He wasn't sure he wanted to be in Hogsmeade. On his last visit Sabine had been in contact. He'd seen her and been brought into her life again. It was hard to see her, especially while she'd been so badly beaten. He hoped she'd gone to someone for help, a professional, even if it was just the healer at the school, she needed looking after. Jasper desperately wanted to be the one that cared for her, cleaned her up and sorted her out but he refrained, he couldn't get involved again, it wasn't his place to care for her any more. It was his brothers and that hurt.

A part of Jasper wanted to see Sabine again which was why he'd decided he would go to Hogsmeade. He'd spotted a beautiful fur coat in the window of Gladrags that he thought would be a beautiful extra gift for his mother this Christmas. He convinced himself that Sabine wouldn't be out and about but maybe she would be. The small thought made his stomach quiver with butterflies. He hoped she was but he hoped she wouldn't be. It was a conflicting time for Jasper.

He took the floo network to the Three Broomsticks. It was heaving with Christmas shoppers taking a break. Jasper's eyes scanned everywhere as fast as he could for a flash of the blonde hair as he dusted himself off. There was no sign of Sabine so he carried on his way, his stomach dropping. No doubt she'd be back at the school or home for the holidays now. Jasper had heard her talking to his mother. He knew it was wrong but he couldn't help himself. The elf had announced Sabine loudly and Jasper had been in his study with the door open, writing Christmas greetings to friends and family, updating them of how the year had been.

Jasper made his way to Gladrags while he he scanned desperately for Sabine. He didn't know what he would do or what he would even say if he saw her. Part of him wanted to scoop her up and nuzzle deep into her neck, taking in her beautiful fragrance. The other part of him wanted to turn around and walk away. Seeing her was torture. He'd been so angry and every night was filled with dreams of her after the first time he saw her again, and then his dreams changed to her being in his arms after he'd heard her conversation with his mother.

Jasper knew his mother had been looking out for him and the family name. It was something that Jasper should have been doing the entire time but falling in love with Sabine had been more of an accident then anything else. He knew he shouldn't have fallen for her, she wasn't the sort of woman that was ideal for a wife but he'd wanted her none the less. If his mother hadn't stopped all of it, maybe he would have married her and brought shame to his own name and the names of his children and even their children. Family was everything to Jasper, keeping the Wilkes name respectable was his number one job, then having and family and loving them and that was all he wanted to do anyway.

Gladrags was very busy, some people were shoulder to shoulder looking through the clothes. It was mostly women and then he spotted the familiar blonde hair. His heart seemed to stop for a moment. Part of him wanted leave while the other part of him just wanted to watch her, see the way she moved, see if she would smile. He knew he shouldn't have been obsessing but he'd loved the woman. You couldn't just forget about that no matter how much time passes. Days or years, she would always be his love.

Jasper found the coat he'd been looking for. Long, soft and just what his mother would love. He had all her presents all ready but she needed a new fur coat and this one he'd spotted on his way through Hogsmeade the last time he was here. Plus he didn't mind buying his mother a few extra gifts. Kasper wouldn't be home for the holiday's so he wanted to make them special, just the two of them.

Jasper looked about slowly as he needed to pay. He was not far from the door but he wouldn't make his way to the counter until he was sure Sabine was gone. He wanted to see her and talk to her but he had to set limits for himself. While she wasn't ideal for his family, she was better suited to Kasper than himself and she had chosen his own brother anyway.

Jasper thought he was doing well going unnoticed. He took a quick glance every now and then to make sure Sabine was on her way to pay and that he would be able to get to the end of the queue while she was leaving the shop. Then he thought that perhaps a box of chocolates might be pleasant for his mother. She wasn't one to over indulge but she liked a treat every now and then. Seeing as it would just be the two of them and the elf this Christmas and that it was her first Christmas without his father he wanted to make it a special one.

The house was all trimmed with decorations. The outside was beautiful. Jasper had even done it all himself with the aid of magic. There was no way he wanted to do it the muggle way and he didn't want the elf doing it this year, he wanted to put in the effort himself and he'd found that it had been quite the distraction from everything that had been going on his life. He'd been angry at the things when they'd refused to stay up, he felt pleased with himself once it was all done and he was also a little exhausted. The Wilkes home was a large one and decorating inside and out was certainly a hard task. At least he'd slept well that night, barely a bad dream all night.

There seemed to be some chaos going on and Jasper just kept his back turned to it all. He didn't want Sabine noticing him so he tried to move out of the way but it was too busy with people wanting to see the cause of the chaos. Jasper turned, hoping he'd be able to get out of the shop before Sabine noticed he was there. He was getting ready to just throw the coat aside and leave when he was knocked into quite fiercely. The hit made him land on the floor with someone else on top of him. The back of his head hit against someone's shoe and he winced. He was definitely going to have a headache and soon.

Jasper opened his eyes and propped himself up to see that last person he'd wanted on him. Sabine. It seemed his headache would be starting right now.

Sabine scrambled to get off of him and Jasper couldn't help but wish she'd stayed for just a second longer. Jasper pushed himself up off the floor and started dusting himself off. He looked to the coat that was on the floor now and left it there. He would pick out another one, that one was probably filthy now. "Shopping." He said simply, his eyes finding hers. He wanted to talk to her, to ask her what she was doing here, if she was feeling better but instead he kept his face emotionless. She was his brother's girlfriend. He couldn't ruin their relationship, especially when he couldn't offer her the same in return. He mother was right, she wasn't wife material. A mistress perhaps, but nothing more.

It seemed that Sabine had found her claws as she answered back. Jasper just stood tall and still. She looked so beautiful. She always looked beautiful but she could never be his, not until she realised he was better than Kasper, but that would never happen. She had dumped him for his brother and quite simply it was the better choice for the family. In all actuality it was better that Sabine not be involved with any of them, but she was better suited to Kasper. He could marry who he wished. A rich, pureblooded woman from a well respected family was of course preferable and at least Sabine was pure blooded but she was also a whore and that did not look good. Still Jasper would have told everyone to damn their opinions if only she had stayed with him, let him in, but she didn't want that, she had wanted to keep him at arms length and then even changed schools to be with Kasper. She lied and she manipulated but it was all over now. He still longed for her but he knew he would soon feel nothing for her and should Kasper every marry her ... well Jasper wasn't sure how his mother would feel about that and he wasn't sure if they'd ever be welcome back at the home. Jasper knew Sabine had never been a whore, not really, but his mother was under the impression that she was and she was a stubborn woman to convince other wise. Jasper didn't even bother trying.

"Joyeux Noël." He said with a slight nod of his head. It seemed like she was trying to push him away and that was fine. If that was what she wanted to do then fine. He wanted nothing to do with her anyway. That was what he told himself. It wasn't true. He wanted to curl up between those bedsheets with her and just spend the week wrapped in her embrace. But he couldn't. She'd left him for his brother. It hurt like hell but it was her choice to make, he had to let her be free to make her own decisions. He wouldn't cage her because if she didn't love him then what was the point? What was the point of anything right now? He was here to shop for his mother. He'd hoped he'd run into Sabine and here she was having literally fallen on him. He didn't want her to go but what was he to say? Don't leave me? Come be with me? Leave Kasper? Jasper couldn't do that to his brother. Whatever was going on between Kasper and Sabine was strange and Jasper wasn't even going to attempt to understand it, but it was what they both wanted apparently. Sabine accused Kasper of beating her, she told Jasper that his own brother had beaten and broken her and if Jasper hadn't seen her broken with his own eyes he couldn't have believed it.

"You think that bothers me?" He said simply. It seemed that Sabine did not know him very well. Stripper or not he wanted to be seen with her, he had wanted to marry her, live a life of love and happiness with her but she'd messed it up for them both. His mother ad messed it up for them and he had too. He knew that the blame wasn't all on Sabine, it was partially his fault too and his mother had certainly not helped matters in the slightest. The shoppers had gotten over the shock of the thief and were resuming their search for a good sale. Jasper felt still as though he was the only thing stationary in the store with the world just passing him on by.

Jasper didn't like this encounter. Not one bit. Well ... perhaps he had a little. Sabine had been on his lap, he had been close to her flesh again and he so desperately wanted to take in her scent, kiss over her body and repair the damage that had been done to her by his brother, but that could not be. She had severed the ties between them and chosen his brother, chosen Kasper over him. Jasper could not understand why but he supposed he deserved it. He didn't know why he deserved it but there was probably some reason he was over looking. Perhaps he had been too giving. It seems like it could be something as ridiculous as that, after all Kasper only seemed to give her abuse. It was strange looking at his ex-fiancée and only being able to imagine his brother beating her to within an inch of her life. Kasper was spoilt and things would be changing. Jasper was in charge of the household entirely and he had been lintiest with his brother, giving with him, but that would no longer be the case. Not because of Sabine, but because his brother truly seemed like a piece of shit.

Jasper let her comments of his mother pass over him. Sabine was a rebel, she did not value or respect her family the way he valued and respected his own, or at least his family name. His father had earned no respect and Kasper has wasted his. Jasper only had his mother left and his family name. Kasper didn't give a crap about either one so someone had to. Jasper was raised for this and he had nearly had everything he had ever wanted, the family name, the family fortune and love, true, true love, but now he was hollow. He had the name and the money, the properties but love was now clearly only an illusion from which he had been forcefully snapped out of. And rightly so.

Sabine brought up Kasper and Jasper just stayed still. He was unfazed by his brother's name, he couldn't care much for the boy but seeing that Sabine had brought him up, Jasper couldn't help but mention his brother's gifts to her. "Well I am pleased to hear that. Tell me, Sabine, has he stopped leaving such noticeable little presents," He said, indicating to the fading marks on her face, "Or has he just learnt to leave his little love gifts in places that can be nicely covered up? Actually, don't bother answering." Jasper desperately wanted to know if Kasper was still harming Sabine, if he was still lashing out at her but he knew if he got in too far, he would do something stupid like letting his temper get out of control and tracking down his brother. As much as he wanted to tear his brother a part it wouldn't look good and Jasper was keen on giving himself a better image than that pureblood that became engaged to the trashiest little stripper in France. "Au revoir, Sabine." With a slight nod of his head, Jasper walked away, pushing past people to get to the exit. He didn't want to stick around or he might try talking her into a drink, he might try talking her into talking and that was stepping on dangerous ground, grounds he couldn't afford to be stepping on if he wanted to stop being a disappointment to his family name.