For an umpteenth time in maybe ten seconds, John rolled his eyes. The ambient music was overly happy, way too loud and punctuated with screeching sound, Merlin knows why. A ginormous clown was giving him creepy looks – the wizard strongly suspected it was actually a troll, hiding underneath a very distasteful costume, probably drugged with some kind or hallucinogenic mushrooms or else – while dancing, or trying to dance to this despicable melody. The decoration was heavy, catchy and the air thick and smelly. The only thing the auror could think of, besides how annoying every present person was, was the countless gross violations he could spot and what was the cleverest way to arrest the filthy owner of this fair, without causing a scene or destroying evidence. His eyes slid to his right, stopping on his sister’s giggly smile and he rolled his eyes once more, dumbfounded by how much he loved this tiny human. He growled soflty, « you better bring me dinner for the next two weeks, I mean it ». Spotting row B – of course Flora bought the closest seats to the stage, of course – he took her wrist and attempted to dragged her toward their seats, this way, at least, people would stop bumping into them and, with luck, some of its popcorn might remained. Just as they were finally reaching the front rows, an old man, sporting a bright orange melon hat, stepped in their way, happily engaging conversation with them. « Ah! The Dawlishes ! Lovely to be meeting you here » he said. Putting off his most amiable face, the auror responded, « Likewise Professor Guildor, I hope you will enjoy the show, this one here is eager to see it » he commenced, trying to politely dismiss him. The man was all right, nice even, but John would very much appreciate avoiding meeting his former professor in such abhorring circumstances, really. However, the old man paid little attention to him and switched his focus to his sister, who was, for as much as he knew, estranged to him. « Miss Dawlish, missing me already? » he asked, « classes ended two days ago and here I meet you! Well, well, well, there is something to be proud of Mr Dawlish, she’s a fierce one, just as talented and sneaky as you were, I would be very much curious to watch the both of you dueling. » he continued, with a pleasant tone. Bemused, John shot a look at Flora and offered a polite smile to his former professor who was clearly becoming senile. « Yeah, she has a temper » said the wizard, before weirdly going around him to get to their seats. Once satted, John let out funny laugh and turned toward his sister, « that man was the sharpest mage when I underwent my auror training…I wonder if he has early dementia, that’d be sad…well maybe he went a lil’ too hard with the booze ». Circus made people crazy right? Or maybe he and his sister were acquaintance? Could she had dated one of his son? Did he even had a son, or a daughter?

Flora Dawlish's childish eyes were wide open, staring at the ginormous troll in front of her. Obviously, she loved that. She wasn't that much aware of the living conditions of these creatures, and at the moment, she was back in childhood, loving things children would love as well. John didn't seem to be happy, but the Auror thought he had to be cheerful because he was in her company. How lucky he was ! How many men would die to be with her ? She convinced him to come with her, as if they were still teenagers running down the streets of Birmingham, their home-town. « I'll bring you dinner for the next week but no more » she happily replied, jumping everywhere with a cheery look on her young face, « And you'll have to deal wi' me cause I will have my dinner wi' you ! ». Flora loved parties, and circus, and zoos because she would discover so many creatures she could never ever wish to see in England. And here, in front of her very blue eyes, were things she could finally admire. She couldn't travel that much - not anymore anyway - so these places were her only chance to discover new things. Even though she was sent to Gryffindor, sometimes, this young lady had some of the Ravenclaw spirit. Curious, but real.
Unfortunately, she was back to reality thanks to the warm voice of Peter Guildor. Sitting on her seat, she looked up at him. He looked good, and happy, and he probably didn't know about the secret she desperately hide from John for the past three years. « O-OF COURSE Professor Guildor » she shouted back, getting up on her feet, with a strange smile on her lips, « Always, always a pleasure to meet you ». Of course. He was nice, and he was a good teacher. Flora loved good teachers. And liked him quite a lot. The blue eyes of Flora met those darker of her brother and she chuckled without any confidence. Professor Guildor left and she waited for a crying scene... Which never came. What's wrong with John ? « Dementia ? » she replied, unsure, and mesmerized « Em... He - Hm, He was my teacher at school. At uni, I mean... ». Of course, she could have lied to him. But she lied for three years and she was now graduated, in theory, of the Wizarding University of Great Britain. Maybe, it was time to tell him the whole truth. Or... Maybe it wasn't the time for it. They were sitting in front of the stage, people arrived in family, with friends... Flora already experienced her big brother's anger, but she wasn't sure she was ready for it now. She feared to be the beast people would look at during the show.

Speaking of booze, a Firewhisky would be great, and surely, knowing his baby sister, she would not oppose to a glass or two. He stabilized his popcorn giving her a quizzed look, just noticing how uncomfortable she was, babbling. John frowned before raising an eyebrow, feeling his mood darkening – he was actually happy to spend some time with Flora as she’ve been crazy busy with school’s stuff, exams and all she said, even though John always doubted whether she really studied or was enrolled in uni for socializing purposes. Not that he undermined her intelligence; she was brilliant and full of potential, but every time he asked about her commercial studies, she was just so dismissive.

Anyhow, here they were, both having graduated, as appears from his former Professor words, oh, and having shared a mentor. A spike of worry and anxiety exploded in his stomach doubled by a very bad presentiment. « Professor Guildor teaches how to counteract evil spells of highest complexity. In practical classes Flora. » the Auror stated, very calmly. Too calmly, way too calmly. He dived his gaze right into hers, almost emotionless. John would have loved to ask what kind of extra-classes she took to have him as a teacher, but he was neither stupid nor naïve; he was an Auror for Merlin’s sakes ! And inferring conclusions from hints was his second nature. « How the fuck did he teach you, because I am pretty sure that Gobelin’s International Taxation Methods does not involve any bloody dueling » he add, his tone raising a notch. Some popcorn fell on the floor as his left hand started to tremble. Flora’s face was too transparent to him, he raised that sneaky kid, he almost made her, he could definitely read her expression. At the moment, it was crystal clear that she was feeling guilty and so uncomfortable. If that hyper kid was to become an Auror, if his presentment was right, he would locked her up in closet, by the ankle, and never let her out. Ever.

Well, maybe he was not going to be that drastic, but one thing was sure, it would take him long to recover from such a deep betrayal, orchestrated by his favorite human, the person he loves the most on this earth.

Imagine Flora Dawlish being uncomfortable.

Now imagine her being panicked.

You will probably end up thinking it's impossible, as she's a cheerful lady and a sneaky woman. But today, at this very special moment - one she was scared of since she began her studies to become an Auror - she felt like she was so fucked. And, well, surprise, she was. John had this ability to make her feel guilty for nothing. Probably because he raised her. Probably because he was her brother, but acted like he was her father. Flora was a small young lady, but right now, she felt as small as a centipede. She could feel his anxiety and anger. Flora was, at this moment, scared of her beloved big brother. It was way worse when he spoke out loud the truth. Yes, Professor Guildor teaches how to conteract evil spells and yes, she wouldn't have his course in Commercial Law of the Wizarding World. Her cheecks turned red as if they were burning from the inside. "Actually... It was possible to select special courses..." she replied, unsure. She felt so ashamed. She felt guilty. Weird feeling though, she ended up in some muggle jails when she was much younger - muggle prisons are the funniest of all she always says when she can speak about her various experiences - and never felt like that. Whereas she was proud of her successes, here, she felt like the kid she was many years before that, when John would shout something at her because she was being naughty with him. The squeeze of his gaze was clearly unbearable for her and Flora thought, for a short moment, that she would just cry at him, right here, in front of the stage like a freak of the Arcanus circus. "Don't be angry at me... okay ?" she stupidly replied before taking a step back, "I... I just want not to feel useless. You can understand that, can't you ? You're an Auror, you're useful. You're a hero and brave and you help people. Why not me ?". As if he would care of this kind of feelings ! John almost lived to protect her. Which means he could put himself in danger, or the others, to protect her on the field. Flora didn't realise that at the moment, but she may have created a bigger problem than she first thought.

John felt like a bucket of ice and cold water had been dumped on him. His face went blank as his sister was admitting what he had already figured out by now: there would be two Auror Dawlish inside the aurors department. That would be a nightmare, truly. He could already picture a thousand of scenarios where his baby sis’ would get badly wounded, disappeared or, well, murdered. Anxiety was striking his body, but it was nothing aside the pain he felt, the profound sadness and the feeling of betrayal that tore his heart. John’s brows furrowed slightly as he broke eye contact with Flora, turning his head to face the stage, where a clown-goblin was babbling the opening speech. He felt empty despite the torrent of violent emotions raging inside of him.

Flora was a lot of things, lightheaded, funny, insolent, sneaky, daring, and skilled; she was full of flaws, but shined of thousand qualities. She was many things, a bundle of energy quite hard to explain or define. But there was one thing that John had always been certain of: Flo was loyal and trustworthy and honest, at least toward him. She had hid things from him, as a teenager, but nothing substantial, only futilities that kids hid from their parents. He felt like a rotten peace of dragon dung: was he so unimportant to her that she could forget, for three long years, to disclose the career path she chose? God, he thought they were the real sibling thing! She had always been the first person, and almost the only, he would entrust with his latest news or significant decision, waiting expectantly for her input and support. He now realised he had no such role in her life. After all, he was just his brother, it was not like he had raised her, saw her become the amazing woman she now was, or provided her with everything he could think of and endured way too much to do so. John was now feeling like a fool. A broken fool. A broken and betrayed fool. The wizard felt like crying, hard. Did he do or say something to push her away? He knew he was’nt always the most pleasant human in the room, but he thought she knew that his grumpy ass loved her more than anything. His brain started running at lightning speed, trying to reassess all memories of the conversations they had over the past three years and pin point a moment where he would have crossed the line. He could identify multiple instances where he had been harsh and started regretting them all.  

John had trust very few people in his life, let alone love. He loved Audrey, Soyle, Kieràn and his baby sister. Two of them had betrayed him in the last year, therefore scoring a lovely 50% of misreading people and relationships. As tears were threatening to burst, John’s features hardened and he turned his face back to the brunette sitting beside him. «You should have stick with Commercial Law, ‘cause you’re not joining the team. I’ll make sure of it.» he declared coldly, his nostrils flaring. Good old angry Johnny had taken upon him, swallowing his tears together with his emotions, avoiding any kind of open hearted discussion. Of course he was’nt delighted with the fact that she would now be actively fighting dark mages and vile creatures in this time of war, but the lies and the distrust were what’d shattered him.

John Dawlish felt like he had failed at being a brother, just like he had at being a friend to Kieràn Graves.

Panic.

Panic all over her body.

Hands shaking. Eyes rolling, trying to find an issue which doesn't exist. Professor Guildor had disappeared before John exploded. Flora knew she has made a mistake, and she knew she could apologize all day long it wouldn't change a thing. She knew that and she knew she hurt her brother with her selfish lies. It was like everything they had in common just left, leaving them to be two adults, strangers staring at each other. But no, they weren't. They were siblings, siblings who've been through hell during their non-existant childhood. Hollow John. That's what she could see in his brown eyes. Loneliness. Anger. Sadness. Disappointment. The last one was the worst for the young witch. She hated to disappoint him. She hated that because John Dawlish was her anchor. He was the only one who believed in her all the time, the one who was sitting by her side at night when she could't close her eyes, he was there when she got caught at the supermarket stealing apples for dinner. He was there all the time to protect her, to make her life better. And Flora thanked him with lies, and sadness.
She could see his features getting harder and harder, and she felt like she was loosing him forever. The witch approached her right hand to take his forearm and press him as much as she could. As if... she was trying to comfort him. But she couldn't. He stated something that was hurting her more than he could imagine. « You don't trust me ! » she shouted back to him, « you don't trust me, you've never trusted me because you think I'm a fool who deserves to retreat behind a wall for protection ! ». She released his arm and took three or four steps back when she felt tears on her red cheeks. « I am not a child ! I have worked these past few years to be an Auror and I won't let you take this back from me, even if it means that we have nothing in common anymore ! » Flora yelled loudly so that everyone here could hear them fight.  She angrily wiped her tears with her thumb and she turned her back to him to walk away from her brother : « Don't even try to follow me John or I swear to Merlin you'll regret it forever ». Angry Flora was as dangereous as angry John. They were born from the same father and mother after all.

Spoiler:

His sister lied to him for three whole years. Three complete years. Three bloody years. God it hurts. But he was processing the news, quicker than one would expect of him, skipping the part where he’d question whether or not he had ectoplasm in his ears, or trying to assess if Flora was drunk and perhaps having a try at dark humour. Something very deep inside of him knew right away that its was true, that she’d lied, that she would jump head first into danger, just as he did a couple years back. This calm and foreign voice of reason was also whispering that she’d been somehow clever in choosing to lie to him: this way, she would make sure to get her diploma and put him before a fait accompli, thus avoiding three years of him trying to bully her out of this dangerous idea of her. He raised a strong-minded woman, a got getter, perhaps a Hatstall Slytherin/Gryffindor, something that, once again, they shared.

As they escaped his lips, John immediately regretted the words spitted. They were mean, and harsh and showed very little maturity. But of course, he did not take them back, he was angry, raging mostly, fueled by hurt and fear. He thought she’d cry, apologize a trillion times and try to comfort him, but he was wrong. Her words reflected his and cut deep into his flesh. There was the guilt of being made fully aware that he had made her feel little, fragile while he, against his own will, was well aware she was not. Her tears also, he hated when she cried. But no, what truly broke him was when she stated “we have nothing in common anymore”. John did not expect such declaration coming out from the one person he shares so much with and, genuinely belive has a lot in common with. For a moment, he felt like she had disowned him, or somehow cut their family link, like she despised sharing the same ancestors. Everything felt out of proportion. He could’nt speak, to taken aback to react. Why was this not just another Dawlish feud? He then did the only thing he could think of and in a desperate attempt to hold her back he rose and yelled “If you leave now we’re done! I swear you’ll be out of the department within a week!”. Merlin John, that was bloody stupid. He kinda thought he could threaten her in order to force her to stay, and that this way, they could scream it out, and ultimately make peace. Another stupid reflexion. She obviously left as he pronounced the most untruth words he had ever said, he could never be done with her, no matter how much she would hurt him.

The auror began to cry, warm tears were running down his cheek. What if he crossed the line? What if she’d never forgive him? He would’nt survive. He could not. John then notice a young boy staring at him bewilded and snapped out of his torpor. “WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT, I’M NOT THE BLOODY CIRCUS!” he shouts violently at the kid before apparating back home.

HJ: