Disclaimer: My ideas are my own, everything else belongs to their respective owners.

Author's Note: Written for the "So You Think You Know Your Character" Competition. The question tackled in this piece is What sort of relationship do you have with your family? I hope the answer is portrayed throughout the story. Thanks once again to MuggleJane for her help with Beta-ing the chapter.

Annabel Entwhistle

"I am not going!"

This assertion was nothing new, simply a reiteration of an argument that had taken place a number of times throughout the course of the day. Kevin Entwhistle sighed as he watched his sister preparing dinner. She had not even glanced in his direction as she answered.

"Annabel," he tried to reason once more.

"No," she argued stubbornly. With such a stubborn streak ingrained in her personality, Kevin had been surprised to see his sister sorted into Hufflepuff when she'd arrived at Hogwarts two years behind him. "I'm going back to Hogwarts," she continued. "They'll not drive us out of this world; I'm as much of a witch as any person with a lineage behind their names. My wand chose me! No-one else!"

Plates rattled as Kevin brought his fist down on the kitchen table. "You think they'll care about that whilst they're busy killing you?" They'd been heading towards this the whole day. He'd been badgering her relentlessly, trying to convince her that fleeing the country would be their only option. Unfortunately, she had yet to relent. Eventually they'd agreed on a truce for the evening, in the hopes of having a peaceful dinner together.

However, it had not been meant to be, and Kevin had broken the agreement when Annabel began talking about her position on the Quidditch team and whether she'd have to try out again once the year begun. She'd spoken as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place within the past month, something that was unacceptable to him.

"Fleeing will make it look as if we're agreeing with what they're saying," Annabel said easily, ignoring her brother's outburst.

Kevin shifted in his seat, dropping his fist to his side and breathing slowly to calm himself. "Mom and Dad won't forgive me if I got you killed," he said, trying another route.

Annabel's own anger surfaced with those words, her plate clanging slightly as she dropped it onto the table, slightly harder than necessary. By the time she sat down, though, she'd regained her composure somewhat. "Mom and Dad don't know about any of this yet, why scare them unnecessarily?"

How could she reason like this? The thought drifted out of his mind as suddenly as it had entered, he had no time to berate her on her illogical reasoning. "I told them to stay in America, that we'd join them as soon as we knew what the situation with the Wizarding World was. Suffice to say, the situation is not looking great for Muggleborns… we need to go. You're underage; you can't stay here on your own."

Annabel's features had shifted throughout the entirety of the speech. From anger to hate, to pleading and finally defeat. "Why do they hate us so much?" She questioned, a sense of loss colouring her words.

"I don't know," her brother replied. He stood from the table, taking his dish to the sink. He stopped briefly by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Pack your things; we leave as soon as Stephen contacts me."

"What if we get caught?" Annebel asked uncertainly, voicing a fear she'd desperately tried to repress.

Kevin smiled reassuringly. "I won't let that happen… I promise."

With that, he walked over to the sink, his mind reeling with thoughts of an uncertain future. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Annabel's head lowering, as if in prayer. Lord, he said softly. Please don't make me break that promise….