Making Things Right (Sept 4)

[Snick]

Lorccan walked into the cafeteria, backpack with his schoolbooks and other supplies over one shoulder. He wore a t-shirt underneath the school jacket, which he left open. His tie was hanging around his neck, untied. Today Lorccan actually did wear his uniform slacks, other times he just wore jeans. He really hated the uniform.



He scanned the seats till he spotted his sister. He headed straight for her, deciding to talk with her first, then grab something to eat. What he was tempted to do was just toss her note at her, then walk out again..but after thinking about it half the night, he did realize he was carrying this on too far.



"Siobhan, a note slipped under the door magically 'cause you can't come to knock upon it, just not going to cut it. So, if you have something you want to say, best you do it in person. So, here I am, and I am listening." Lorccan said without even a good morning.



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Siobhan started to get angry, but backed up and decided to get this over with. "I'm not even allowed in your hallway. And you were avoiding me. That's why I wrote you a note. I know a note isn't the best way. I'm sorry. The note was to say I'm sorry for embarrassing you by scolding you in front of our friends. That was wrong. You're my brother and my best friend and you didn't deserve me doing that to you. In the meanwhile, I hope you worked things out with Zot." She could have looked down at her hands and looked appropriately embarrassed, but she didn't. This was her brother. She glared at him right in the eye and challenged him to make things worse or work it out.



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"I know girls can't get to my dorm door, but considering the last time I wanted to talk with you, I had one of the other girls send a note I wanted to talk, I would have thought you would have done the same." Lorccan explained. "By having a note magically fly underneath my door...kind of made me think you didn't want to make much effort to see me face to face, or worthy of apologizing face to face."



"And yeah I worked things out with Zot."



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"Then I forgive you for hurting his feelings. Do you forgive me for acting like I was mom instead of your sister?" she asked.



"Next time I put you in your place it won't be in front of our friends. I'll tell you privately." She grinned broadly. "And if you ever have to put me in my place, I hope you'll do the same . . . tell me privately." She gave him a gentle punch in the arm. Okay, not completely gentle.



"Did that wind keep you up last night? I barely slept at all."



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"And I forgive you for chewing me out in front of everybody...and getting picked by the stupid lighthouse." Lorccan felt better...he hated being angry at his sister just as he hated having her angry at him. "You are my favorite sister and well, you are very important to me and I can't be angry at you for long. Its just too lonely and sad."



He put his backpack down and pulled out a chair to sit at her table. "Never heard the wind at all. Don't tell me you are still scared of storms? If you want you can always invite me to the lighthouse next stormy night and I will hold you so you can sleep like we used to do late at night in Boston."



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Siobhan wished she could have him overnight, but was fairly certain the answer was no. "I'll ask our adviser if I can have you stay over some time. I've always been afraid of storms. I wished I could have had you there last night. I ended up staying up half the night drinking cocoa, since I couldn't sleep."



Siobhan sighed. "The lighthouse is noisier than the dorms. Colder too. I don't know what I'm doing out there, Lorccan."



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"Who knows why the Lighthouse picked you. Its just a lighthouse somebody got carried away in enchanting, so now its sentient. I can't see why there would be any problem with me spending the night." Lorccan shrugs. "I can see it being noisier since its rather exposed, sitting on a rock in the middle of the ocean just off shore. If you want you can have my heavy PJ's to wear. I always find them too hot but Mom keeps insisting I pack them each year."



"So, just what does that Lighthouse make you keepers do?" Lorccan decided to ask what he had been dying to ask since he learned Siobhan had been picked, at least once he calmed down.



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"Take care of the light, keep the school and students protected--but not like the teachers do--more like being aware of people who need help and being ready to do things that we don't even know need doing--from fixing plumbing to stopping a runaway to helping someone who is lonely to keeping someone from doing something stupid. I don't really understand it all. We're sort of guardians. Not police, more junior disciples. No, that's not it either.'' She laughed nervously. "When I figure it out, I'll tell you."



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"Sounds pretty stupid, to be honest. The Lighthouse has made you into a servant. Sweep the floor, polish the mirror, change lightbulbs, fix the plumbing. You would think it would just hire one of the elves to do all that. Maybe we should just burn it down." Lorccan suggested. It seemed he had been getting more and more urges to burn things of late, no clue why. Maybe it was just a more interesting way of destroying something instead of using 'reducto'. "You know I think I am going to send a letter of complaint to the Principal. My sister is not some building's servant, if it wants servants, it should hire an elf like everybody else does."



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"No, Lorccan, it's an honor, really. I just can't explain it well. I don't understand why it needs me. But I like it. Honest. You should come over and see it."



Siobhan sighed. When did it become so hard to talk to her brother?



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"Are you sure?" Lorccan looked his sister over. "That you are honored and like being at the Lighthouse."



"I definitely will like to come over and check it out. Maybe then I can feel more..comfortable with you being stuck out there on a rock. Especially with Makepeace and Frozen or whatever Prat's first name is. He's suck a dork, must be a real pain being stuck with him around."



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''Pratt is my friend, Lorccan. I know he and I aren't much alike, me being a good student and him not really caring about school, but he makes me laugh. A lot people think that the O'Briens aren't very much alike either." She gave his arm a a soft punch. "But we get along, when we aren't fighting anyway."



She yawned sleepily."Thanks for the offer of your pajamas, by the way. My light green ones are okay. It's my robe that's the problem, that and I don't have any slippers. Mom never considered I'd need a heavy robe and slippers, but I do in the lighthouse. I'll just ask her for new ones for Christmas and make due until then."



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"Just owl mom now, she can send you slippers, why wait till its freezing to get your feet warm?" Lorccan will write mom himself if she doesn't. No way he was going to have his sister freezing her toes off in that lighthouse. Its not like their family is poor and can't afford to get her a pair of warm slippers now. He would give her his but his feet were too big. "I will bring it to you at dinner, so you can be warm tonight and every night till Mom buys you one."



"As for that Pratt, I don't like him, he tries to be so funny but he's not all that funny. There's something about him that I don't like, but I can't put my finger on it. Just seems weird he was this super over achiever and now he's this goofing off fool that can't take anything seriously." Lorccan was aware many could say the same for him, but he never had a chance of personality to the extreme Pratt did. He was never an over achiever but his grades were better in his first year compared to his second. He just stopped putting the effort in. He put more effort into it now, mostly because he didn't want his father angry at him again. Or disappoint his sister.



"As long as he's nice to you and doesn't upset or hurt you, well, I don't have to like all your friends." Lorccan shrugged. "Just be careful around him, I don't think he can be trusted."



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Siobhan looked worried. "I hate asking Mom for new things. You know how she bought me a new violin this summer? That cost her more than I dare repeat, but I'm not asking for a car when I turn sixteen. I don't dare. I don't know if she even told Dad how much it cost. She said I was ready for a good one. I was good enough, and I needed one. I can't ask her for anything, except maybe at Christmas, and it had better be something practical." It was why Siobhan was even more determined to earn a scholarship for college. It was her only chance of getting there after Salem Institute as she didn't dare ask her parents for the tuition.



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"You make it sound like we are poor. The tavern makes more than enough money so Mom can afford to buy you a pair of slippers." Lorccan didn't really understand why Mom bought his sister a violin, her old one sounded fine to him. Then again he no musical talent at all and always made himself scarce when his sister practiced. "Tell you what, I will buy you a pair of slippers. I can owl order it in your size and have it here by the end of the week. I have enough money to get you a nice warm pair."

[Snick]

"We aren't poor. But Mom spent a lot on my violin. It's a good one." Better than Lorccan understood, evidently. Siobhan just couldn't ask her mother for anything. "I can't ask her. I'm a size six. You can choose whatever you want." She hugged him impulsively. "Thank you, Lorccan."



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Lorccan was starting to realize that violen did cost more than he expected. He wil have to ask Mom, afterall if she spent a huge among on Siobhan on that, only fair she spend as much on him. Not that he wanted a violin. Maybe a broom, not that he was much of a flyer. He certainly didn't want a car, why would a wizard who can apparate or floo, need a stupid car? What was he going to do with it, drive around and impress his former Muggle friends? Run them over more like.



He hugged his sister back, her impulsive hug taking all negative thought out of his head. Some guys may hate being hugged by his sister but Lorccan liked it. Sometimes he liked it better than Mom's.



"Its nothing Shi, honest." Lorccan assured her, tweaking her nose. He remembered when he was much younger he would do that old 'got your nose' trick as it always made her laugh. Now, he just tweaked her nose when he felt particularly affectionate. "You are my best sister, no way do I want you to go about school with cold feet."



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"You're my best brother . . . and the only brother I have whose a wizard. We still have most of our classes together this year. We can do our homework together if you want." She had memories of the beating Father had given him when his grades weren't good enough. Her grades were always better than his, and she could help him. But saying they were doing homework together was nicer than saying she was going to tutor him.



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Lorccan knew she meant she will help him keep his grades up. He hated it but he knew if it wasn't for her help he would have a hard time keeping his grades up. It was just so hard for him to focus on studying, especially the subjects he found totally pointless.



"It will be nice to study together again, its about the only thing that keeps the more boring classes interesting enough for me to actually study." Lorccan admits, knowing his sister was very much aware he tended to lose interest fast, otherwise.



"Did you go to that stupid Committee Meeting? I would think by now they would give up in trying to get me to actually show up. Hopefully they don't make the same mistake and keep me on the committee this year." Lorccan hoped Siobhan would make it a point to convince Miss Buzzkill not to include him for this year's committee.



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"Yeah, it was a good meeting. Some of the older kids had a bit of a power struggle going on. But over all, it worked out. I think you're off the hook for next year. Makepeace and Black got detention. But the dance should be fun. My suggestion came in second." She smiled, not staying disappointed that her idea had not won.



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"Glad your suggestion came in second, better than last." Lorccan couldn't care less what theme the Homecoming Dance used, he never stayed long at the dance. In fact he used the time dances occured to do other things, things that he may not get away with if half the staff wasn't stuck chaperoning the dance. Now what will he do for this Homecoming dance? He wasn't sure but maybe he could see if the elves will let him borrow a boat. One thing he loved doing, was fishing..and if the sea was calm enough, some night fishing would be fantastic.



"So Makepeace didn't do his name this time?" Lorccan smirked slightly. "But surprised Black ended up in detention. What did she do, a triple axle?"



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"No, just Elizabeta got a little bossy, and Makepeace and Pratt got mad at her and Zot had an episode and Elizabeta called everyone childish and then Makepeace asked Elizabeta to leave and Black seconded it, so they both got detention." Siobhan shrugged. "I don't think those two even like each other, so I was surprised to see them support each other in the meeting. And Buskirk was getting really frustrated with the way the meeting was getting out of her hands and students were taking over. But that was her own fault, if you ask me."



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"Sounds like a meeting I may have found interesting...but I had far more fun staying away from it." Lorccan felt he should go grab something to eat now that he and his sister made peace. He was about to tell her he was going to do just that when an owl flew in and dropped a note infront of him. Lorccan frowned. "Odd, Mom doesn't tend to write us this soon..."



He realized the note bore the school crest. Great, already getting 'mail' from his fans at school. He picked it up and opened it. It was from Miss Buskirk telling him he had detention to do, cleaning the theater with a toothbrush, after class today. Lorccan snorted and stuffed the note into his pocket. Maybe he will remember to show up.



"Well, I should go get something to eat." Lorccan announced, standing up.