Welcome Home (Arya/Goyles)

[RIVER DESMOND GOYLE]

It was his plan all along that after Hogwarts he would move out. River didn't really have any other choice considering that staying with his mother proved emotionally unhealthy. With all his siblings at Hogwarts, it would leave him alone with his mother and step-father and River was not up for that kind of awkwardness. Seeing as he was now an Obliviator for the Ministry, he got paid pretty well and was able to get his own house. It was small - a two bedroom and two bathroom place with a living room and den. The kitchen was newly remodeled, as well, so overall his new house was very nice. He had originally planned on moving into a flat in London in a building that was notorious for hosting newly-graduated Hogwarts students, but River got such a great deal on the house that he went with the latter option. After all, he would eventually like to have a family and already having a home would prove essential in that process.

River enlisted his siblings to help him move the stuff he had. He was smart and put off unloading his Hogwarts trunk so as to keep all his robes in one place. River stood on the porch of his house, which he was sure was in view from the house of the Weasleys a little bit away, and and unlocked the front door. "Here we go!" he muttered, then kicked the door open. He grinned as he carried his Hogwarts trunk over the threshold and set it down just inside the doorway. River strolled through the entryway and into the living room which was bare, just like the rest of the house. It might have been bare, but it certainly had potential to be brilliant. River looked back to Arya and smiled. "It's great, isn't it?" he asked with a grin.

[ARYA EVANGELINE GOYLE]

Today was the day Arya's older brother River was moving into his new home and she wouldn't miss it for the world. He had asked her, along with their other siblings to help with the moving, but it had seemed that she was the only one to show at the moment. Arya didn't mind. As much as she loved her other siblings and wished to see them, she hadn't really had the time to spend one on one time with River. Even though they had been in the same house at Hogwarts, they were separate years as well as both had their own things to deal with and different interests. She tried whenever she had a spare moment to have a proper conversation with him, but it wasn't too often. Now with him being graduated, she worried about how much she'd be able to see him at all. She knew that she had a place to go now during the holidays, but Arya wasn't sure just the holidays would suffice. She loved her brother and would miss him dearly. At least at Hogwarts she got to see him around. Now he wouldn't be there at all.

Holding a box of River's stuff, she stood behind him as he unlocked the door. The outside looked nice, but she was more curious about the inside. She watched him as he kicked open the door and walked in, following in behind him. Her eyes immediately scanned the place as she followed him into the living room and set the box down. Plopping down on top of it, she continued to to look around. It was bare, but it had great potential. Generally she loved it and probably would have chosen it herself had she been looking for a place to live. When her brother looked back at her with a smile, she smiled up at him. "It really is River." She told him sincerely, her smile still in tact. "So great, I'd think a woman picked it out for you. Since when have you had good taste in anything?" She teased her brother, her features giving off a playful look.

RIVER DESMOND GOYLE

[RIVER DESMOND GOYLE]

River was glad that Arya liked the place. It was his intention to put two twin beds in the spare bedroom and have a pull-out couch (or at least a very comfortable one) so that his siblings could visit whenever they wanted. And so long as he wasn't married to an obnoxious woman who tried to push his siblings out altogether, they could certainly live there after Hogwarts if they had to, too. River knew that their mother wasn't dependable and she was barely tolerable so he could understand if his siblings wanted a place to crash that wasn't with the woman who gave birth to them. River chuckled and shook his head at his sister's comment. "Hey - I have fine taste thank you," he told her and then motioned her forward. "Let me show you around before we get the other things," River said, walking toward the back of the house where the kitchen was. He wasn't too worried about leaving his things in the front yard - it was fenced it, anyway, and the neighbors were all 'old school wizarding families' so he had no reservations about them taking his things.

"So this is the kitchen - obviously. All the appliances came with it which was nice, I've just got to get a table to go over here...but oh look! Isn't this cool, A?" he said, then trotted over to the built-in seating in front of a large window. He plopped down onto the wood and noted to get some cushions for that area as soon as he could. River looked out of the window to the large meadow that surrounded his house then looked back to Arya and grinned. "Cool, right?"

[ARYA EVANGELINE GOYLE]

Arya laughed lightly at her brother's comment. "Okay, whatever you say River." She teased him again, with a smirk upon her lips. Arya wasn't the joking type. Most of the time she was mature about things and pretty serious, but every now and then she allowed herself to let loose and just unwind. Those she was closest to were generally the people  she allowed to see that side of her. It was mainly her siblings though, because in most situations she was dealing with stuck up Slytherins due to the house she was put in. Not that she disliked her house. She just had to deal with a lot of people that tended to have sticks up their butts most of the time. And on another note, not all Slytherins were like that either. One example being her brother. But Hogwarts was full of strange people and some you couldn't trust, so it was good to keep a level head on your shoulders. "Alright." She said simply, standing from the box and following him to the kitchen when he said he wanted to show her around.

Hearing her brother speak and watching him move about the kitchen made her smile. She could tell he was happy and excited about the place, which made her feel at peace. Arya had always been about making sure her siblings were happy, even River who was older than her. She couldn't help but feel responsible for all of them. It was a role she took on a long time ago when her biological father was still around. "Wow, that's really nice." She told him in reference to the appliances that were already there. "Less money on your part I suppose." Her brother then called her over to a built in seating in front of a window, and she followed, just like she had been doing the whole time. Looking out the window her eyes gazed over the meadow that it overlooked. "Oh my, it's so beautiful." She said, her tone laced with admiration. "I know where I'll be staying when I want to get away from the Castle for a bit." She joked, even though she probably would pop in just to see the view. "It really is wonderful here, but let's see the rest, yes?"

RIVER DESMOND GOYLE

[RIVER DESMOND GOYLE]

The sun listened in on their conversation as it seeped through the clean glass windows. River looked back to Arya as she mentioned knowing where to go away from the castle. Laughing, he answered, "You know you can come here any time you like - I'm gonna get some extra beds for you all," River explained, then got up from the window seat and took her direction. "Yea yea - this way," he said then led her to the left of the kitchen and up the spiraling staircase; there was a spiraled staircase at the back of the house and a set of stairs as you entered the house from the front door, as well. He imagined that the back set of stairs would be useful for guests as it was closer to the second bedroom than it was the master.

"Here's the guest room," he said as he opened the door and stepped into the room at the back of the house. "It's pretty large, yea?" he commented as he moved toward the window where he could see the same view as from the window seating in the kitchen. He turned to Arya and grinned then walked back out into the hallway. "This is the bathroom," River said, motioning to the bathroom in the hallway on their way to the front of the house where the master bedroom sat. "It's nice, but I think I'm going to use a charm to create another bathroom downstairs off the den, that way everyone doesn't have to come upstairs to use the bathroom. I probably need to do that soon if I'm going to have my welcome home party," he laughed. "Oh yea - I forgot to mention that to you. But next weekend I'm going to have a party - just a couple mates from school to hangout and see the place. There'll be music, snacks, probably wizard's chess going on and a couple rounds of Firewhiskey if you want to come by," he explained with a grin. It was going to be a great party.

[ARYA EVANGELINE GOYLE]

Arya smiled at her brother as he laughed, but told her she was welcomed any time. When he talked about getting beds for all of them, she shook her head. "No no, that won't do. Only I'm allowed to stay here, so one bed shall suffice. And make it a queen sized, okay?" She teased, knowing that she wouldn't even want that. The thought of her younger siblings having somewhere to go other than back home was something that filled her with joy. River was a good older brother and just like they depended on her at times, they also depended on him. "In all seriousness though, thank you. You know it means a lot considering the circumstances." River knew she wasn't very fond of their mother, nor their step-father, but neither was he so he understood her. She would never pressure him into letting her stay there, but she didn't feel like she had to because she knew he would offer it, just like she would to him if she had her own place. Sadly she was a year shy of being able to get something such as his new home. Arya chuckled at him as he followed her direction, even though it wasn't meant to be that way. She just wanted to see the rest of the place.

She followed him up the staircase and walked into the room when he opened the door and introduced it as the guest bedroom. "It is pretty big. I'm hoping this isn't the largest one though. The biggest bedroom should go to you." He then showed her the bathroom and told her of his plans to put one downstairs. "That's a really good idea." She told him. "I know I wouldn't want to walk up and down the stairs every time I had to do my business and I'm sure you wouldn't either if you were having a lazy day downstairs." Arya listened as he talked about the party he was going to have and she nodded at him. "Yeah, of course. I'll be there." She told him with a smile. "I mean, you know it's not my scene. Plus who would want to hang out with your friends? But I'll drop by just for your sake."

RIVER DESMOND GOYLE

[RIVER DESMOND GOYLE]

River laughed in between her statements, shaking his head. He knew she was totally kidding about being the only one to stay there, and that was only because of their frequent conversations about getting their siblings out of the hell hole that they had lived in for so long. It wasn't a healthy environment for any of them, really. "You're welcome - and you're right, I do know how much it means...considering. That's why I'm doing this," he explained, but he didn't have to go further. Arya and River had a strong connection in that they were both looking out for their siblings, including each other. Although River was the oldest and tried to take up as much of the fatherly role as possible for their siblings, Arya also had a role she played to protect them and River thanked her for that. He could only extend the invitation to all of their siblings, including A, in order to help them lead the best lives possible. It was just what he was supposed to do - the right thing. He most always did the right thing, unlike their pathetic father.

"Yea I agree - that's the only downside, but like I said I'm going to fix that. Easy fix," River said and then led her further down the hallway to his room, chuckling about her comment. "Oh no, not your scene at all," he said, rolling his eyes. He chuckled and finally turned around just before his bedroom door. "Before we go in - no, you're not allowed to have my room," he said very seriously before opening the door and allowing her in. It was a great bedroom, really. The ceiling was much taller than it appeared from the outside of the house and crown molding surrounded it, as well. His bed - a queen size bed with a big black headboard - sat in the middle of the farthest wall facing them, while his black dresser sat facing the bed on the opposite wall (the wall nearest the door.) There were two black side tables on either side of the bed with modern-styled lamps sitting on each of them. The walls were a smokey, cozy brown color and made the room feel much warmer than the other rooms which were coated with sterile white paint. He sat at the edge of his bed and grinned at her. "I haven't done much with it so far but it's nice, right?"

[ARYA EVANGELINE GOYLE]

Arya gave her brother a warm smile after hearing his words. River was a good brother and always had been. She appreciated everything he had ever done for her and she was sure the rest of their siblings appreciated him just as much. He was a good person, considering the circumstances. Most thought they would be such mean people after hearing their last names, but the truth was, they were nothing like their father, or their mother for that matter. They were generally nice kids. But there were a lot of students who were so judgmental, it was what made her that way. It was hard for Arya to trust people and not judge them because ever since she started Hogwarts that's what so many did to her. So what's a person to do but to be cautious of those around them? "You're a wonderful brother River, as well as a good man. I can't wait until you find a girl who loves you just as much as you love her. You deserve the best my big bro." She said with a wink as she continued to follow him around.

Arya chuckled and nodded. "Well good. I'm glad you're going to fix it." Shaking her head at his next comment, she scoffed at her brother. "Don't you roll your eyes at me River Desmond Goyle!" She warned him with a playful glare. "You know I don't do the whole party scene. But I will be there just for you, and maybe I'll even get you a gift." She teased, reaching up and ruffling his hair. Sighing, she nodded at her brother. "Fine." She pretended to be upset about him telling her she couldn't have his bedroom, but really she didn't mind. It was his home, she would just be glad to be welcomed there and away from their parents. When he opened the door, she stepped inside and looked around. "Nice River! I love it. And you picked everything out by yourself?" She asked him a bit skeptical, crossing the room and sitting next to him on the bed. 

Continuing to look around, she wondered if this would be the right time to talk to him about her gift. She had never mentioned it to any of her siblings because she didn't know if it was that serious, but lately it had been getting worse. "River..." She started, her facial features dropping to their normal serious demeanor. "Can I talk to you about something?"


RIVER DESMOND GOYLE