Brotherhood (Seth)

[Jarrod Inophen]

After the last letter he'd received from Seth, Jarrod knew it was time to step in and give his little brother a long-overdue lecture about his place in the wizarding world. The sternly-worded letter he'd sent Seth hadn't done any good at all. So now it was time for a real talk.

The owl he sent told Seth to meet him in Hogsmeade at the Hot Panini early on a Saturday morning. Jarrod arrived early and settled down with a cup of coffee to wait for his brother.

[Seth Inophen]

Seth seriously considered not going to Hogsmeade and meeting with his brother. What the hell was Jarrod doing in town anyway? It was a Saturday and Seth much perfered sleeping in. But he had slipped and told Maxi about the letter. She had convinced him that obviously Jarrod needed to talk with him, and that he probably wouldn't let up until he got what he wanted.

So early Saturday morning, Seth put on his scarf and gloves and dragged his feet to Hogsmeade. He stood outside the Hot Panini for a while, again contemplating leaving and going back to bed. But for reasons still unknown to him, Seth walked inside, quickly sitting in the seat across from his older brother.

"What do you want Jarrod?" Seth asked. He didn't exactly feel like pretending to be polite to the man across from him.

[Jarrod Inophen]

Looking up at his brother, Jarrod assumed a wounded expression. "Hey, Seth. Now, what kind of way is that to talk to your big brother, who you haven't seen in months?" He shook his head as if disappointed. "Maybe I just wanted to see my little brother, did you ever think about that? Come on, sit down. I'll order you some breakfast. They make really good blueberry pancakes here. Doesn't that sound good?"

He knew that Seth knew him well enough to see past the charm, but it was still his best weapon in this case. Whether Seth believed it or not, Jarrod loved his little brother and was only looking out for him. This little talk, though it would probably be unpleasant, was in Seth's best interest.

[Seth Inophen]

"Dont try and charm me Jarrod," Seth said. Seth knw every single one of Jarrod's little games, and he wasn't falling for any of them. The waitress came over and Seth ordered cereal and orange juice, knowingf that it was quite likely that his stomach wouldn't be able to handle their brother to brother talk.

"You sent me a letter saying you wanted to talk to me," Seth said, crossing his arms. "Then go ahead, talk."

[Jarrod Inophen]

Jarrod ordered the blueberry pancakes and a cup of coffee. When the waitress had gone, he leaned back in his seat casually. "Now, come on, Sethie," he said. "There's really no need to be hostile here. I only want what's best for you, don't you know that? Mum and Dad are talking about arranging a marriage for you, if that's the only way to get you to stop this nonsense with the Hufflepuff girl. I don't want you to have to deal with that... but you've got to start acting like your station. It's becoming embarrassing."

[Seth Inophen]

Seth's eyes narrowed at his brother. He knew this would be about Maxi. And what was this talk about arranging a marriage? It was the first Seth heard of it. Of course, it wasn't uncommon for Seth to be the last to know about things going on in the family. "Embarrassing?" Seth asked. "Who gives a dam who I'm seeing or not, Jarr," Seth took a breath so he wouldn't cause attention by shouting. "It's my life," he whispered. "And neither you, nor mom and dad, can control it. No matter how much you all wish you could."

[Jarrod Inophen]

Jarrod sighed. Clearly, Seth intended to make this difficult. He had really hoped to talk some sense into his brother, but Seth was stubborn. "Mum and Dad care about who you date. Look, it's no skin off my back; I'm sure the girl's real cute and all. But is she seriously worth all this? Mum and Dad are gonna disown you if you keep this up. Besides, didn't you see what happened with Andromeda Black? She dated a muggleborn and got her heart broken. You can't trust them. Do you really want that to happen to you?"

[Seth Inophen]

"Maxi's worth it," Seth said with a confidence he didn't know he possesed. "She's worth risking everything, Jarrod, even being disowned." He wished she was here now. "And what happened to Professor Black was sad yes, but just because her heart got broken, doesn't mean mine will. Maxi wouldn't hurt me like that and I wouldn't hurt her either." Seth took a deep breath and looked straight at his brother. "I love her Jarrod."

[Jarrod Inophen]

Jarrod had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "Seth, what do you even know about love? You're fourteen. Right now, you're all hyped up on hormones, and you think the girl is the center of the universe. Sooner or later, you'll grow up and realize that she's not, and by then you'll have ruined everything with your family and you won't be able to go back. Love fades, kid. Money is forever."

[Seth Inophen]

"Money isn't everything Jarrod," Seth said. "There are so many things that are more important than that." He thought about Bek, Gage, and Maxi back at the castle. In the three or so years Seth had at Hogwarts, his three best friends had taught him so much more about life than his brother and his parents ever had. "And sooner or later Jarrod," Seth glared. "you'll grow up and realize you can't buy yourself out of everything."

[Jarrod Inophen]

Jarrod's eyes flared dangerously. "And when are you going to realize that love doesn't really conquer all?" he sneered. "Come on, Seth. You're fourteen. Do you really think this can last? Nothing lasts at fourteen. Who knows how you'll feel in a year or two? You can't really think it's a good idea to throw everything away for a childhood crush?"

[Seth Inophen]

Seth saw the anger flare in Jarrod's eyes and silently wondered who would fly across the table and hit the other first. His brother was speaking in circles, pointing out Seth's young age and his reputation and his beliefs that there was no chance to make him and Maxi last, and truthfully, Seth was sick of it before he sat down.

"Jarrod, I'm not changing my mind about Maxi, so unless there is anything else you may want to say..." Seth began to stand up.

[Jarrod Inophen]

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, Seth," Jarrod said, reaching across the table and grabbing his brother's hand. "I am the least of your worries right now. You should be glad I came here, instead of Mum and Dad. They're furious at you, and not even just for the Maxi thing. Dad's even mad that you took Herbology. You didn't even make it into the Slug Club, and both Dad and I were in it. Personally, I don't care much about that, but when you put it all together, they think you're a bad seed. Seriously.... they're talking about disowning you. What would you do if that happened... you wouldn't have any place to go. Seriously, Seth... I'm just trying to look out for you. Even if you won't break up with Maxi, maybe if you made a few small concessions with what Dad wants, maybe they won't disown you yet. But you've got to make an effort and stop trying to be the self-righteous rebel. Come on... maybe you could change your schedule? Or talk Slughorn into letting you in the Slug Club? You've got to do something to make Dad happy..."

[Seth Inophen]

Seth sighed deeply and sat back down. The waitress returned with their breakfast and Seth gripped his orange juice glass, his knuckles turning a shade whiter. "Making Dad happy isn't really a priority in my life Jarr," Seth said with a roll of his eyes. But he knew his brother was right. If Seth didn't do something an Inophen would do, his father would come to Hogwarts himself and rip him a new one. "I'm good at Herbology," Seth said. "Really good, and I like it," he sipped his juice. "As for Slug club..." Yes, Seth had been a little jealous that Maxi was invited and he wasn't, but Seth didn't care all to much for Slughorn anyway. "I don't think any amount of groveling from me will get Slughorn to add me to his precious club, I'm dismal at potions..." Seth explained.

[Jarrod Inophen]

Jarrod sighed and shook his head. "Then do something about it," he said. "Work on getting un-dismal at potions. Ask around; maybe you can find someone who would be willing to tutor you. Maybe if you can improve your grades in potions, Dad will get off your back for a while. You've got to do something, Seth. You're in serious trouble here."

[Seth Inophen]

Seth raised an eyebrow at his brother in skeptism before turning to his now half soggy cereal and eating a spoonful. Jarrod just didn't understand how difficult of a task it was becoming un-dismal in potions.
But he figured, if he just ate his breakfast and agreed with his brother, he'd be able to get out of there sooner.
"Okay, fine," Seth said shortly. "I'll try. But I won't make any promises." Seth said. There was a small part of him that wondered if he'd really mind being disowned. He was sure he could stay at Gage's or another friend's. But he sighed, knowing family was family no matter how much you want to strangle them.
"Anything else?" Seth asked, his annoyance apparent in his voice. Before I find a good reason to chuck this bowl at your head? he added silently.

[Jarrod Inophen]

"Hey, li'l bro, that's all I'm asking," said Jarrod smoothly. "Just work on trying to be someone Mum and Dad can be proud of. If you improve that Potions grade, I think that'll help a lot. In fact, I was really good at potions, so if you can't find someone willing to help you out, just let me know, and I'd be more than happy to tutor you, buddy. Anything for my little bro." He gave a smarmy-looking wink.

He hadn't given up on getting Seth away from the Hufflepuff. But he'd have to take it slower and try a different tactic. Getting Seth mad at him would only drive him further away.

[Seth Inophen]

Seth just continued to eat his breakfast. He never understood his brother. Jarrod could turn from a controling pain in the arse to the kind, caring big brother in the blink of an eye, and Seth STILL didn't know how he did it.
But he did know not to buy into it. 14 years of experience taught him that about his big brother.
"You know i don't really care if Mum and Dad are proud of me right Jarrod?" Seth asked. "They haven't really been the best role models..." Yea, scolding and punishing him everytime he tried to do something the least bit different was definatly not role model material.

[Jarrod Inophen]

Jarrod shook his head. His little brother's rebellious attitude worried him greatly. War was coming and what would happen if his little brother was on the wrong side? Despite everything, Jarrod really did love his younger brother, and he really did just want the best for him. He really didn't want him to get caught in the crossfire of a war. He also feared what would become of the family and their reputation if Seth didn't come around.

"Maybe not, kid, but they just want what's best for you," he said. "And really, what's so bad about doing better in potions, right? Think about it it, you might need to know about potions for your career. Have you even given any thought to that?"

[Seth Inophen]

Seth restrained from rolling his eyes. If he heard another one of his family members say "We just want what's best for you" without knowing exactly what best was, he swears he'd go mental.

But he did have to agree, maybe doing better in Potions wasn't really a bad idea, it was the fact he was doing it because Jarrod asked him to that bothered him slightly. "No, I haven't thought about careers yet," Seth replied to his brother, "I'm only 14 though, I don't need to think about it for at least another year, right?"