Dustin: Chapter 1 - Family Ties, and the Knots that Cause Them
Dustin Elle Cladis stood with her arms crossed in the middle of the front doorway. Her face rested with it's usual indifference as she watched her parents head down the driveway and onto the cement sidewalk. A sigh escaped Dustin's previously relaxed red lips as she stared holes into the backs of their heads; not an intentional gesture, just a nervous tick she didn't like to admit to.
"Mum and Dad are going out again, huh?" A familiar voice sounded from behind an unsuspecting Dustin, but two presences could be felt as four, almost ninja feet crept up behind her, instead of the regular two.
"Wonder what's on their minds this time 'round..." Finished an almost identical male voice from the second being. If Dustin was capable of turning around at that moment, she would have, but seeing as her two twin brothers of 12 were using her as an armrest, she wasn't really given an option.
Another sigh.
"Why do you two even care?" Dustin inquired her American accent giving a certain carelessness to her voice that had made a home there recently. "It's not like they're talking about you..." Before Dustin was born, Her family had moved to America for a little family business trip. They planned on staying for a few years, maybe even more than just a few if things couldn't be helped. So when Dustin came about-she was not expected as the other children had been before her-her parents had decided that maybe a different upbringing for her was the way to go, and stayed in America. Max was sent back to England in order to start his schooling at Hogwarts, and was arranged to stay with Aunt Lorena over the summer. Two and a half years after Dustin's arrival into the world, Lando Cladis came along. Around that same time, Dustin started showing signs of possessing magic. After the twins had gotten their acceptance letters, Dustin's parents decided it was time to move back, now that Olivia, and the twins were attending Hogwarts. Nine and a half years in America resulted in Dustin's American accent.
"And how would you know, Ms. Smarty Pants?" The twin with his left elbow digging into Dustin's shoulder turned his head to look down at her.
"What makes you so sure of that?" The twin on the right followed suit and the two smirked in unison as if a previously mentioned point had been made, or a silent bet had been won.
"They've been talking a lot longer than normal about this one..." Dustin ran her pale and slender fingers through her dark brown bangs, going into an observation mode that the twins, Lysander and Kyle, absolutely adored. They adored this ability of Dustin's, to analyse and process acute details quicker than most, simply because they moved too quickly on a regular basis to pay any attention at all to anything. Listening to her rattle off the little things and coming to solid and sensible conclusions was like catching up on the biggest Daily Prophet scoop ever. Anticipated and exhilarating. In the least bit, it was entertaining when there was nothing else to fill the void.
For a moment, there was a mutual silence. Whether it was being shared between all three sentient beings that occupied the doorway, or just the two nearly identical ones was never determined as Dustin continued.
"Nothing interesting happens around here...especially to us. Fact in case. Hogwarts would be the only plausible thing for them to talk about, even though my eleventh birthday isn't for another year." She pressed her middle fingers lightly to her temples and began to rub in counter clockwise circular motions, thinking deeply. "I'm the closest to entering. There's almost no plausible way it's not about me, and/or my attendance at Hogwarts..."
Now this is what troubled the older brunette and redheaded siblings. Dustin was a brilliant mind; there was no denying it. Clever, quick, and sometimes even described as cunning, but her imagination and "on-the-spot" creativity would often get in the way of the plausibility behind her conclusions and caused her to further her thought process, although the situation hardly ever called for it. Kyle, the redhead of the two, turned to his brother, giving him a quick nod of affirmation. He and his brother then complied with each other's actions and movements to turn their younger sister from the still open door, and keep their arms rested in place, all at the same time.
Lysander kicked the door closed behind the three, not even caring to look back, as they never did when they were focused or determined to do something. "Don't think too much of it Dust..." He trailed off, hoping for his brother to pick up the slack as he always had.
"Mum and dad had the same conversation about Lysander and I."
"And Liv and Max." Lysander put in.
"And they will have this talk when it's Lando's turn to join the three of us at Hogwarts..."
The two seemed to have thought that their antics were working, but thought wrong.
"No...Mom and Dad never had a talk about anything when time came for you to join Olivia..." She broke out from underneath the two, causing them to fall inward on each other before regaining their balance. They stared at her, waiting to hear what would next come out of her mouth. "They're scared about the results of my Sorting Ceremony..." A slight twitch quirked at the corner of Dustin's lips as she pushed her glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose.
"And what makes you say that?" The two asked in a synchronised fashion, both raising an eyebrow. They weren't honestly sure whether they were asking out of pure curiosity, or just because they wanted to hear Dustin's theory and proof.
"Everyone's scared of the fifth child. They're scared first off because of their presence in the first place. The fifth child shouldn't be there, but they are. The fifth child is usually the mistake...the screw up...the odd man out." The twins looked at each other in a slightly dazed confusion. Was this really the Dustin they grew up with? She still had that deductive reasoning about her, but something made the twins a bit more on edge about this time around, and they couldn't discern their feelings about it. Something scared them about how unfazed Dustin looked about what she was saying, but instead of trying to comfort her, they let her continue. "I'm no exception..." A small grin played off her lips. "And they know that..."
"Mum and Dad?"
"Oh, everyone, now that I've explained it to you..." And with that, Dustin walked up the stairwell they had ended up in front of, leaving the two twins to a curious glance towards one another.
"You don't suppose she means...?" Lysander began.
"We have yet to have one in the family..." Kyle finished. One final, silenced glance, then a single phrase spoken in perfect sync.
"Nah..."
"My money's on Ravenclaw..."
"Bet Mum will be happy to hear that..."
"Forget Mum! I'm hoping for Olivia and Dustin's relationship's sake!" Kyle cried, then quickly silenced himself. He and his brother looked up the stairs, their blue orbs following the path that their younger sister took up moments before.
"You wouldn't mind...would you?"
"What?"
"If she were to be Sorted there...you wouldn't hold it against her?"
"Kyle...I could never..."
Suspecting Ravenclaw would have been appropriate had Dustin not felt the sudden urge to steal her brothers' cat, Dorothy. She loved that cat, possibly more than she loved her brothers, but when she really thought about it, that cat couldn't show her affection like her brothers could, and she knew she'd need them if this story was to go according to everyone's plan…
That wasn't going to stop her from taking the cat, however.
"Come, 'ere, Dorothy," Dustin hefted the cat in her arms to keep her from falling. The black and white cat-whose feet had been stained with red kool-aid at a very early age, earning her her name-meowed in a lame attempt to protest, but, being the lazy cat that she was, didn't fight back much more than that. Nor did she honestly have a problem with Dustin's constant excursions that involved her, she just felt obligated to show some sort of resistance for the twins sake; A.K.A. her owners.
Making her way down the hall, Dustin leisurely held the calm cat in whatever position it pleased. They had a strong, mutual bond, but, again, it's not gonna benefit the story in anyway…
Dustin took a hard left at her bedroom door, and turned the knob skillfully, all while holding the cat in her arms. Once successfully opened, the door was immediately shoved to the side and kicked once more, as soon as Dustin had made her entrance.
"Alright, kitty-cat…" She said, whipping out her eldest brother's wand that she had also "borrowed" turning to face the cat now strewn on her bed. "What do you say to a little transfiguration-?" Her sentence had barely had time to leave her mouth and reach the unsuspecting cat's ears when a loud noise erupted from the doorway. The wand the young brunette girl held in her hand went off in correlation to the sudden shock she had experienced, turning poor Dorothy's tail to straw.
"Dustin?" Olivia Cladis, a sixth year Gryffindor at Hogwarts who prided herself on said title, stormed into the room, glancing down at the cat on her younger sister's bed. She paused, clearly, whatever she had come to say in the first place held no importance of any kind. "Is that Dorothy?"
"No…" Dustin hid the wand behind her back quickly, trying her best not to smile and to keep the mischievous glint out of her eyes.
"Dustin Elle Cladis!" Olivia, who was a natural redhead, much like Kyle, tried to snatch the wand from her still-to-be-Sorted sister, but had very little luck in retrieving it. In the commotion, Dorothy, with tail still straw, leapt off the bed, and raced for the open door, seeing that as her only chance for escape without further damage. "You know underage wizards are forbidden from practicing magic outside of school!"
She clawed at the wand behind Dustin's back, but held no yield as her younger sister skillfully evaded her.
"Well, it's a good thing I don't go to school yet, isn't it?" Dustin replied, a firm smirk plastered to her lips.
"You…" Olivia gritted her teeth trying to keep her agitated shrieking to a minimum, that was, until Dustin got a little too clever for Olivia's liking. A quick, spastic bolt of light flew from the tip of the wand Dustin held tight in her hand, and went straight for Olivia. "YOU!"
"Uh oh…" Dustin dropped the wand, finding the best route to take out of her room. Her eyes flit from place to place, to her sister, then back to places. "I've unleashed the monster!" A thrilled laugh escaped Dustin's lips, while a growl emanated from her sisters.
"Monster…oh, I'll show you monster! Come 'ere!" Lunging for the young brunette was Olivia's second mistake in that last forty-three seconds…and counting. Her first: wondering what Dustin was up to in the first place.
"Troll in the dungeons! Troll in the dungeons!" Dustin shrieked as she raced out of the room and barreled down the stairs. It took a moment, but the words Dustin had just said registered in her mind as familiar somehow, and the thought of hearing them before caused Dustin to grind to a halting stop halfway down. "Boy does that sound familiar…"
"Dustin…?" The twins voice's derailed her train of thought. "What happened to Dorothy's tail…?"
"Uhh...I - "
"Dustin!"
"What'd you do?" The redheaded and brunette twins both raised an eyebrow, and continued to speak in sync, something Dustin quite enjoyed honestly.
"Long story…then again…this is the beginning of a book series so…"
"What are you on about - ?"
"Dustin!" Another voice, a young man's voice called from above the three.
"Yes, brother dear?" Dustin turned, glancing up - a huge smile gracing her pale features - to see her elder brother Max standing up at the top of the staircase, leaning over it to look skeptically at her.
"Have you seen my wand, sister dear?" His tone was jokingly formal. "I seem to have misplaced it."
"Oh, do check my room, Maxwell." By this time, Dustin had on her British accent. No, she didn't normally speak with one, but she did have one.
And a bloody excellent one at that! She thought pridefully. Continuing her and her brother's game, she took a moment to glance behind her and notice Olivia's small stealthy steps down the staircase. "I got a hot tip that the floor is the best place to find stolen, and by stolen, I do of course, mean borrowed wands." Dustin made her way down the stairs as her sister gained.
Max could only smirk down at his younger sisters as he straighten his back and headed for Dustin's room.
"Oh, and Maxwell!" Dustin called up one last time. "You didn't hear that from me…" She placed her hand below her chin, drawing it back and forth slowly as she shook her head.
"Of course not."
"Alright," Dustin waltzed hastily over to the twins, who were, at that time, holding their cat. "Well, If we're done here, I'll just…" Dustin took the cat in her arms. "Take that."
"Dustin! Put it back!" Olivia shouted from the bottom of the staircase. Dustin only smiled guiltily and scurried off.
"Oh, Olivia, please, it's fine." Lysander assured her. "Worse things could, and have, happened to that cat."
"We're surprised she's still alive!" Kyle continued.
"Not the cat, you idiot's!" Olivia screamed scrambling over to her younger twin brothers.
"Dustin has your wand, Ky."
"Wh- wait. What?" Kyle raised his arms, glancing down at the wand sheath strapped loosely around his waist. Low and behold, his wand was missing.
"Dustin!" Was a collective shout all throughout the house.
Max had discovered his wand, but it had been severally damaged.
Olivia was still on Dustin's tail about being called a troll, and using magic outside of school.
Kyle and Lysander needed their cat, and Kyle's wand back;
And Dustin's parents had arrived home, calling for her promptly as they walked in.
Hearing their cries for their daughter reverberating through the house, Cody Cladis, Dustin's dad, stopped, glancing at all of his kids as he and his wife stood idle in the doorway.
"What'd she do this time?"
"Wand!" Was all Cody heard before a few, on cue explosions sounded from the basement.
"Dustin Elle!"
"So, remind me again why we're letting little miss 'Wreck-Everything-and-Run' go to Hogwarts again?"
"Olivia!" Dustin's parents didn't even have chance to intervene, as their twin sons had done so already. "Mind your tongue!" Kyle and Lysander wrapped their arms around the tiny Dustin, who stood still, afraid to provoke anyone. Or just too lazy to get away if she did end up provoking anyone.
"Poor little Dustin would never hurt a - yeah, I don't know where I was going with that." Kyle patted Dustin's head absently.
"Could you guys get off of me?" Dustin asked, glaring at her parents for help.
"Sorry, sweetie." Thalia, Dustin's mom, shrugged giving her a teasing smile as she titled her head to the side.
"No you're not." Dustin's eyes narrowed at her mother's still smiling face. Dustin's dad turned to his wife and gave her the same look. Thalia burst into fits of laughter.
"We promised the twins, that when you were born, they could help raise you and intervene as they saw fit."
"So that's why I'm so messed up." Dustin concluded, a fist connecting with her palm.
"Hey!" The twins cried defensively mirroring each other actions. Their hands went immediately for their hips, and their faces rested on Dustin.
"I'd like to think we've done a pretty successful job of raising you!" Lysander remarked.
"Quite!" Kyle completed
"Alright..." Dustin shoved past her family members and headed for the stairs.
"Where're ya goin', Dusty?" Dustin's father called from the doorway they were all standing at, impatiently waiting for the arrival of Dustin's acceptance letter to Hogwarts.
"My letter's not coming with today's mail, Dad." She stated as a matter of fact, as if it were a total no brainer.
"What are you on about?" He continued. "Of course it's comin'!" He tried to sound supportive. "It is your eleventh birthday!"
"Not until 11:59, Dad."
"What does she mean by that?" Max strolled up to his parents, concern starting to glaze his features. His concern soon seeped into the twins' expressions as they too, took a few steps closer.
"Maybe she know's something we don't?" Cody Cladis shrugged, a hopeful tone to his voice.
"That's all the time, Dad." Olivia huffed, her arms crossed as she stared in the direction of the staircase.
"Well, all there is to do, is wait, then."
"I swear, if she's right about this, we need to get her tested as a - " Thalia Cladis glanced down at her youngest son, Lando, who was tugging at her shirt for attention. " 'P-S - "
"Lando can spell, Mum..." Max reminded her bluntly. "We can all spell."
The twins smiled deviously at each other.
"You know what kind of spell I meant." Max corrected them without even giving them so much as a glance. Their expressions dropped.
"I told you! I. Told. You!"
"Congratulations, sister dear! Now go to bed!"
"One more word, I will come in there and - "
"You will do nothing to hurt our baby!"
"She's not your baby!"
"Go to bed! …How ironic."
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