Reese bit her lower lip when she heard Heath's voice telling her to go downstairs.She turned around and headed out her door.She gently closed it before she headed down the stairs to where Heath was.She took in a deep breath before she spoke, "You're back so soon,Heath."

Victoria walked into Jake's bedroom and went over to him.The first thing she saw were the cuts on his arms.Awww.Poor baby.But,the question was: Did she really want to know what happened at the party?Siiiigh.She was going to have to ask.She sat at the end of Jake bed then said, "What happened,Jakers?" She looked back at the cuts on his arms.

Having calmed down somewhat, Heath pointed his wand again at the stereo, fixing the glass on the cabinet, and then around the room, mending various pieces of furniture. Looking round at Reese, he nodded. "We are. Dale isn't feeling well... Now, any problems with Jake?" Heath asked, casually ignoring the havoc of the house at this moment in time.

Looking up at Victoria, Jake shrugged and decided to go for just releasing a few details. "Reese broke the cabinet door in front on the stereo... and I cut my arms on the glass... that's all..." he trailed off, looking up at her.

"Oh,no.Jake was an ang-actually,yes there was a problem with Jake,"Reese said. "Jake has an earring." She took her eyes off Heath and looked around the living room.She'll just cut off the detail about him doing it by himself and using her earring.Unless,of course,Heath asked.

"And,why did Reese break the cabinet door?"Victoria questioned.Do I dare ask.This was probably the last party that Reese will ever hold.After messing up the house,she knew Heath wouldn't let he have another party.

Blinking a little, Heath stared at Reese. "And how did this happen? One of your friends?" he asked, trying to maintain his cool. "Why did you let it happen?" he added, staring down at the girl.

"Because... she wanted to open it... because the door was stuck..." Jake explained, running his fingers over the scratches and dried blood. He hissed as he encountered a particularly painful one, and looked up, eyes watering a tad.

"WHAT?!"Reese shrieked."What kind of people do you think I hang-out with?None of my friends would do that the Jake." She crossed her arms and looked up at Heath. "As a matter of fact,Jake did this by himself.I sent him up to his room for a little bit,because he was getting on my nerves,and I guess,within the hour or so he was up there,he gave himself an earring." She narrowed her eyes as Heath asked why she let this happen. "I didn't know how did it.How am I suppose to stop things I don't know are happening?Answer that question for me." Erm.Maybe she was being too sassy,but-oh,well.

"And why was the door locked?Before we left you two,I remember that door not being locked,"Victoria said.She looked back down at the cuts on Jake's arms and bit her lower lip.She looked up just in time to see Jake's eyes watering up. "Come,Jakers.Let's go to the bathroom and let me wash your cuts.Get that dry blood off of them,"she told him as she stood up.

"Hey, hey, hey," Heath cut in, lifting his hands in a kind of "surrender" motion. "I don't recall doing anything to deserve that kind of treatment, Reese. I'm talking to you in a civilised way, I expect to get that back," he explained, keeping his airy tone, but with an icy glint in his eyes. "Now... start at the beginning... Why was he in his room exactly?"

Well... honesty is what I do.

"Because I superglued the cabinet shut," Jake admitted, standing up next to Victoria and snaking his hand into hers. He looked up at her and hoped she would go ahead and lead the way, because he was more than happy to tell the truth.

Because he was being a git.That was a good way to answer that question,but Heath would probably kill her for saying that about his son. "Jake was being waaaaaay too clingy with me,like,he wouldn't even let me talk to my friends,so I sent him up to his room just for a little bit,"she explained to Heath. "A hour later,I went up there and noticed the earring." She simply nodded.

"Why did you-Okay,you know what,I have asked enough questions for now,"Victoria said.She felt Jake's hand cling to her's and she smiled. "Now,let's go get you cleaned up." She headed out of the room and went down the hall to the bathroom.She went inside and slipped her hand away from Jake's as she started searching for a wash cloth.She finally found one and went over to the sink and got it all wet.She then handed it to Jake and said, "Now,wash the dry blood off."

"Hmmmm... clingy..." Heath mused to himself. To be honest, that didn't seem like a plausible reason to send someone to their room, but what's done is done. "Very well... I suppose he'll just have to get used to the earring, he'll have to live with it..."

Looking around him, Heath realised he should really do something about this mess. And not just clean it up. "Right... so, I'll use magic to clean this up... But, that is never an excuse to... You know what, I don't even want to know what happened," Heath sighed, looking around dejectedly. "For your... punishment... just watch Jake when you go to Diagon Alley... like a baby-sitter. And keep an eye on him at school, letters home every month... got that?"

And now for Jake. "Does he play Quidditch or... gobstones... or... what?" Heath asked, trying to think of something to BAN his son from.

Screwing his face up, Jake shook his head and gazed up at Victoria. "Nuh uh, you do it," he mumbled, eyeing the cloth with apprehension. He never knew quite how different pressure worked, and nearly ALWAYS made things hurt more.

"Well,you know you're going to have to buy him a earring,"Reese told Heath. "He can't keep using mine." She walked more into the living room and looked at all the mess she AND Jake made.This mess probably meant no more parties for her.She honestly doubted Heath would let her have another party when this party messed up the house.Well,she could always just beg to have another one.

Reese looked back at Heath. "Honestly,this mess wouldn't have happened if Jake didn't turn the stereo up,"she told him. She then stopped talking when Heath started talking about her punishment. "A baby-sitter?Does that mean I can sit on Jake?" Bwahahahaha. "Hold it.Every month?I didn't even write that often to my dad and godmother."

"He's plays Quidditch,"Reese informed Heath. "But,I'm not too sure about gobstones.I don't think he plays that."

"Okay.I'll do it for you,"Victoria said.She took a hold of Jake's arms and pressed the cloth just hard enough on it to wipe away the dried up blood.When she was does washing his arms,she rinsed the cloth off in the sink. "Is that all the cuts you have on you?" she loked back at him,waiting for his answer.

"Yes, yes," Heath nodded. "I know, I'll have to, won't I? Ah well, I'm just too tired to deal with it tonight..." he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, you may not sit on Jake, just look after him, and you'll do just that unless you want me to magic your hands so you can't let go," Heath added sternly. "Now, since he plays Quidditch, I'll just ban him from entering that shop in Diagon Alley... and you'll have to go get his broom for him."

Kids... Tsk.

Hmmmm, well there's a hole through my right earlobe, Jake thought to himself, thinking a little. "Nope," he replied... Technically it wasn't a cut, right? Right! "Can I go to bed now... or something... and talk to dad tomorrow?"

"Yes,you will,"Reese told Heath.She grinned when he said she could sit on Jake.Ah,well.It was worth a shot,wasn't it?Her grinned faded as quickly as it formed when Heath said something about sticking her hands to Jake by magic.Gulp. "No,sir.You DON'T have to stick my hands to his.I'll watch over him." She gently nodded when Heath said she would have to get Jake his broom. "Okay.I can do that."

"Okay,then,"Victoria said.She sat the cloth on the counter once she was done cleaning it off. "Sure,you can go to bed,"she told him with a smile. "But-like you said-you need to talk to your dad tomorrow."

"Very well," Heath sighed, waving towards the staircase. "Get to bed then, we're all very tired. And if you see Jake, don't talk to him. I don't want anymore drama tonight," he explained as he silently used magic to tidy the house up, then he lead the way upstairs. "Turn off the lights, Kiddo."

"Okay," Jake nodded, dropping his arms down to his sides. He yawned, showing for the first time that night that he was tired. "Niiiiiight," Jake called back as he exited the bathroom and headed for his BED.

Methinks y'all know the drill... we're fastforwarding time again for a nice PINK plot ^^

Reese woke up the next morning and rolled out of bed. She stretched her arms before she headed out of her bedroom and down the stairs. She entered the kitchen and went over to the fridge. She pulled out some apple juice and shuffled over to the cabinet to grab a cup. Reese poured the cup full of apple juice before she headed over to the table and sat down.

Jake had been up for a looooooooong time. He'd spoken to his dad and been banned from that quidditch shop, and he was... shall we say... a little less than pleased. From what he knew, his dad and Victoria were out in the garden sunbathing or something, maybe swimming in their pool... but Jake couldn't find his wand.

It wasn't like he needed it, but he was unnerved that he couldn't find it anywhere. That thing made him feel safe, even if it caused him more harm than good.

"REEEEEEEEEESE?" Jake called down the stairs, pausing in front of Dale's bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. "HAVE YOU SEEN MY WAND?"

Reese sat her cup on the table and sighed. It was just a few more days until she was allowed to go to Diagon Alley. She was so excited. She was finally going to be able to see all her friends, again. And, Jake, was going to go see all his friends. Which meant, he wouldn't be around her at all during her time in Diagon Alley. How exciting. Not to be mean or anything, because she honestly did love Jake as a brother, but she liked being alone with her friends without Jake being jealous or anything.

Reese heard Jake's voice calling from upstairs. Ohmygosh. Jake didn't know where he was wand. Greaaaaat. "THE LAST TIME I SAW YOUR WAND IT WAS IN THE KITCHEN AND BY THE LOOKS OF IT-" She glanced around the kitchen, "IT'S DOWN HERE." She picked her cup back up and took a sip of it. "MAYBE HEATH PUT IT SOMEWHERE,"she added. She sat her cup back on the table and waited for Jake to say say something.

It had taken Barry ages to find the house, he would be lucky if the funeral hadn`t started yet. Barry smilled, big house it was. But then Barry remembered why he was here and the smile was replaced with a blank expression.

Reaching the door Barry rang/knocked three times and waited.

Reese was sitting on the couch watching some TV when she heard someone knock on the door. What the-? Who could that be? Nobody told her they were expecting company, she would have dressed better than this. She looked down at her shirt and sweat pants. Siiiiigh. She didn't have time to go change or anything.

She stood up and threw the remote back on the couch and headed to the door. She ran her fingers through her hair, making sure no hair was sticking up, before she opened the door. When she saw Barry standing there, she blinked a few times. "Ummm-hello?" She said, looking down at the boy.

Barry looked up and raised an eyebrow "Reese? I thought mr." Barry lifted up the peice of ministry paper "Heath Upstead lived here and Jake was here too," then he remembered that he had to be nice "I mean hello, err is Jake in? Or is this even Jakes house? I`ve got some news for him" he said

As if on cue () Jake could be heard running from the other end of the house. "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!" he bellowed, feet pounding, face furious. "Look what Dale did to my HAIR!"

At first trying to run down the stairs, Jake felt his socks slipping on the hard wood steps and decided to use the bannister. As he made it to the bottom, the problem with his hair was obvious.

It was pink.

"Reese-" Jake added again, exasperatedly, before seeing she was at the door. "Oh... hi Barry," Jake gave a confused look to the boy, wondering what could possibly bring him here. "You alright, mate?"

Reese leaned against the door and listened the Barry talk. "No, Barry. This is the right house," she told him with a little smile, "For your information, Heath is my step dad and Jake- well- Jake is my stepbrother." She was about to ask what kind go news he had for them, but then Jake had arrived.

As she turned around to face her stepbrother, she said, "What did Dale do-OHMY- Your hair is...is...pink." She blinked a few times and eyed Jake's hair. This was a shocker. "How did that happen?" She asked, crossing her arms. "Dale doesn't even have a wa-" She stopped talking and remembered that Jake was looking for HIS wand a little bit ago. "Oh, I think we found out where your wand was, didn't we?" She added, smirking slightly.

Barry looked up as Jake came down from where ever he was. Barry had to hold in a laugh which had been waiting to come out. It was going to be so hard to keep a straight face.

"Hey Jake" Barry said inbetween laughs " Nice hair" he commented. "What? Oh yeah, right news, I wanted to tell you something, but is your hair alright? Can`t you change it back? Do you want me to try? And whos Dale?" Barry asked all at once, it was too much to ask at one time, but Barry was a Ravenclaw, he wanted to know everything, what did you expect
Barry laughed again "So let me get this straight, you two are now like brother and sister? And your parents got married?" he asked, poor Jake and Reese, they now had to deal with each other, siblings could be great sometimes but most of the time were just a pain.

"Yes, Reese... I know," Jake grumbled to his step-sister. "I kind of noticed that..." he added, pointedly, before looking out at Barry. "Hair's fine... Dad'll probably change it back later... Dale's my little brother..."

Now, let's get on with this.

"What was it you wanted, Barry?" Jake asked, hopefully kindly. He didn't want it to come out all nasty. "What kind of news?"

Reese nodded towards Barry. "Yessir. Jake over here is my little brother," she told him, glancing at Jake and his pink hair. She looked back at Barry and nodded once more. "Yes, our parents got married. They actually got married in spring while we were at school," she added.

Okay, enough about her new family. Let's get on with the news. Come on, Barry. "So, Barry, can we hear the news now?" She asked the boy, trying not to sound like she was rushing him even though she kind of was.

Barry nodded, they were brother and sister?????????? That still didn`t register with Barry but that wasn`t why he was here.

"Oh yeah the news.." he started
Barry raised a brow "Don`t rush me, I`m getting to it for heavens sake" he said.

"You know Jack, that boy from school, in your house , in your year, your best freind. The news is about him. Over the summer we met death eaters. I know it sounds weird but theres still some of them out there. Well they were having a duel and Jack did kill the death eater but he also, you know, passed away." Barry let it sink in "Him and his brother" he added giving John some justice too.

It didn't register at first... not really. Jack... best friend? Well, yeah, Jake supposed now that was quite true, after they had made up. "You're having me on..." he said suspiciously, glancing round at Reese for some back up. "They aren't dead..."

If it was true... then that would be three of the boys Jake had shared a dormitory with last year... dead. It just... wasn't right.

Jack and John Mosier were dead.

No way.

"Well... how do I know you're telling the truth?" Jake asked, his eyes becoming unnaturally bright with unshed tears. "Is there... a funeral? Something?"