[Fontvieille, Monaco] When the summer comes (Netta)

Mid July 2003

Honoré was actually not too excited that the holidays had come. Being in the range of his parents' influence meant obligations and even less freedom than he had at school. He had to attend special events, wearing his dress robes and a polite smile, the latter actually being a real challenge to keep up. The boy had given up ballroom dancing in the previous summer without his parents knowing about this and that was actually exactly what he reminded himself of when he was at such events. It made him smile that his parents had no idea that he had fooled them and that he was paying another boy to play him.

When Netta had found out about the summer camp that she could attend now that she was an incoming first year at Beauxbatons, his little sister had used her knowledge about him betraying their parents to blackmail him to help her convince their parents that she should go. Well, truth be told he had told his younger siblings he'd owe him and  do them favours (or pay them) so that they kept his secret. Therefore, Honoré was actually quite pleased that when Netta asked for this favour as it did little harm.

He had told their parents how it would would benefit Netta, not only reasoning in a way that Netta would like. Honoré had told them that the girl would struggle among kids from all backgrounds at school if she had never seen other children except for those in their immediate surroundings. He explained to their parents how Netta was a snotty and stubborn kid who'd totally struggle during her first year at school and how it would be better if she had that struggle elsewhere – like at the camp where she'd meet kids from all sorts of schools around the world.

In the end their parents agreed, mostly because they could easily afford the camp and felt like it would do no harm to send her there and they didn't want a prolonged discussion. Honoré went to Netta's room immediately to tell her the great news. Knocking on the door, the boy opened it slowly and poked his head in.

“Can I come in to deliver a message that should please you?” He asked, grinning at his little sister.

Stepping in he challenged her. “Now you have three guesses. Any idea what I have to tell you? I'll give you a hint. You should get packed.”

@Antoinette Boisbouvier

Her first year at Beauxbatons was just around the corner and Antoinette had never been so excited about anything in her life. She didn't know many children her own age (or at least ones that she liked) and Netta was extremely pleased to have such a lengthy opportunity to network with other families, which would surely please her parents. When the pamphlet of a Summer camp being held in the United States of America came with her Beauxbatons acceptance letter, Netta realised that this was a perfect opportunity to get a head start and make more friends than everyone else before even stepped foot in the school, plus she'd get extra educational knowledge. That'd make her better than everyone else too.

Almost immediately, however, her heart dropped as she realised that her parents wouldn't listen to her if she brought her proposal to them. It wasn't even worth trying, they never listened to her. But they always listened to Honoré! Netta quickly asked him if he would talk to them on her behalf, bargaining with the little titbit of blackmail she had on him. She even told him what to say, how she'd still be able to dance at camp and that they even had classes on it, so she could even improve more, and how she might even find a better partner for her than stupid, bumbling Rainier.

Antoinette had been slowly pacing her room ever since he agreed, though at some point she had picked up a book and started to read it to escape her nerves. She didn't know what else to do. The book flew out of her hands at the unexpected knock on the door, luckily landing on her four-poster bed and Netta quickly fixed the ruffles on her dress and re-arranged her hair before she turned to glare at her rude intruder.

At the sight of a grinning elder brother, Netta relaxed, taking in a deep breath and allowing a small smile as she let it out, noticing how pleased he seemed. His teasing was childish and she knew that, but she couldn't help smile at it. She liked how he teased her, like how they used to be in the beginning of their (brief) dancing partnership, before she ruined it. "I... I can go?" She hesitated, her bug-like eyes almost popping out of her head. ""I can really go to camp?"

Netta glanced behind her, then looked back to Honoré, before turning her back on him to slide her favourite baby pink luggage out from the hiding spot underneath her bed. Scampering to the door, Netta searched the corridors to see if anyone was coming before reaching up to hug her elder brother, the only thanks he was going to receive. "I knew they'd listen to you," she murmured before letting go and taking a big step back. "I will keep my end of the bargain too, of course," Antoinette simpered, liking how important she sounded as she said it. She turned to walk away from him, eager to start packing but she abruptly stopped as she reached the cases.

"Honoré," she whined, before turning to look at him with pleading eyes. "Will you... will you help me pack?" She asked, before lowering her voice to hide its sudden shakiness, "I don't know what to bring."

Honoré was relieved to see his little sister smile. Briefly he wondered how she'd have reacted had he failed to convince their parents to send her to the camp. Would she have given his secret away? Given him a hard time all summer? Whatever she might have done, it was fortunately futile to think about it now. He had succeeded and Netta was happy.

“Yes,” the Ombrelune said with a slightly amused grin, “yes, you can go to the camp. Told you I'd manage to convince them.” Well, he had told her but, truth be told, he hadn't been quite as convinced as he pretended now. Had their parents disliked the very idea of the camp he'd have had no chance to persuade them to send her anyway.

As Netta got her pink luggage out, the boy raised an eyebrow. Yes, she could get packed and shouldn't waste time to do so but… this was quick. What surprised him even more was the hug she offered him. The boy awkwardly patted her back, feeling somewhat weird that his difficult little sister could still be a sweet girl.

She stepped back before things could get even more odd and announced that she'd keep her end of the bargain. He smiled in response, knowing that this didn't mean that his secret was safe. In fact, the boy felt that it would only be a matter of when and not if it would come out. Strangely it didn't bother him too much though. While his life was easier when his parents were oblivious to the things he did behind their back he also kind of wanted them to pay attention and notice what he was doing.  As it was it felt as though he was just expect to function but wasn't loved by his own parents.

Netta did not have to beg to convince Honoré to help her pack. While they did not always get along perfectly and the boy was determined to mostly avoid his sister at school, he'd still help her whenever needed. He took his time to answer as though he was seriously considering whether or not to help her. “Yeah,” he said, sounding ever so slightly bored, “I guess I can help you.”

He took the luggage and put it onto her bed so they'd have it in a more comfortable place to pack it. “You've read the pamphlet – how's the weather over there supposed to be? Warmer, colder, the same as here?”

Honoré took longer to answer her than she would have liked, and his nonchalant tone made her narrow her eyes. Netta knew he didn't really have anything important to do, so it wasn't like he had a good reason to be hesitant. Why did he sound so reluctant to spend time with her?! "Hmph." Netta sulked all the way over to her luggage, though her expression softened as her brother was at least gentlemanly enough to lift her luggage onto the bed for her.

"It is supposed to be about the same," she began, jumping onto the bed next to her luggage and swinging her legs over the edge. "Perhaps a little cooler, but still hot." Netta clarified, slipping off the bed as quickly as she arrived, running over to the first of two wardrobes and flinging it open. She began talking to her brother again without facing him as she scanned all her pink and frilly dresses. "What if it suddenly starts snowing and we didn't pack a woollen robe? Or... what if I have to go to a party and we didn't pack a ballgown or dress robes?"

She hopped to the other wardrobe now, flinging this one open too but turning to face Honoré with a horrified look on her face. "There could be moldus! I'll need to bring my moldu clothes too!" She glanced at her wardrobes, filled to the brim with her clothes, then glanced at her shoe racks before resting on her baby pink luggage with a determined nod. "Oh, I have to bring everything. "You'll have to make it fit... somehow."

Honoré observed his little sister, an amused grin spreading across his face. She was still an excitable little girl and it was nice to see that. While he had been nodding when she had mentioned that the weather would be about the same over at the camp, he couldn't help but laugh as she mentioned sudden snowfall.

“I… think that might not be necessary. I don't believe you need to expect snow over there now. Not sure about the dress robes though,” he admitted. “I mean, the word 'camp' does not have a very festive ring to it but you never know. Is there anything about a ball or something in the pamphlet? If not I think you can leave your ballgowns here.”

He raised his eyebrows, amazed by how many eventualities his sister could think of. “Moldus? No, I doubt you'll see moldus there.” Okay, he had no clue but this was a camp for witches and wizards. He had read somewhere that magic would not be allowed there but it was still quite unlikely to mix moldus and magical kids. He could not even imagine how that could possibly work.

“Let's try and be reasonable,” Honoré said calmly. “You won't need everything. We'll make a good choice so you'll have nice things to wear and impress your potential new friends.” He hoped his phrasing was good enough to make Netta calm down and actually just pack the things she was likely going to need.

"Are you sure?" Netta asked, turning to face Honoré properly. She felt like every eventuality needed to be accounted for, she didn't want to be embarrassed in front of all her future friends because she wasn't prepared. "It doesn't say anything about it, but the probability of it being someone's birthday while I'm there is quite high, isn't it?" She walked to the wardrobe and pulled out two party dresses. "Maybe not ballgowns, but a birthday party requires a party dress." She brought them over and placed on the bed, presenting them to her brother with a flourish of her hand. "Two party dresses, actually. There could be more than one, and I don't want to look...impoverished," she brought her voice down to a whisper at the latter half of her sentence, "by wearing the same dress twice."

"Are you sure I won't see them? Shouldn't I pack one moldu outfit just in case?" Well, she supposed he had no reason to lie to her, but even so. She thought she was being sensible for preparing for such a situation. She was going to pack one later anyway, whether or not he said she could.

He wanted her to be reasonable? Was not preparing for every situation reasonable and smart, and a grown-up-like thing to do?! "I am being reasonable!" Netta raised her voice, and stomped her foot on the ground. "How do you know I won't need all these things?" She snarled at him, crossed her arms indignantly and pouting ridiculously. But... he think about how she could impress her friends... Her face relaxed a little, and she walked over to him.

"Will... my friends be mad at me if I bring everything, then?" She asked innocently, wide eyes looking up at him. "I have to bring my nicest dresses to impress them!" Antoinette paused, glancing over to the shoe box in her wardrobe which was kept apart from her shoe rack. "My pink satin shoes will impress them, won't they? She pointed to the shoe box in question, assuming that her older brother knew exactly which shoes she was talking about.

Honoré didn't feel like telling his sister that he was, indeed, sure. She didn't seem as though she'd believe it no matter if he repeated this now or not.

“Well, yes,” he agreed when she said that it was probable that someone had their birthday during her stay at the camp. “I'm just not certain you can get a real party at a camp,” he said, thinking that it was possible that birthdays went unnoticed at a camp with people that didn't know each other.

There was no need to try and reason with Netta and Honoré knew that. When his little sister had put her mind on something it was a futile effort to try and convince her of anything else. If she felt she needed two party dresses who was he to object to that?

He merely shrugged as she put two dressed onto her bed. She was already talking about the moldu clothing now and Honoré wondered briefly why he had agreed to help her pack. This was bound to be a very tiring endeavour. He suppressed a sigh. “Maybe just take something that works for both magical folk and muggles?” he tentatively suggested.

“Oh, I don't know anything about it,” Honoré said irritatedly as his sister got loud with him. “If you do not want to listen to a word I say why do you want me to help at all? I've got better things to do than this.”

Even though the tone of Netta's voice had changed, Honoré still felt a little mad at her. “They'll probably be more impressed by the satin shoes than by your attitude,” he muttered more to himself than to her. “Why don't you just pack as much as you can fit into your luggage?” he then asked a little louder. “I can also give you another bag if you need it.” He'd just do anything to make her stop bothering him with decisions as to which dresses and shoes to bring. Whoever needed pink satin shoes at a summer camp? He felt that hiking boots might be a better choice but given Netta's recent outburst he didn't feel like voicing this thought to her at all.

“Well, they have to have parties! What would the point be in having birthdays if no one celebrated them.” Netta frowned, looking at her brother as if he was the dumbest person on the planet. “I’m bringing them. I want to be prepared.” She said resolutely, thinking that she might be better off without her brother’s help.

Magical and moldu clothing? Netta didn’t think she had anything that would be suitable for both the magical and moldu World. “What would work?” She asked, pouting slightly. “My pink chiffon dress with the bow on it?” She smiled dreamily, thinking about twirling in that gorgeous dress. “Nanny said she bought it from a moldu shop in town, but I wear it all the time and no one has said anything.”

Her brother kept saying he had more important things to do, and it was quickly irking Antoinette. She believed that he just didn’t want to help her, and that he was being lazy and annoying. “No, you don’t.” She replied, crossing her arms as she glared at him. “If you still danced, then maybe you would. But you do nothing. You have time to help me.” Netta stated, as if it was a finality, and that there was no possible way he could argue with her.

“Excuse me?” Netta asked, stepping closer to him, genuinely not hearing his muttering to himself. “It is rude to mumble.” She added, simpering at him. “You should know that by now.”

Her brother finally made a good suggestion, and even was kind enough to offer one of his bags. This was more like it, Netta thought. “Oh, that is a good idea… Yes, let us do that.” Antoinette nodded her head, as she turned to face her wardrobe ready to grab her clothes. “What colour is your bag though? Will it match my pink luggage?” If it was a different colour like green or orange, then Netta would completely refuse. It had to compliment her luggage, of course.

“Oh, I need to bring my dancing clothes too. And my ballroom shoes. Don’t I?” She asked, as she fiddled with the top of her dress. “I still will be able to dance while I’m there, won’t I?”

“Not everybody is as much into parties as you are,” Honoré said quietly. “Also I could imagine that some students there do not want to be in the spotlight if it's their birthday during their stay.” He knew it was entirely futile to tell his sister this but he just couldn't help it. He just couldn't stay quiet all the time just to avoid another conflict with his sister.

“Yes, the pink chiffon dress would clearly work well,” he said approvingly although he did not really know which of her countless dresses she was talking about anyway. However, he knew that to keep Netta's mood up he needed to agree with her occasionally and this seemed like a good opportunity.

“How do you know what I have been planning to do?” Honoré asked with a mixture of anger and amusement. His little sister was so full of herself and so annoying. “I clearly have better things to do than go through your wardrobe to pick countless dresses that you won't get an opportunity to wear anyway. What about shorts and hiking boots? That does sound more like a camp stay to me.”

Now she even told him off for mumbling. Honoré shook his head, a disbelieving grin spreading across his face. “It's also rude to boss your own brother around the way you do,” he said, feeling more and more irritated.

“Will it match your pink luggage?” Honoré echoed incredulously. “Well, it's clearly not pink,” he said, laughing bitterly. “It's dark blue. Would that work with your pink luggage, mademoiselle?”

Running his hand through his curly hair, Honoré didn't really know what he should say in response to Antoinette wanting to bring her ballroom dancing clothes and shoes as well. “Oh ugh,” he began helplessly. “It's a camp,” he said sounding rather amused. “But yes, sure, bring all the dancing clothes too. Are you sure you're not emigrating?”

How could people not like parties?! Netta considered that impossible, and her face clearly showed it. Her surprise soon melted into a scowl though as she realsied how stupid how her elder brother was. Parties were perfect for networking, and getting a chance to look one’s absolute best. There was always good food there and it was a pleasure to be able to talk to people that weren’t her idiotic brothers or the nanny. Sometimes, she even got to talk to her parents properly at parties. Netta adored them. Antoinette snorted as Honoré added that he thought some people wouldn’t want attention on their birthday. That was even more ridiculous. “I can’t believe how much of an idiot you are sometimes… Everyone likes parties on their birthday.”

“Great,” Netta replied, already going to the wardrobe to retrieve the dress. “I thought so.” Netta swatted at the hanger a few times, struggling to reach it but grabbed it eventually and trotted over back to the bed where she gently laid it down. It was so beautiful and Netta smiled at how lovely she would look in it.

“I don’t see how.” Netta retorted as her brother suggested he had plenty of things to do. Her face instantly turned sour and her hands balled into little fists. She was so sick of her brother being so awful to her. “You don’t dance anymore, I think you just lay about in your room all day. You’ve become a little lazybones.” Netta spat the last sentence, suddenly offended by his presence in her room. “You just don’t want to help me.” Netta started to genuinely believe that to be true as her elder brother suggested shorts and hiking boots, as if she would ever be willingly seen alive in them. “Do you want me to look completely ridiculous?” Netta shrilly asked. “Who even wears those things anyway?

“It’s also rude to not even help me!” Antoinette argued back, crossing her arms as she pouted. “And besides, I wouldn’t need to boss you around if you had a brain in between your two ears.”

Netta considered the offer of his blue suitcases for a few seconds, tapping her finger against her chin as she decided. “Dark blue is a perfect contrast with baby pink, it will look as if I had planned it that way. It will certainly suffice. I’ll get the nanny to get them when she comes by.” Netta stated, as she moved towards the door to look out and see if said nanny was around.

Netta stamped her foot in defiance, angry that her brother was always so mean to her. “I shall bring my dancing clothes, just because it sounds like you don’t want me to. I’ll do it just to prove a point to you.” Netta’s eyes narrowed at him and she glared, her cheeks growing red. “I’d happily emigrate if it meant I wouldn’t have to see you.” Netta began raising her voice. “Why did you even agree to help if you were just going to try to sabotage me and make me look like a fool before I could even make friends!” Her foot stamped the floor again as angry tears threatened to fall. Honoré was trying to ruin everything.  “Get out of my room! I hate you!” She yelled at him, before turning away and flinging herself dramatically on her fainting couch in the far corner of her room.

[out]

There were moments when Honoré felt like he had been switched at birth and did not really belong to his family. Now was one of these moments again. His little sister was treating him quite badly and, while he was used to it, he naturally didn't enjoy being called an idiot. Who did like that anyway?

“If you say so,” he said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. Why didn't Antoinette understand that not everybody had to be like her? Parties, in Honoré's opinion, were vastly overrated. He did not like the way how people pretended to be different from how they usually were. How girls dressed up to look like grown up women or, if it went badly, like life sized dolls. He preferred it when people stayed natural and did not show off. However, that was a point of view that nobody in his family seemed to share.

He watched his little sister with some bemusement as she struggled to retrieve a dress from her wardrobe, feeling not in the slightest motivated to help her. If she was too small to get it then it was her problem and if she needed help she should have to ask nicely.

“Do you think there's no other way to spend my time than being bossed around by you?” he asked through gritted teeth. “You're really clueless. Why don't you try to think before speaking. Would suit you well.”

He shook his head as she complained about his suggestion of shorts and hiking boots. “Honestly, do what you want. I really was willing to help you. However, I do not have to listen to this.”

She seemed to approve of the dark blue luggage but by now Honoré didn't feel like giving his luggage to his impossible sister. “Now that I think about it, I think it's really quite stained,” he said, smirking. “Might have left my worn socks in there over the summer… You might not like my luggage, after all. Maybe ask maman, she probably has something appropriate for you.”

He snorted with unamused laughter as she said that she'd bring her dancing clothes because he didn't want her to. “How mature to do this just to spite me,” he said. “I'll tell our parents that you wish to emigrate. If I'm lucky they think it's a good idea. I think you being on a different continent would really improve my life.” And then she threw him out. He shook his head, smirking. “Likewise,” he said with a mock bow to her. “I wouldn't want to waste any more time listening to your crap.”

[out]