April Rain Jackson

April was eight years old the last Christmas she shared with the Jackson family. It was also the Christmas after her grandfather died. April was playing with her cousin Lora when she heard the shouting. Her Uncle David and her father were fighting over what they’d been fighting over for months-- money. It was all they ever talked about since her grandfather had died. Who got his money.

April looked at Lora as she put down her doll. Her Aunt Kim came into the room and touched her daughter’s arm lightly. “Honey, we need to go. It’s not safe.” She said softly, lovingly.

This was before Carrie had her daughter, so that left April and Alex alone in the room while their fathers fought.

“I’m bored,” Alex said without looking up from his toy dragon. “Want to see what they’re doing? I have my dragon to protect us.”

He was older than April by a few years, and they’d always gotten along alright. Sure, their dads hated each other, but Alex was okay. His mom was nice. She always brought April a new doll whenever she saw her.

April shrugged, having grown bored of the dolls when she turned five. “Sure, dolls suck.” The young girl cleaned up her mess quickly; Alex left his toys a mess. He always did that, left everything in disarray whenever they played. That’s why April hated playing with Alex. That and he played dirty, always changing the rules.

“Hurry up, I think it’s getting good.” Such a boy.

April rolled her eyes and closed the toy chest. She followed Alex to the dining room, making sure to keep quiet. She didn’t want to see what was happening, the flashing lights in the doorway were already too much for her. She knew what that meant. It had happened before.

“David, please stop.” April heard her Aunt Lyanna cry.

“Anna, get back.” April’s mother could be heard faintly. Leslie Jackson knew how their husbands could be.

They reached the doorway, Alex taking the first peek. April could see the look on his face, the wide eyes, the trembling bottom lip. He was scared. She took one of his hands before peeking over his shoulder at the fight. Spells were being thrown. Insults were being shouted. It was not something children should see. It was not something that should happen at all.

“David, please, I don’t want to do this.” April’s father shouted as he deflected a spell from his brother, the golden light shooting at the wall instead. “You’re my brother, we shouldn’t fight.”

“I don’t care.” Uncle David grunted, shooting another spell at April’s father. This one hit him square in the chest, and the man went flying into the wall.

April gasped, and Alex squeezed her hand. She tried to pull away to go to her father, but Alex stopped her. “He’ll get you, too.” He whispered as he pulled his little cousin into his arms. April cried into his shoulder. She could hear her mother crying out in agony and knew that Lyanna Jackson was holding her just as Alex held her.

“We should get back to the playroom.” Alex whispered again. He was right, April knew that, but she didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to leave her parents like this, she didn’t want to pretend that she didn’t know what had happened. “He’ll be madder if he finds us, he’ll hurt us, too.” Alex sounded scared. April had never heard him sound this scared before, not in any of the fights their fathers had had before. This was serious.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale. April followed Alex back to the playroom. He pulled out a board came and set it up, and they played. There was no joy, both children knew it was so that they could create the appearance that they’d been playing nice the entire time. They played the game for about thirty minutes in complete silence until April’s mother burst into the room.

“April, sweetie, we’re going home. Daddy had a little too much to drink so I’m going to apparate home, okay?” She had tears on her face.

“Okay. Can I say bye to Aunt Lyanna first?” April asked. She didn’t want to see Uncle David, but she still loved her aunt.

“No, sweetie. She’s busy with your uncle. Alex will tell her you said bye, right?”

“I will. I’ll see you on New Year’s, April.” Alex waved to his cousin, but he couldn’t bring a smile to his face.

“I’ll see you on New Year’s,” April said softly. She wanted to go home. This house was cold and unwelcoming now. After a small wave to her cousin, April followed her mom out of the room. They were almost to the front door when April remembered, “Wait, mom, my dolls.”

“We don’t have time, April. You can’t get them.” Her grip on her daughter’s wrist was that of iron, and she dragged April out the door. As soon as she reached him, her mother pulled April and her father close before apparating away. April opened her eyes at home.

Since that night, April hadn’t seen her cousin. Or anyone in her family. They were a distant memory by the time April started Ilvermorny, and by the time she started school, Alex was two years ahead of her. She didn’t want to bother him, he had friends. He had things. Besides, why would he want to talk to her anyway? They weren’t really family anymore. They hadn’t seen each other in over three years, and he hadn’t even made any effort to contact her. So she didn’t make any effort to contact him either.

They competed against each other during Quidditch and Quodpot season, and despite her love for the game, April didn’t join Dungeons and Goblins until after he graduated. She didn’t want to see him or talk to him. For all she knew, he grew into his father. And when Katie said he cheated on her, she knew it was true.

He was a scumbag. Just like his father. So why should April waste her energy on him? All of her suspicions over the last five years had been true. It made April glad she never told anyone about their tie.

And she was especially glad for that secret when he died. Sure, the truth came out. April was just as shocked as anyone-- well, about some things. She knew a lot, the embezzlement, the lying, the “family secret”. She knew David Jackson was abusive, but she was only eight the last time she’d seen him. She couldn’t really do anything. But she was shocked about the murder, and about Alex being the one to eventually turn David Jackson in.

No one gave April the sad, “oh, your cousin just died. I’m sorry,” look. No one treated her like a fragile animal. No one treated her any different, because why should they? As far as they knew, Alex and April were only competitors in Ilvermorny sports. But she couldn’t help but be sad. Sad for the friendship they could have had, because, while she hated to admit it, the two had a lot in common. April knew that well enough from the few interactions she allowed herself to have with him.

But Alexander David Jackson was dead now, and there was nothing April Rain Jackson could do about it. Well, sometimes she went to his grave. He was buried next to his mother. And she went to his funeral. It was a small event, her parents and aunts attended. There were some kids from school, too, but no one April really knew except for Kate and Oliver. It was hard lying to her friends, but she had to. There was no way she was going to explain everything. Not this deep in her lie.

So April Jackson lived on. Her cousin Lora is in her fifth year at Ilvermorny, and maybe she’ll be able to find some connection with her. It had been so long, but now that they were there, April wanted her family. Her other cousin, Aunt Carrie’s daughter, was in her fourth year.

April has plans to meet with her aunts and cousins for Christmas. It’ll be the first family Christmas in nine years.