Two weeks of the holidays had already passed, yet to Summer, it had all felt like one long day. She couldn't imagine what Hayden must be feeling, since he had nothing after the summer to think about at the moment. He rarely left his room, and when he did, it was only to tell the house elves to make him a drink or meal, then he would sulk away again. Occasionally his siblings got him to venture to one of the living rooms, even if it was only to sit under a blanket for an hour, then call it a day.

On the bright side to coming home, Kalen seemed to have improved a great deal, and Summer was beginning to see a glimpse of his old self returning- even if he did have some worse days. They would pass the time catching up on all the events of the last few months or playing Wizard's Chess, and although Summer was slowly improving, she still got frustrated every time Kalen beat her. One day, he finally gave up and let her win, much to her discontent, and she insisted they do a re-match with a bonus round of exploding snap.

Keeping busy was the only thing that saved Summer from falling too deep down the heavy blackened space that loomed over her mind, however, no matter what she did, Cedric's body would still become the forefront of her vision all the time, and she'd have to take a breath away from everything else. It had taken her a week to do any of those things with Kalen, after he had finally dragged her out of bed one day.

Another thing that weighed down on her mind those couple of weeks, was Fred. They had not left on the warmest of goodbyes, mainly on Summer's end, and although she had received at least four letters from Fred, and one from George, she just couldn't bring herself to read them, let alone answer. At first, she simply said she would do it at a later date, but soon enough, she realised that she would be pushing away some of her only friends if she didn't even acknowledge them. So one warm afternoon, she took every letter, and went outside to the swinging bench in their rose garden. The breeze blew softly through her shining hair, and she took a deep breath before she opened the envelopes, pausing to listen to the chirps of the nearby birds. She decided to open George's first, and peeled open the stuck edges.

Dear Summer,

Hope your holidays aren't too bad, and that you're doing something fun.

Remember, you can always come out with us! Fred said he hasn't heard from you in a while, he's worried about you, and mum won't be pleased if he runs away to come and check on you. He's always talking about you (so am I to be fair).

Hope your brothers are okay too,

Love Georgie xx

She couldn't help but smile at his words, and felt increasingly guilty for not taking the time to reply earlier. Now time for Fred's, these would be less easy to read, but she didn't quite know why.

Dear Sum,

Hey, I'm sorry if we left each other on a bad note, I hope you and Hay are doing okay. We never got to talk about our plans for the holidays, so if you still wanna come over, just let me know. Or we can come to you, mum sent an owl to yours about a lunch, but your mum never returned it apparently. We have loads to tell you about, they're top-secret experiments for now, although Ron won't stop putting his big nose in.

Anyway, write me back when you can,

Miss you,

Fred x

Dear Sum,

Maybe you didn't get my last letter, Errol really is a piece of work sometimes. I hope you're okay, if you get this just send me something back so we can see each other soon, Charlie's coming back for a few weeks and says he wants to meet you (again).

Love Fred x

Hey Sum,

What's going on? It's been over a week and I don't even know if you're okay, please talk to me, I miss you,

Fred x

Summer,

I know you're hurting right now, but please don't shut me out, I just want to help. I hate the thought of you not being okay and me being so far away. After this, I won't send any more letters, it's clear you just want to be alone, but whenever you're ready, I'm here for you, okay? George says he misses you too,

Fred.

Tears rolled down her face, and dropped onto the parchment. She held the letters to her chest and thought about what her next move would be. Finally having decided, she went back inside to her desk, and opened a fresh bottle of ink. The pungent smell reminded her of school, the corners of her lips turned upwards ever so slightly, recalling the fond memories, and she placed a fresh piece of parchment in front of her, to begin writing.

Hi Fred,

I'm so sorry for taking so long to get back to you, I think I was just scared, to let you be around me like this, it's not much fun for anyone.

But I'm feeling a bit better now. I'd love to see you guys whenever, although my place wouldn't be the best. My father is home, he's been acting weird.

Hayden isn't doing very well, to be honest, but Kalen is, maybe he'd like to see Charlie as well.

Miss you too,

Summer x

She glanced over her neat handwriting, to check for any mistakes, then used her wand to trim off the excess paper so that it would fit neatly into her envelope and addressed it to Fred. Just when she was about to give it to her owl, she paused, remembering George's letter, and wrote a quick response to him too, before attaching them both to her owl's leg, telling her "The Burrow". Summer rested her head out of the window, feeling the sun on her face, as she watched her snowy owl fly until she was out of sight.

It only took until the evening for a response, Summer had spent most of the day pondering over what Fred's reply would be, she hoped he wouldn't be too angry at her for taking so long to get back to him. She quickly tore open the envelope and eagerly scanned over the messy handwriting. Phew. He didn't seem mad at her. In fact, his offer of lunch still stood, and they agreed on Wednesday, after sending a few more notes until midnight that night.

"Kalen?" She pushed open her brother's door to see him sitting at his desk, seemingly making notes from a large and thick book to his left.

"What's up, Summer?" He put his quill back into his bottle of ink and leaned around to face her.

"Do you want to come to lunch tomorrow at the Burrow with the-"

"Weasleys? Of course, its been so long! Will Charlie be there do you think?"

"Yeah, Fred said he's there for the holidays, mum's coming too."

"Alright, I'll be there," he winked jocularly at her as she left his room- feeling tingly. That was the first time she had been successful in getting Kalen out of the house in over a year. It was safe to say that her excitement caused her trouble sleeping later that night, playing out the next day in her mind for a couple of hours, until she drifted off.

That Wednesday, Summer, Kalen and their mother stood by the door, ready to leave for The Burrow. Mrs Blanchet had on her finest formal wear, all champagne satin, and Kalen had on a dress shirt and polo jumper, with suit trousers.

"You know we're not going to the Greengrass', you guys could've dressed down a bit." Summer was just wearing a white linen dress, with flowy sleeves and some black converse.

"I want to make a good impression," her mother didn't even look at her, before leading them out of the door, to apparate there.

"Woah, this place hasn't changed a bit," Kalen breathed out as they walked through the grass that was dotted with daisies to the entrance.

"They've extended the third floor I believe, must've had to give their daughter her own room eventually," Mrs Blanchet took the siblings aback by her attention to that detail.

"Wow, you remember this place better than I do," Kalen looked impressed as he turned back around to knock on the door.

"We were children when we were last here, to be fair," Summer commented to her brother, who nodded his head in agreement, as the door swung open, revealing the daughter that their mother had been referencing.

"Ginevra! How wonderful to see you! My, you've grown so much since I last saw you," their mother exclaimed, as she leaned over to kiss each other on the cheek. Ginny looked a little shy, but greeted them with matching energy all the same.

"Come in, won't you? Mum! They're here!" She called behind her, presumably to the bustling woman in the kitchen, who was ordering around pots and pans, which were full to the brim with all sorts of things to eat. Molly Weasley spun around, and threw her arms in the air as she almost screamed in delight.

"Clarice, Kalen, Summer!" She rushed over to hug Mrs Blanchet, who actually smiled. "It's been so long, please, make yourselves at home, I'll get the boys down, Arthur's been called into work, unfortunately, Bill too, but we'll make do I'm sure." However, before she could even make it to the base of the stairs to call for the others, three boys came bounding down, pushing each other out of the way to be first.

"Piss off, Fred, she's my friend too," George shoved his brother into the bannister, who clung on to stop himself from falling over the edge. Summer giggled at the shenanigans, but Mrs Weasley didn't seem to find it very funny- smacking the boys over the head with a newspaper as they came to stand by her.

"Hey!" Fred complained, "It was George who pushed me!" George suppressed a laugh as he straightened up to greet them with his twin, along with Ron, who tried to shake hands with them, only to turn beet red when Clarice pulled him in for a hug.

"Hey Ron, I'm Kalen. You probably don't remember me, do you," he grinned at the younger boy.

"Hmm, vaguely," he said, giving him a firm handshake.

Just then, another red-haired boy came down, who Summer could only assume was Charlie Weasley.

"Sorry guys, I was just finishing a report for work," his hands were casually in his pockets, but upon seeing Kalen, his entire demeanour changed, and his walk became a jog.

"No way, I didn't know you were coming, man," Summer could see Kalen grinning from ear to ear from over Charlie's shoulder as he engulfed him in a squeeze.

"You can thank Summer for that," he gestured to his sister, who waved sheepishly. Charlie checked their mothers, who were gossiping in the kitchen, and pulled the pair aside, hugging Summer too.

"Aw, little Summer, it's so good to see you again too. Look, guys, I heard about Felicity, I just wanted to say I'm so sorry and offer my condolences, even if it's late," he said quietly, and Kalen gave him a thankful pat on the shoulder. "Extend them to Hayden for me also, and about Cedric too. I mean when I was helping organise the dragons for the first task, I never envisioned a death like that, it's awful."

"Yeah.." Summer's smile vanished, Kalen's having already gone at the first sentence though.

"Thanks, Charlie, I think things are finally going well, I've been working on-" But Summer stopped listening as she caught a glance to the other side of the room, to see Ron and Ginny engaged in conversation, then to the twins, who were staring expectantly at her- arms folded.

"We were waiting to see when you'd come and acknowledge us," Fred looked at her extremely seriously for a minute, before his frown broke into a smirk, and he motioned her in, holding her against his chest, as she wrapped her arms around his middle. She had forgotten how it had felt, like nothing in the world could possibly hurt her, and she didn't want it to end. But after an obvious cough from George, she knew they had to pull apart, and she moved to hug the next twin.

Seeing as the sun was shining that day, they decided to move the table outside, with the help of Kalen and Charlie, who at one point began to make the chairs fight each other mid-air.

"Honestly you two, are you twenty or twelve?" Percy had come out to observe. Charlie shot him a look but reluctantly used his wand to place the chair back down at the table.

"Didn't miss him," Kalen muttered under his breath to Charlie, to which he laughed and nodded.

They all sat down as Mrs Weasley came out, levitating dishes onto the table. Fred and George followed behind her, not concentrating on the cutlery they were supposed to be setting the table with, and a fork flew sideways and clattered into a casserole, causing Mrs Weasley to start berating the two, unsure of which one had made the mistake.

"I'm so glad we finally got to do this," Mrs Weasley looked around at them all, raising her glass and chinking it with as many as she could. Summer sipped happily on her white wine as she basked in the light of the sun, trying to take in the moment. It was so rare that her family had done something so normal as to go out for lunch with old friends, that she didn't want to waste a single second, especially the opportunity to see her brother looking so animated, so... alive.

They all ate until the sun became hidden behind some stray clouds, leading to them all helping to clear away their plates, Ron and Ginny refusing, on account that they couldn't use magic to do it, therefore had an unfair disadvantage. Mrs Weasley opened her mouth to tell them off, but closed it, presumably deciding it would be a waste of breath.

Summer and the twins went up to their room for a few hours, playing exploding snap, and indulging in the wonders of the sweets that were in various stages of testing. Summer finding out the hard way, once she was told her pupils would be pink for an indeterminable amount of time.

"You're pretty brave, Sum, trying all these with us, most people are horrified at the idea," said Fred, raising his eyebrows, either very impressed, or simply astonished. "Maybe you really are a true Gryffindor."

"Especially after someone gave you the wrong end of a Blood Blisterpod," George side eyed Fred, whilst still looking dead seriously at Summer. Fred put his head in his hands and shook it.

"Don't bloody remind me, I feel bad enough."

"Mmm, on that note, I think I'd rather do something else now. Before I get permanently stuck with mouse ears or something," she held a mirror up to her eyes again, to check their progress- some flecks of green were returning very slowly. At this request, Fred went over to the window, and stuck his hand out.

"What are you doing?" Summer eyed him suspiciously from where she sat on the wooden floor.

"Just checking the temperature, we could go outside for a bit, it's warm still." Summer checked the time and got up excitedly.

"Ooh, can we watch the sunset? Please."  She placed her hands together and jutted out her bottom lip at the two.

"If I say yes, will you stop looking at me, those eyes are freaking me out," he handed the mirror back to her, and she gasped when she saw they were speckly pink and green now. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a pair of sunglasses, from a muggle brand called 'Chanel', after slipping them on, Fred and George breathed huge, fake sighs of relief, and waited for her by the door, to head downstairs.

"Oh, hang on," Fred dashed back into the room, coming back out with an old chunky knitted blanket, and threw it over Summer's head, she flailed about, until finding her bearings, and moved the blanket to wrap it around her shoulders instead, spitting thread fibres that were stuck to her mouth. The twins couldn't hold in their mirth, as they practically chased her down the stairs, cackling all the way.

"As soon as they stepped outside, however, the mood changed. It was the perfect summer evening. The gentle breeze was enough to stifle the heat that still lingered from the day, and Summer suddenly felt a sense of calm lull over her entire body. She flopped down onto the grass, spreading out the blanket, and lay back, her head on her hands, as the sky slowly but surely began to melt into a pink colour. Every minute that passed, the colours became more vibrant, as if daring her to expect more from it.

"I think this is one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen," she poked the twins in the chest to make sure they were listening from either side of her.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm glad you're with us to witness it then, makes it even more special," George winked at her and she batted him away, turning her attention to Fred, who was staring upwards.

"Yeah, the colours are so nice, gives me an idea for a product," he murmured.

"Which is?" Summer asked.

"Top secret, for now. Especially since it's going to be made in your honour."

"You're making a product inspired by me? Aww!" Summer pinched his cheek and used it to wobble his head around.

"Stop that, unless you want me to name it after someone else instead," he playfully pushed her away.

"Oh yeah? Who?" He looked perplexed at her for a moment, before appearing to know the answer.

"Celeste Morgans- she has hot legs," he stated.

"Not hotter than Summer's," George half coughed out, nudging Summer as he said it, and before Fred could agree or disagree, she butted in.

"Okay that's enough guys, no more talk about girls' body parts please," she rolled her eyes and placed her head back down, her finger finding a curl in Fred's hair and gently playing with it. "You know, you guys really need a hair cut," she said, and felt them nod next to her, then yawn, as they lay there, tranquil, until the sky became black.

It was a bit later, and after having some tea in the living room, Mrs Blanchet declared that they better be off, and Summer proceeded to stand with her. As they got ready to meet everyone outside to say their goodbyes, Fred pulled Summer aside just after George had walked out the door. She looked at him expectantly.

"You know, I just realised something Summer."

"What's that?"

"We never celebrated your birthday properly, it was during exams, would you let Georgie and I come up with something to make up for it?"

"Oh... Fred, it's fine honestly, I don't mind that it was small." She held one arm with the other, nervously rubbing it.

"I insist, please let me do this for you." Summer sighed, but couldn't help but oblige once she looked long enough at his pleading face.

"Fine. My father's away this week if you and George want to come over,"

"Yeah, sounds good, how about Friday?"

"Perfect. No surprises Fred."

"Yeah, yeah." They went back inside so that Summer could thank everyone and say goodbye. Her mother and she gave Molly an especially large thank you for being such a wonderful host, and they turned to leave, but were held up by Kalen, who was still excitedly chattering with Charlie.

"Kalen, are you coming?" Mrs Blanchet shot him a look.

"I'll come home later, mother, I still have stuff to catch up on with Charlie," as soon as he said that, he immediately turned back to continue their conversation.
"You know, I don't think either of them stopped talking this entire time," Summer said to her mother who gave one last look to her son, and they waved once more, as they walked out of the dome of charms to apparate back home.

The next day, Summer awoke to the morning rays shining through her thinly veiled windows, which were left slightly ajar, allowing the fresh air to flow through. She sat up and yawned, but was snapped from her relaxed state by raised voices from downstairs. She recognised the voices as her mother's and Hayden's, and she crept over to the door to listen more closely.

"For God's sake mum! I said I'm not working for the ministry!"

"But Hayden-"

"How many times do I have to tell you for you to understand?"

"But your father-"

"My father what? Is joining up with death eaters? Yeah, no thanks." Summer froze. She had hoped that what happened at the Quidditch World Cup had been copy-cats of the real thing, and that Cedric's death was an accident. But even as she ran through it in her head, it was clear that Harry had been telling the truth. But how did Hayden know about this? Why was her father involved? Were the friends that he brought over for meetings Death-Eaters? She wanted to burst through her door and ask all these questions aloud, but something stopped her. If Hayden was right, and their father really was involved in the return of You-Know-Who, then an ambush wouldn't be the way to get her answers.

The slamming of the front door brought her back to physicality, and she realised how uncomfortable her crouching position had been, and deciding it was safe, ventured outside her door, and ended up in the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the dining table, looking overly engrossed in an article in The Daily Prophet, as the sound of the coffee machine whirred, she turned around- holding a hand to her heart.

"Oh, darling! I didn't hear you come in! How did you sleep?" Mrs Blanchet put her paper down, folding it neatly.

"Fine," Summer leaned back against the countertop, taking a sip of her espresso, "Where's Hayden?"

"Oh, he had to run some errands, I think," she hastily reopened her paper and placed her reading glasses back on her nose.

"Uh-huh," Summer turned slowly to leave the room, taking the time to eye her mother suspiciously, before wheeling around on her heels and marching to stand over Clarice, who looked at her expectantly over the rim of her glasses. "Actually, no. Why don't you care where he's stormed off too? He could be doing something dangerous, mother! You didn't even try to stop him."

"He's an adult, Summer, I can't stop him from doing anything."

"But-" Her mum held a hand up in front of her face.

"This conversation is over, Summer."

Summer growled and bit her lip in frustration, managing to hold her tongue, and trudged upstairs back to her bedroom.

When the evening came and there was still no sign of her brother, she grew even more worried. Summer had spent the majority of the day curled up in her window seat, splitting her time between reading-rather distractedly- and watching out for any sign of Hayden in the driveway. Finally, at around eleven, she was just about to retire to her bed instead, but a dark shape fumbling around caught her eye, and she pressed her face up to the window in time to see it trip over.

Skipping the option of running, and resorting straight to apparition, she was in her driveway in a couple of seconds, and took another few to steady herself, before casting 'Lumos', and shining her wand around her. Just next to her on the floor, was Hayden, as expected, but he was lying on his side, moaning indistinguishably.