "No, I don't have an owl. Do you?"
Dean was beginning to feel uncomfortable. They were treading into dangerous territory. Although Megan knew that Dean's "special powers" were a secret, she was a little kid and still didn't really understand what she could and couldn't say around strangers.
"No! Mum won't let us get one. But Seamus has an owl. His name is Brian."
Ashley laughed again and looked at Dean. Dean's face must've shown something other than amusement because she asked, "Does Seamus really have an owl?"
Dean snorted and rolled his eyes. "You know it. An owl. An owl named Brian. You heard the girl!"
They both laughed and Megan, growing bored, plopped down on their blanket. "What are these?" she asked, flipping through the comic books. Ashley knelt next to her and Dean felt a surge of affection at seeing the two of them together. Ashley was so sweet. Ginny was nice, but she was more rough around the edges, likely from having all those brothers. Ashley's kindness never seemed to falter.
"They're comics," Ashley said, holding them out for Megan to see. "My friend draws this one. Pretty cool, huh?"
Megan held up the book. "Do they move?" she asked. Uh-oh.
Ashley giggled. "No, they're just drawings in books, it's not like TV or anything."
Megan looked up at Dean with an expression that said 'What's her deal?' and asked, "Do you have any of the ones that move?" He shook his head quickly and tried to come up with some quick reasoning when Vicky shouted at them.
"Oi! Are we playing or not because we have to be back in an hour!" she called from where she and Liz were kicking the ball around a few feet away. Dean was grateful for the distraction.
"Yeah! You girls want to play footie?" he asked, nudging his foot against Megan's knee, playfully.
Ashley nodded and stood up. "Sure, but, um, the rules are the same, as soccer right?" she asked quietly, looking embarrassed.
"Yeah," he replied, reaching down and squeezing her hand. "But they cheat so don't worry about it."
"I'm ref!" Megan yelled, lying back against the blanket now with her face buried in a comic book.
"You two are so good at this game!" Ashley wailed a half hour later as Vicky passed Liz the ball and Liz kicked it easily over Ashley's head to score yet another goal.
The two girls high-fived and Dean shouted, "Alright, alright, you two are the ruling queens. I quit!"
All four girls laughed and Dean felt outnumbered, which was nothing new. Dean had been overwhelmingly outnumbered by women since he was four years old. The only difference was that now one of his opposition was also snogging him.
"Ew!" the younger girls yelled as Ashley placed a loud, wet kiss on Dean's cheek. "Don't be a sore loser, babe. Girls are just better at soccer…sorry football!" she added quickly before she was corrected again.
"Yeah Dean, it isn't Quidditch!" Vicky said, jokingly, until Liz shoved her in the shoulder.
"What's kiddish?" Ashley asked, grinning.
Dean panicked. He glared at Vicky, who had the decency to look ashamed then said quickly, "I think she said British. Fancy a lemonade?" He then walked purposefully towards the cart vendor and bought a round of lemonades before she could answer.
When he turned around he was relieved to see that Ashley had become distracted by Liz, who was bouncing the ball off different parts of her body, not letting it touch the ground.
"You should play in America. Women's soccer is pretty popular here. I guess not as popular as in England though." Dean gave her an amused look. "Football, whatever. We already have a sport called football, you know."
"Yeah, it's like rugby, but boring," Dean joked, handing her a plastic cup. She took it but looked grave. "Don't let my dad hear you say that, he loves football! Football and baseball! I think he loves the Yankees more than he loves me!"
"What's baseball?" Megan asked.
"It's the American pastime!" Ashley replied. "We should all go to a game this summer, it'll be awesome!"
Dean watched as Ashley sat on the blanket and chatted happily with his sisters. Megan was obviously already sold on her as she sat behind Ashley now and played with her hair, trying to push wildflowers into the soft shiny curls. Vicky also seemed to approve while Liz was obviously still on the fence. Dean knew was understandable, as Liz had always been very protective of him. She was fourteen now, the oldest sister, and they shared a special bond that he didn't really have with the other three, younger, girls.
"I'm hungry!" Megan declared suddenly, having finished the daisy crown that was sitting askew on Ashley's head.
"Yeah, all right, Megs. Mum said we were supposed to collect you, Dean. She wants us to have lunch all together," Vicky said.
Dean sighed and looked over at Ashley. She had already begun cleaning up their usual spot under the big maple tree.
"Um, Ash, you want to join us?"
Ashley looked surprised by his invitation, then pleased, but shook her head. "I can't. I need to go home anyway. It's my turn to make dinner."
"I want dinner!" Megan shouted and Ashley laughed.
"Maybe I'll make it for you sometime," Ashley replied and Megan tucked herself behind Dean, suddenly becoming shy again for no reason.
Dean grabbed Ashley's hand and pulled her close, kissing her cheek and ignoring the "Ewww!" Megan let forth and she ran back towards her older sisters.
"See you tomorrow?" Dean asked and she shook her head.
"I can't. My dad's back, I should probably spend some time with him."
Dean nodded, realizing he had never heard her speak about her father before. He was about to ask when Vicky butted in. "Where was he?"
Ashley looked uncomfortable but said, "Um, he was away. For work."
Dean's sisters had already lost interest it seemed, as they were back to passing the ball. This time they were following Megan, who was marching ahead of them dragging her scooter and declaring her love of dinner.
"Guess I should go. Have fun with your dad."
"Huh? Oh yeah. Alright. I'll call you tomorrow," Ashley said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before walking the opposite direction of his sisters. Dean thought she seemed distracted after the mention of her father and made a mental note to try and bring it up at a better time. He scooped up the blanket and comics and with a quick tap of his wand shrunk the bundle to shove in his pocket. Then he ran after his sisters.
"Mum, what the hell is this?" Liz said, poking at the food on her plate.
"Elizabeth," Sharon Thomas chided, plopping a plate down in front of Dean roughly. It was piled high with noodles, rice mixed with vegetables and a few fried dumpling things.
"It's Indian, isn't it?" Dean said, picking up the crunchy tube-shaped object and biting into it. It was delicious.
"It's Chinese," his mother said, and then looked at him with a furrowed brow. "How is it? Your Gran recommended it."
Dean smiled as he chewed. "Completely brilliant!"
That was all the reassurance Megan needed and she dove into her plate, almost literally.
"Eat slowly, Margaret," Sharon said and Megan pouted at her. "Don't call me Margaret, Mum!"
Vicky snorted and dug in to her own plate. "This is pretty choice, Mum. Good call."
"Thank you, dear. I'm going to get Anne up from her nap. You all start without me."
Dean smirked as he and two of his sisters were already enthusiastically eating the new cuisine of the day. Since coming to New York, Dean had tried every new thing he could get his hands on. Aside from hot dogs, it had all been fantastic. Ashley still couldn't figure that one out though.
"You don't like it, Lizzie?" he asked, slurping up one of the long salty noodles.
Liz pulled a face at her plate. "Sort of weird, innit? I think this one has egg in it," she said, picking through the rice with her fork and examining every ingredient.
Dean shrugged. "You think too much. It tastes great."
Liz looked up at him with a sour expression. "You don't think enough," she stated plainly and he paused mid chew. "What are you on about?" he asked as his mother returned to the table clutching little three-year old Annie to her chest.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Dean! Honestly, you're like a herd of cattle!" she said, though looking slightly amused as always. Dean watched as she offered a noodle to Annie, who chewed on it happily.
He swallowed and looked back at Liz. "You were saying?"
Liz eyed their mother but then turned to look at him defiantly. "I was saying you are being a little reckless, don't you think? With Ashley?"
"Who's Ashley?" their mother said and Dean glared daggers at Liz.
In response Liz gave him a pointed look, a mischievous smile on her face. "Dean's girlfriend."
Dean saw his mother's head turn with lightning speed to look at him. "What? You have a girlfriend? Since when?"
Dean groaned and focused his gaze back on his plate. "Thanks, a lot, Liz."
"Dean?" his mother pressed and he looked back at her.
"She's not my girlfriend. I mean, I don't know. I guess she is. I told you about her, Mum."
Sharon furrowed her brow. "Oh, you mean 'your friend'?" She tried to make little quotes around Annie's squirming form. "You talk about her like she's a bloke, Dean! I had no idea you were involved with someone!"
Liz was wearing a look of triumph on her face at this development while Vicky kept her eyes on her plate and Megan looked at everyone curiously, mouth overflowing with food.
"Yeah," Liz continued, and Dean wished he could put a silencing charm on her, as he knew what would come next. "And Mum, she's a Muggle!"
"Muggle!" Annie repeated, as it was her favorite word of the moment. "Muggle, muggle! I'm a muggle! Mummy is a muggle-muggle!"
"Shhh, Anne," Sharon said, turning his youngest sister towards the table so she could eat from her mother's plate. "Is this true, Dean? What are you going to do?"
Liz snorted. "Ditch her, obviously. I mean, she's American, and a Muggle. We're only here for the summer."
Dean rounded on his sister. "I'm not ditching her, Liz! And I don't know why you don't like her! She was really nice to you today."
"She's pretty," Megan supplied between mouthfuls of rice.
"Lower your voice, Dean. Elizabeth, stop antagonizing your brother. Victoria-"
"What did I do?!" Vicky said with her mouth full and Dean's mother exhaled heavily through her nose in exasperation.
"Besides having zero table manners, nothing. You're just being awfully quiet. What do you think?"
Dean hated these 'open forum' discussions. Dean's parents were of the mind that a family should be run like a community, with everyone have a say and being allowed to voice their opinion. This was offset, however, by Sharon's penchant for barking half-hearted admonishments at her children all day long.
Vicky just shrugged, giving her older sister a sidelong glance. "Dunno. She's cool, I suppose. I reckon Dean can do what he likes. I mean, you dated a wizard, didn't you Mum?"
Dean glanced back over at his mother. He had forgotten. How had he forgotten?! His mother had married a wizard!
"Seeing as it was Dean's father, I think it's safe to say I did a whole lot more than date a wizard," she replied coolly and Dean almost choked.
"Mum!" he and Liz shouted in stereo.
"What?! We were married! But, yes, I agree with you dear," she said to Vicky, who looked a little uncomfortable due to the glare now being directed her way by Liz.
"Dean, you need to be very careful here, but if you like her, I'm happy for you. You deserve some good things in your life after this past year."
Dean flushed and looked down at his plate. "Thanks, Mum."
His focus was brought up suddenly when Liz slammed her fork down against the table and stalked out of the room.
"Elizabeth!" his mother called and Annie mimicked her. "'lizbeth! 'lizbeth!"
"Oh, for the love…" his mother began but Dean cut her off.
"I'll go, Mum," Dean said, hastily, putting down his own fork and making his way his sisters' bedroom.
He knocked and was met with silence.
"Liz…"
He knocked again.
"Sod off!"
"You know I can magic this door open, right?"
A few seconds later he heard her dramatically stomping over to the door. It opened slightly.
"What?"
"Let me in."
"No. Piss off."
Dean rolled his eyes and pushed the door open, walking past her into the dark, messy room.
Liz slammed the door and crossed her arms tightly over her chest, glaring at him.
"What are you so angry about, Liz? I don't get why you are being like this!"
Liz huffed at him and crossed the room, plopping down on the sofa bed with a squeak of springs. Dean watched her for a moment, trying to figure out what the problem was. He was about to ask if it was that time of the month when he noticed she was crying.
"Lizzie? Hey! Come on now…" Dean crossed the room quickly and knelt in front of her.
"You should be more excited to see me," she said quietly, wiping her eyes.
"What?"
Liz sniffed. "You were gone forever, Dean. I thought you were dead. We've been here for a week now and where are you? Off snogging some American girl who you're just going to forget about in a few months."
Dean was silent for a while as he let her words sink in. He fell back to sit on his heels.
"Well, bollocks."
Liz sniffed again and looked up at him. "Yeah."
Dean got up and sat next to his sister, placing an arm around her. Though she had grown significantly in the past year, she was still a slight, wiry thing that folded into him easily.
"I'm really sorry, Lizzie. Honest. I wasn't trying to ignore you or anything. I'm really chuffed you all are here. I just, I dunno. I got into a routine, with Ash. Mum brought me out to New York to what? Spend all day with Gran and Pop-Pop?"
Liz let a grin slip.
"Listen, I promise I'll spend loads more time with you alright?"
Liz nodded. "Yeah, alright."
"But, hey, look," he began and she looked up at him with watery eyes. "Um, I'm not ditching Ashley. I really like her. Like, a bloody lot."
Liz furrowed her brow. "But, she's a mug-"
"I know. And I know she lives in America and I know she's still in high school. But I like her. And I want you to like her, Lizzie. Can you give her a chance? Please?"
Liz frowned. "I really don't want to."
Dean couldn't help but laugh. "I know. But will you try anyway? You're still my second."
Liz seemed to cheer at the memory of the title Dean had given her when Megan was born. Often, when their mother was busy, Dean was put in charge of the girls. Because Dean was not really keen to look after three young girls at the age of 11, he made Liz his Second in Command. Then, when he got the letter saying he'd be going off to Hogwarts, he reminded her of this position and how important it was that she look after the others while he was gone.
Apparently she never stopped taking that role seriously.
"Fine," she conceded after a minute of silence. "But you better hang out with me, seriously. Without her. Like, all the time."
Dean laughed. "Yeah, ok, fine. Does that apply when Seamus comes to visit too? Should I kick him out on the streets?" He gave her his wickedest grin and was not disappointed when her cheeks turned rosy.
"Seamus is visiting? When? Why didn't you tell me?"
Dean pushed against her slightly. "I can't believe you still fancy him!"
"I don't! I just didn't know!"
"Yeah, well now you do!" he teased, squeezing her arm lovingly. "Listen, are we okay?"
Liz leaned her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, we're cool."
"Brilliant. I'm gonna go clean your plate then," he said, shoving her lightly onto the bed and rushing to the door.
"Hey! No, I was gonna eat it! Dean!" she shouted, chasing him back out into the hall.
"Walking, please!" their mother yelled from the kitchen and Dean and Liz slowed to a quick walk upon entering the dining room.
Dean's youngest sister Anne was now sitting in her booster seat eating the Chinese food with determined ferocity. While the other two seemed to have already forgotten there had been any sort of disturbance at all.
"Hey, where's my plate?" Liz said, peering at the table.
Dean's mother came back into the room holding a fresh plate of food for Liz.
"Here, yours spilled. Sorry dear."
Dean was taken aback when his mother gave him a pointed look.
"What?"
Their mother walked close to him so she could actually chew him out. In Dean's house you knew you weren't in trouble as long as Mum was yelling. If she was quiet, it was serious.
"I don't care if you are angry, you cannot use magic in front of the girls like that Dean. Plus, tipping her plate over? That's childish."
Dean furrowed his brow. "I didn't!"
Sharon gave him an exasperated look. "So, what? It just fell off the table of its own accord?"
Dean shook his head. "Honestly, Mum, I didn't do it. Or, well, I didn't do it on purpose. I swear."
His mother looked at him for a moment, scanning for whatever tell he had that gave away his lies.
"Fine. Come finish your food," she said finally, turning back to the table of girls.
Liz and Vicky were both giving him confused looks. He just shrugged at them and returned to the table.
"Did you know Seamus was coming to visit?" Liz asked Vicky as soon as everyone was sitting down again. Vicky glanced in shock between Dean and their mother. Dean barely suppressed an eye roll.
"Yes, and Katie as well? Your Grandparents are going to Maine for the week so we'll have to do a little rearranging but I think we'll all fit. Speaking of which," Sharon added, getting up yet again and walking over to the kitchen counter. "He sent you a letter." She passed an envelope over to him and Dean could see both Liz and Vicky staring at it as if it held the secrets to the universe.
"Mum! When was there an owl?" Megan whined, breaking the silence. "Was it Brian? What kind of owl was it? Can't we get an owl?"
Dean's mother rolled her eyes and plopped back down into her chair, looking exhausted. "No, Megan, it was sent regular mail. And we aren't getting an owl."
"Regular mail?" Liz repeated. "Wow," Vicky added and Dean laughed, giving his mother a look.
"Maybe Seamus and Katie should stay in a hotel while they are out. I feel like these two are going to be a problem."
Dean,
I have good news and bad news. The good news is, I found a shop. Well, we found a shop. Katie was with me when we saw it. It's down a bit from the main drag but it's dead cheap. I mean, I'll probably put another 1000 galleons into it just fixing it up, but that's still much less than Fred and George paid for their shop.
Katie is working for her dad for the summer. An internship in the financial bureau of the Ministry. Fancy, eh? I was hoping that once we bought this place she'd come and help me but she says it'll be good for us. She'll learn how to run the business so it doesn't go under. I guess that's smart.
Now for the bad news. Katie can't come to New York at all and I can only come for a few days. I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it at all, but the sale closes on the 20th, so I can make it out for the beginning of my time off from George's and then I'll have to leave on Sunday. Guess that's better than nothing.
How are things going with your muggle girl? She suspect anything yet? I don't know how you do it. I wouldn't be able to hide that part of myself from my girlfriend, but then again Katie says I'm about as subtle as a dragon at the opera, whatever that means.
Will I get to meet her when I come? I guess if you aren't planning to tell her than I better be prepared to be a muggle. Maybe I can borrow someone's Muggle Studies notes, or hang out with Justin a bit. Did you hear he's back? I'm glad he isn't dead, I think he's my favorite Hufflepuff. Is it wrong to have a favorite?
Oh, my dad is back. I mean, back for real. He's moving back in. Can you believe it? I tried to call you when they told me, but I couldn't figure out the damn telephone. So I guess that's good news too!
Write soon. I'll see ya in a few.
Seamus
Dean placed the letter back on his small desk and sighed. He was a little disappointed that Katie wasn't coming, but in fact, he was also a bit pleased. He hadn't spent time alone with his best mate in almost a year. It'd be good to show him around the city without having to watch them snog and hold hands the entire time. He was however, worried about what Seamus said, about being a muggle. Katie had it right. It would probably be about ten minutes before Seamus summoned something.
He needed a plan.
He pulled out a quill and parchment and thought about what he wanted to say in this letter. While Dean was glad to have his mother's approval, he needed advice from someone on the magical side of the muggle/wizard relationship.
George,
Hey, Dean here, your roommate from Muriel's! How's it going? Seamus tells me the shop is back in full swing, which is great to hear. I'll need to place an order with him before he comes out. I'm really missing all my WWW merch.
Listen, the reason I'm writing is because of what you mentioned about your ex-girlfriend. Emma, was it? I've found myself in a similar situation and was wondering if you had any advice about if I should tell her. I know you said you told Emma but I was wondering how you went about it and what happened after you all ended it.
I know I'm asking a lot of really personal questions right now, but I don't really have anyone else to ask. My dad never even told my mum he was a wizard and they were married with a kid! So any advice you could give me would really help.
I know you're busy with the shop, but if you could write me back when you get a chance I'd appreciate it. Even if I don't tell her anytime soon, it might be nice to have some ideas before she's in the same room with Seamus and something randomly explodes.
Thanks,
Dean
Dean rolled up the parchment and sealed it with his wand. Tomorrow he'd take Megan with him to 85th ½ Ave. to send it via owl. That would tide her over.
A/N 2: There you have it! (Almost) the entire Thomas family! Whew!
Not to be a broken record, but please review! And if you do review, please log in! I can't respond to reviews if you're a guest and I really try to respond to all reviews.
Either way, thanks for reading and sticking with me. Katie's next, followed by Lee Jordan!