This Means War! (Jeff)

Cambria watched dejectedly as Gareth disapparated back to Hogsmeade. She wanted him to stay so badly, but he had said the conversation between her and her daddy was not for anyone else. It wasn't like it was a big secret as to why he had come. He would be checking up on her grounding, and making sure she was still completely miserable because of it. But of course she was still miserable...her father had built-in spies watching her every move. Sometimes it felt like she had three fathers, what with Evan and Gareth skulking around behind her. Either that, or one father and two lackeys.

It had all started this weekend. She had been caught almost completely naked with Saber, for the second time. The first time, her brother Gareth had caught her. And this time, it was her daddy. She had never seen him so angry in her entire life. He had sent Saber away and had grounded her for another full month. And now he was back, ready to torment her some more!

She walked slowly up to the restaurant they had chosen, and she saw him sitting at an outdoor table. Normally her daddy was her favorite person, but not today. The fight from this weekend was still fresh. So she sat huffily at the table and took a sip of her water without looking directly at him. When he didn't speak right away, she softly cleared her throat.

"You wanted to see me?"

Jeffrey had made his decision and there was just no way to change his mind about it. He would not get over the images that had been in his head of his little girl stripping down naked with that one...what's his name! He loved his daughter with all of his heart, but he was not going to stand by while she fucked up her own life! He was a school teacher, he had seen these things happen and he was not ready to see it happen to his baby girl.

Noticing her sit down in front of him he glared at her very cold tone of voice. She had no right to be angry! He was the one that had caught his child getting busy and she was only fucking thirteen years old! Tightening his hands around his own cup of tea he took a deep breath and sighed.

"Yes," he said softly. "I wanted to talk to you about that boy you were with...your mother and I have been talking....and it's been decided that you and him are no longer allowed to see one another."

He paused, long enough for that first blow to sink in and then went on.

"As a matter of fact, until we think you are emotionally responsible enough you will not be dating until further notice."

Jeffrey

Cambria felt her heart drop to her stomach and it felt as if a train whistle was sounding in her ears. No, this could not be happening! She loved Saber with all of her heart, and her parents were making them stop seeing each other? Had they EVER been young before?! She glared at him and wrapped her hand tightly around her glass. She truly contemplated throwing it in his face, but that would be a death sentence. And the most unfair part of everything was that her brothers were allowed to continue with their relationships. As if they were behaving themselves! She knew for a fact that both of her brothers had gone pretty far in their relationships. And plenty of her friends were no longer virgins, why was it such a big deal?!

She closed her eyes and felt hot tears on her cheeks. How could she convince him that things would be different? She could be better, she knew she could! But taking away her Saber? Her love? She would die! Literally, she would waste away into nothingness and then they would realize what they had done to her.

"Daddy," she whispered. "You don't understand. I truly love Saber. Someday, I think we'll get married. You can't take something like that away from someone, I'll just find him again. Please, please don't do this! I'm begging you! I'll get down on my knees if it makes a difference, but I cannot lose him!"

She had tears streaming down her face and she moved her chair closer to his. She took his hand and looked into his eyes, the eyes that matched hers.

"I'll behave, I promise I will! Just don't take him from me...I don't care about dating other people, I only care about him!"

Jeffrey sighed and shook his head. He knew that no matter how many times Cambria said she would behave it would never be true. His daughter no longer knew how to behave accordingly. He partially blamed himself for that, he had not disciplined her enough when she was younger and let her get away with too much bullshit. Well that ended now, and it ended with her and Saber.

"No Cambria," he said sternly. "My word is final...you two are going to end it. I already called his guardians and explained the situation to them. They are in agreement...you two are no longer permitted to be in a relationship."

He was not going to let her throw herself at the first boy she came across. Jeffrey knew that she THOUGHT it was love...but in the end it was just her hormones sending her into overdrive. He would not let his daughter live knowing that she had given that punk something she could never take back.

"You are both done," he continued. "And if I find out you are sneaking around I will send you to an all girls wizarding school. I talked to Gareth, I know they exist."

Cambria glared at him through her angry tears. She couldn't believe he had done all of this! Talking to Saber's dad? That was completely uncalled for! Now Saber would be in trouble, and he did not deserve that! She released his hand and put her glass down.

"We're done here."

She stood up and began to walk away. She didn't know where she was going or how far she would get before he stopped her, but she was in a daze. She was on her way to break up with her first love, and her father could give a shit about her feelings. She wasn't even watching where she was going. It didn't matter anymore, nothing mattered anymore. She just went wherever her feet took her. She heard sounds around her, but she didn't register anything. Not the yelling of people she had bumped into. And not the sound of tires screeching and a horn blasting. But she did feel something heavy slam into her. But it wasn't a car...it was a body.

She looked up and realized she had walked into the street and someone had slammed her out of the way from getting hit by a car. And she couldn't even cry about it. She had almost wanted to get hit. She just closed her eyes and turned her head away from him.

Jeff sighed when she got up and instantly followed her. He knew that she would act this way for quite a while but he did not care. She would go through plenty of break ups but she only had one chance at giving her virginity to the right guy. She would understand later when she was older and had to tell her husband that she never slept with anyone. No one thought that mattered anymore, but it did! It mad all the difference to know that your love had saved themselves for you. Closing his eyes he continued to quicken his pace when finally he had managed to cut her off, unfortunately she had not been paying attention to where she was going and as quickly as he could he yanked her out of the way of an oncoming vehicle.

Snarling several nasty words her way he shook her violently his glare fierce and mixed with both anger and pain! He would not let her do this to herself! He would not give into her ploy, but he would also not let her act as if her world was crumbling into nothingness.

"Cambria Winter, what the HELL were you thinking?!" his tone was harsh and deathly low as he continued to grill her for her actions. "You could have been killed!"

Taking her by the arm he began leading her back to his car. His grip was tight so she had no hopes of escaping him and he made sure that people were not suspecting him of kidnapping while he pulled a highly emotional teenager down the street.

"You are not leaving the house period!" he snapped. "Not until you are thinking on a rational level again."

With her daddy's fingers around her wrist, Cambria was beginning to snap out of her daze. It was turning quickly into anger. She glared up at him and tried to pull away, but he was too damn strong.

"Daddy! Daddy let go! Don't you get it?! I don't LIKE you right now! In fact, I can't STAND you! So let go of me so I can try getting hit by another car!"

But before she knew it, she was in her car, with the child locks on. And her head was resting against the window, with sobs threatening to take over her. How could she live without Saber? Yeah, maybe they were young...but he was her soulmate! She would never forgive her father for this. He was just so mean! He used to be sweet and relaxed, and now he had all this pent up anger or something and he was taking it all out on her.

"Just so you know," she sniffled. "I'm not speaking to you for the rest of my life. So I hope you're happy. And when I marry Saber and we have children, you'll never see them either. Way to go, Dad."

(Will Delete later)

Jeffrey had to keep himself from bursting out with laughter when he heard what Cambria had said. She was just so dramatic, but even though she "claimed" to hate him she still called him daddy. And that was how he knew that everything would be alright. Yes she would be mad at him for the time being, but soon she would realize that it was only to protect her. He did love her, but he needed to be more cross with her and her behavior today had just shown him how precise he was.

"Alright Cambria," he said with a sigh. "If that is your wish when you have children and your own husband I will stay away."

He knew that Cambria would eventually just give up on this tantrum but at the present moment he couldn't help but submit to a small chuckle as she pouted in the front seat next to him. She was just so funny when she tried to stay mad and act serious. With her brothers she may have been able to pull it off...but not with him...no never with him.

Cambria could see the laughter behind his lips and she wanted to slap that smug look off of his big fat face! Now she knew where her stupid brothers got it! He was so cocky and she just sat there fuming, waiting to be home so she could destroy something. God, she hated him right now. And she hated that he was still her daddy, and she wanted him to make her feel better about losing her first love, even though he was the one that took Saber away.

"You are such a dickhead," she mumbled.

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Her face turned bright red and her eyes were focused on the floor so fiercely that she might just burn a hole in the bottom of the car. But no matter what he did to her, she would not take it back. He had always taught her to be honest, and she had never said anything more truthful.

"And don't think about holding that against me, I should be allowed one or two bad words for you forcing me to break up with my one true love. Seriously, if you punish me for that, I'll never forgive you. I'll call the Ministry and get myself emancipated. Maybe I should do that anyway. I can go live with Saber and we can sleep together all we want. But the point is...you owe me at least two more free swear words."

Jeffrey slammed on the brakes causing Cambria and himself to lurch forward! When had he EVER permitted her to speak to him like that?! He knew the answer, NEVER! Not in this decade, the next, or any decade after that would come would he EVER allow his children to look at him and speak down on him like he was some idiotic teenager.

"Alright then," he hissed. "Since you want to get emancipated, we will do it! We will do it right now! Because as far as I am concerned if your damn boyfriend is more important to you than what I or this family looks at you as then we can do it right now!"

He pulled a u-turn and began driving to the court house. He would have to do it the muggle way, of course he wasn't going to do it...but he would scare her ass into thinking he would.

"You don't get it Cambria," he snarled. "You are fucking thirteen years old! What pride is there in telling your children that you LOST your fucking virginity at thirteen years old! Do you know who lost their virginity at that age when I was young?! Do you know what we called them?! We called them tarts!"

He knew that it was an old fashioned word, but his daughter would know the meaning. Jeffrey did not raise a tart, he did not raise a girl that would literally throw themselves at the first boy she met! And he should have listened to Evan, he should have listened to his son!

"And you know what, you don't have the right to ANY swear words when you are with me!" he hissed. "And you damn well know better than to speak to me, or ANY of your family like this!"

Pulling up to the small court house he turned to his daughter, his eyes stern and fierce. If she wanted to act like a brat then she could act like a brat, however he would NEVER indulge it or let her get away with it.

"Well here we are," he continued. "Don't worry about your mother's signature, usually they only need a father's. Well...what are you waiting for? You want to be taken from this family? You want to go out on your own and live like the BIG girl you are...then let's do this. Bear in mind though that once it is done you have no affiliation towards this family...and I doubt that Saber's parents will be willing to emancipate him...but since you HAVE to always get your way...I will be willing to indulge you."

He unlocked the car doors.

"So...what's it going to be?" he continued. "You will have to drop out of school of course, get a job, find an apartment, raise yourself...your mother and I will have no obligation to help you...oh, and of course you will want to have sex with Saber and have children...how are you going to take care of them? Is Saber going to be so willing to give up his life because you are being selfish?"

He opened his car door.

"But I suppose no one else's feelings matter to you," he sneered. "So long as Cambria Winter gets her own way...she doesn't care that she ruins her own life, her love's life, or her families."

He got out of the car and made his way to the small court house, explaining to the woman before Cambria could come in that he would like a fake emancipation form. The secretary nodded, a small smile on her lips and brought the form back as well as a lawyer that would be willing to play along.

Taking his seat at the table he waited for Cambria to come in.

[650] (OOC: I typed it up on word first)

From the moment he started speaking and saying she could emancipate herself, Cambria crossed her arms defiantly and turned to the car window. But the more he spoke, the worse she felt. Of course she didn't want to leave her family! She loved them, no matter how mean they all were. She felt a new tear fall down her cheek as the car pulled to a stop. She looked up and realized he had actually taken her to the courthouse. Now either he was really going to let her get emancipated, or he was being a major jerk and faking her out. She supposed it was probably the second option. And she knew she wouldn't be able to get away from here without playing along.

So she got out of the car and walked in the large doors of the courthouse. She was immediately forced to walk through a metal detector. It was quite intimidating inside and she couldn't see her daddy anywhere. She walked slowly to the front counter and looked up at the woman behind it.

"I, uh...I'm looking for my dad? Jeffrey Winter?"

The woman nodded coolly. "The emancipation case? He's right over there."

She pointed to a faraway desk where her daddy was sitting with another man. The man looked cold and calculating and it made Cambria's heart stiffen. They were actually going over paperwork! How could her daddy just be okay with getting rid of her like that! More tears came to her eyes as she made her way to the desk and sat in the chair beside her father. She looked at the form and those tears fell. She couldn't look at the man she assumed was an attorney, it just scared her more. Cambria wanted nothing more than to just take her daddy's hand and walk right back out of here. But if he was so willing to do this, he would not be willing to touch her.

She picked up the pen in front of her and her hand shook above the paper. She was going to throw up. She wiped her eyes so she could see more properly, bur more tears replaced the other ones. She placed the pen back down and looked up at the attorney.

"Can you give us a minute, please?"

She watched as he walked away and she turned to her daddy.

"Daddy...I'm sorry. I truly am. You know I don't want this. I just want to go home. I know I've been a pain, and you won't believe me...but I'll try to be good. I can't just turn off my hurt, though. You have to try to understand, I'm not okay with having to break up with Saber. But...but I don't want to lose you."

She closed her eyes and rested her head against his warm arm. Being so close to him was usually comforting, but she couldn't help but feel that today he was rigid and unfeeling. She knew she had hurt him by mentioning an emancipation, but couldn't he just give her a little bit of breathing room about this? She had to break up with Saber! Couldn't he understand how absolutely heartbroken she was? Even if he agreed to going home, she would not be able to forgive him for this right away. But it didn't mean she didn't love him. She would always love her daddy.

"I know I've hurt you and I'm sorry for that. But I don't want to be on my own. I want to go home and be grounded. I don't care what happens, just so long as I can be there. Please...let's just go home, Daddy."

[609] (not quite as long, )

Jeffrey sighed and turning to the lawyer he smiled and nodded. The man understanding completely what had happened smiled gently and allowed his face to take on a shade of warmth. Taking the forming he tossed it into a shredder and Jeffrey watched as the paper slipped away into ten miserable shards. Turning back to his daughter he gently coaxed her up out of the chair and began walking her back to the car. He knew that she would not last, and that was why he loved her. Holding her hand gently Jeffrey stroked the top with his thumb and helped her into the front seat of the car.

"You're grounded for a month," he continued. "The two weeks from the incident with Saber and the attitude I had gotten just recently."

He knew that sounded harsh, but he felt that was what his child deserved and that was what her sentence would entail. Gently leaning forward he placed a kiss to her temple and stroked her hair.

"Don't you EVER," he scolded. "Threaten to leave me again....do you understand me?"

Cambria nodded slowly and made sure her seat belt was buckled and her door was closed before looking back at him again.

"Yes sir," she said quietly. "I understand."

The car ride was rather quiet and when they got home, she placed a hand on her daddy's arm so she could grab his attention.

"Are you going to let me break up with him in person, or do I need to do it over the phone? I know I'm grounded and everything, but...it's the least you could do. We've been together for a long time, and I don't think it's fair to end things so cheaply, you know?"

She looked pleadingly up into his eyes and hoped he would relent about this. She would feel awful if they couldn't even say goodbye. She sniffled and brushed her hair out of her face.

"And I'm pretty sure you should give me some ice cream too. You have to admit you owe me. Won't let me date my boyfriend, and you won't let me swear about it. Don't I get any demands here?" She smirked half-heartedly. It was all she could manage at the moment.

Jeffrey nodded, that seemed fair enough. He knew that his daughter wasn't happy about this arrangment, but in the end there was really nothing she could do about it. This was going to happen whether she liked it or not and she actually made it easier on herself just by accepting it. Kissing the top of her head he nodded. He would make her sundae for dessert tonight with all of her favorite fixings, but she was still grounded.

"Okay," he said gently. "You can have the ice cream after supper."

Now for the second request...breaking up with her boyfriend in person. Well he did not mind that, just so long as they did not try and date covertly. So nodding gently he turned to Cambria and made his voice a little bit sterner.

"Gareth has to take you," he continued. "And he will make sure that you actually keep your word."

He trusted Cambria to an extent...but that extension had been made shorted by her trying to have sex at the freakin age of thirteen.

Cambria practically jumped out of the car to go see if her brother was home. She rushed through the house until she found him. Then she practically pushed him outside.

"Come on, you have to take me to go see Saber."

It wasn't like she was in a hurry to go break his heart, but if this was her last time with him, she was going to make the most of it. When she passed by her daddy, she nodded her goodbye.

"We'll be back by dinner."

Once she was outside with Gareth, she was ready to apparate to the Shields farm. And then they were outside of the front door.

**

Blood, sweat and tears could not accurately describe what Cambria was going through in this moment. Suffice it to say, she was ready to go punch her father for making her do this. She was supposed to be leaving and heading home right about now. But she couldn't resist jumping up in her boyfriend's arms and beginning to snog him once more.

"I love you, I love you!" She said between kisses. "This is not goodbye, we'll be together again soon!"

Gareth tapped his foot while he waited for his sister. This was getting ridiculous. He knew that his father had wanted her to stop seeing Saber after they had been found the way they had. And now he was being forced to wait for her while she said good bye to him?

Gareth sighed. He didn't know how much longer he could stand here and watch her suck face with Saber? He rolled his eyes. How much longer was she going to do this? She needed to get home before their father found out that she had done this! And it would be his ass as much as hers. He didn't want to be in trouble just because she was having to leave her boyfriend! Hell, after all the crap that she'd pulled while with himi, getting drunk and then pulling Evan's girlfriend's hair and calling her a whore to name one that he could recently remember, he didn't think his father had asked too much.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore and stormed over to her, dragging her off Saber.

"Sorry, Cam, but wer have to go, it's getting late, and you said that we'd be home in time for dinner?" He smiled at Saber consolingly and led his sister to the Apparition point.

"If it makes you feel any better, I do know how you feel. Since it seems that Mum and Dad don't seem to like Sam all that much."

Cambria reached back for Saber tearfully, but her brother kept a tight hold on her. She fought him, but nothing she could do would change the fact that she would have to say goodbye. She felt the familiar tug in her stomach, telling her she had apparated away from Saber's house forever. When they got back in their yard, Cambria successfully ripped herself from Gareth's grip and collapsed on her knees into fitful sobs. She turned an angry glare on him.

“You have NO IDEA what I'm going through, Gareth! You were never forced to stop dating anyone! They won't make you break up with Samara, because you're already of age. Nobody seems to understand or care that I love Saber! It's not my fault I'm only thirteen. Did you ever try to feel these intense feelings at my age? It's bloody difficult! And it's highly unfair! And if you'll excuse me, I really don't want to speak to anyone right now...least of all someone like you, who gets to do whatever the hell they want with the person they love.”

She wiped her nose and her eyes and moved further into the backyard, taking a seat on the wooden swing that hung from their large oak tree. She cried and cried against the rope that hung in her hand. She called after Gareth.

“Tell Mum and Dad I'm not hungry anymore!”

Gareth sighed. She was right. He'd not been forced to break up with someone before, but he knew that his parents didn't seem to like the idea og him with Sam all that much. To him, that was just as bad as having been told he could never see her again. Knowing that your family hated the one that you loved was like a knife to Gareth's heart.

His mother thought that he was too young to be in a relationship, and his father thought that even though he was of age, he didn't need to be tied down. Neither of them understood what was in his heart. No one did. Save for three people. Himself, Samara,.......and Cambria.

She now had to deal with the fact that she would never be able to see Saber again. His heart went out to her, but he didn't know what to do. If he tried to comfort her, she might push him away. If he tried to talk to her, she could tell him to fuck off, and run away to her room. He didn't know what else to do. True, she'd made the decision to sleep with her boyfriend, and even though it hadn't gone that far when he'd come upon them, he thought that she might have come to regret it later.

He took the chance and made his way over to the swing where his sister sat crying. He sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I am so sorry, Cam."

Cambria wrapped her arms so tightly around her brother that he might need a spell to release her. This was what she needed right now. She needed warmth, and comfort. And a shoulder to cry on. She just wished her daddy hadn't been so Hell bent on teaching her a lesson earlier. Then he could have comforted her as well.

"Oh Gar!" She cried into his chest and brought her legs up so he was practically forces to hold her if he didn't want her to fall.

"I miss him so much! Daddy just doesn't understand. You...you're the only one. I know what I did was stupid, and I would take it all back if I could. But he won't give me another chance. I think he hates me now, anyway. He shook me today. Really hard. And he nearly let me emancipate myself. I was joking when I mentioned it, but did he care? No!"

She sniffled as her body shook against her big brother.

"And I can't tell him any of this, or he'd bust my ass. I want to let him know how I feel, but every time I do it's a fight. What do I do, Gar? I can't look at him without getting angry. Help me know how to talk to him without getting in trouble. Please?"

Gareth bit his lip, trying to think of a way to help his sister. Everything he thought of though could possibly get them both into more trouble. He didn't want that. It wasn't fair to Cam, or him.

He stared off into space for a moment or two, trying to come up with a solution. Finally, he had to admit that there wasn't one. Maybe there was no way out of this after all.

Then he had the thought that he could at least talk to his father. There was no way that he could make it worse for Cam. She had already lost Saber. There was nothing worse for a broken heart after you'd lost the one you loved.

He hugged her tightly and pulled her up with him.

"I'm going to go talk to Dad. And you are going to go with me."

Cambria nodded and jumped off the swing, taking her brother's hand. She knew the only way to talk to her father would be to do so calmly and rationally. She truly wanted him to know how she felt, and to be sympathetic to her case. She k ew he wouldn't change his mind, but was it too much to ask for him to feel bad about her heartbreak? She just wanted him to hold her and tell her it would be alrigt, just as he used to do. She walked over to him and held her arms behind her back so she wouldn't look so defiant with arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Well...you'll be happy to know I no longer have a boyfriend. But I want you to understand something. I'm not going to be okay. Not for a really long time. I finay found something in Saber that compliments me. And yes, we made some mistakes, but I know we can do better. He is really good for me, Daddy, even though you might not see that. And I am going to prove it to you. Even if you won't let me date him, I'm going to show you that I can behave."

She felt her bottom lip quiver as she thought about her next words. But they needed to be said.

"I know I already apologized, but I don't think I really made myself clear. I did something....something so bad, you lost your trust in me. And I don't know if I'll ever get it back," she said with a small tear falling down her cheek. "But I am going to try. I want to be your little girl again, Daddy. I really do."

Jeffrey had been inside the house doing some last minute grading when Cambria walked in. He had been surprised when she spoked to him the way she did, even though he felt that she was still missing the point to why he had made her beak up with Saber. However he was not going to argue with her anymore tonight, neither of them needed it. So pulling her into his arms he kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair down her back.

"You will always be my little girl Cambria," he cooed. "But if this EVER happens again I will send you to an all girls school...or make you become a nun."

Jeff was not one to toy with and although he did joke quite a bit about these things he knew that if she were to have sex and get pregnant...he would have to send her to a convent.

"I love you baby girl," he cooed. "So much."