Older Siblings Anonymous

Most people who spent any amount of time with Rebecca O’Brien tended to have one of two opinions about her. She was either a ruthless crusader not to be underestimated, or she was a fun and loyal nurturer who could still knock you on your ass but would also destroy anyone else who tried to do the same. The second group consisted almost entirely of family. The first group was pretty much everyone else. But there were days, although not many, when Becca didn’t feel like being either. When her seemingly endless ambition finally ran out and she got tired of subconsciously keeping an eye on everyone else. And when that rare mood struck, which was generally once every few weeks now that all her siblings were functioning adults and therefore the amount of crises at home had decreased dramatically, Becca would toss her reporter’s notebook in a drawer and head over to the Leaky Cauldron. Most people visited the Leaky for the atmosphere. But Becca could get more than enough of that noisy crowded feeling at the dinner table seeing as four of the five O’Brien siblings still lived in the same house. No, Becca went to the Leaky Cauldron for an entirely different reason. And his name was Jon Ashland.

Becca couldn’t really pinpoint at exactly what moment she and Jon had become friends. It really made no sense given what house rivalry had been like back in their school days. But it had just sort of happened. Having a Muggle parent had made Becca pretty unpopular with her Slytherin housemates, and it had been the Gryffindor boy a year behind her, of all people, who had stepped in to have her back whenever things got particularly out of hand. Then they had discovered they were both the oldest in their families and that relationship had evolved (or maybe devolved, depending on your point of view) into the two of them complaining together about the stupidity of their family members. And now here they were. Well, not exactly. They had lost touch for a fair bit after school. Mostly because Becca’s social life had all but disappeared after her parents died. But shortly after the second war ended she had wandered into the pub to find Jon behind the bar, and it had just gone from there. Now it had become something of a tradition. A way for Becca to cut loose for a while, blow off some steam and act like the fun-loving adult she had never really gotten the chance to be. They shared a few drinks, swapped stories about their siblings, and Jon tried to teach Becca bar tricks. Some of them she could get the hang of. Some not so much. (Stupid cherry stems.) But it was fun and it was all hers, without any of her beloved siblings butting in. In short, the perfect escape.

Tonight the pub was pretty full for a Tuesday. Not so full that there wasn’t still room at the bar though. Becca sat down on one of the bar stools and waved to Jon, settling in to wait until he was done with his other customers. It wasn’t like Becca was going anywhere. Finally though everyone else seemed satisfied and he came down to her end of the bar. Becca was grinning by the time he reached her. “I’ve figured it out,” she said, with no preamble whatsoever. “You got hit by a little old lady. That’s why you won’t tell anyone what happened. It’s too embarrassing to admit you got beaten by a woman half your size and four times your age.” Although little old ladies could certainly be intimidating when they wanted to be. Becca had met more than a few she figured could’ve scared You Know Who himself into being good if they had only gotten the chance. But the idea of one actually punching Jon in the nose was just too funny to pass up. Like most things with Jon, Becca couldn’t really remember how this little game of theirs had gotten started. But it had become a running gag to see who could come up with the best story of how he broke his nose. Might as well have some fun with it seeing as he seemed determined to take the actual truth to his grave. The loser had to buy drinks for the evening. And Becca didn’t lose easily.