"To the well-organised mind,
Death is but the next great
Adventure."
– Albus Dumbledore

Kira gripped the letter she received from Dumbledore in her hands. A letter requesting her presence in his office.

She knew immediately something was off. It could not be coincidence that merely a day after she owled her sister that Dumbledore asked to see her. Something was wrong.

Ava looked at her best friend who gripped the paper so hard her knuckles began to turn white. They were sitting in the Great Hall for lunch when the letter arrived with large brown owl.

Ava gently put her hand on top of Kira's left one. Kira looked up. "You should go." Ava encouraged her.

Kira sighed but nodded and got up. "Do you want to come with me?" Kira asked, disguising her nerves with a simple offer.

"No, it's okay. Dumbledore asked to see you. Now go, it will be fine." Ava shooed her away with a smile.

Kira waved a goodbye and quickly walked out of the Great Hall and to the Headmasters office.

Kira arrived at the entrance to Dumbledore's office. The Griffin statue stood tall and she looked back at the letter crumpled in her hand for a password.

" oh and I do quite like chocolate frogs."

She found it written at the bottom of the note. Of course. Dumbledore has a tendency to make passwords names of many wizarding and muggle sweets alike.

"Chocolate Frogs." She mumbled. The Griffin statue moved out of the way to reveal a staircase. She stepped onto them and they brought her to Dumbledore's office door.

She bit her lip and knocked gently on the door. Once it opened she walked inside and her suspicions were confirmed, for her brother sat in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Headmaster? You requested to see me?" Kira greeted Dumbledore.

"Ah yes please sit, Miss Rose." He gestured to the seat next to her brother with a gentle smile.

Kira glanced at her brother and took a seat. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking, but why exactly have you called us here?" She spoke up again.

She could see her brother was nervous. He bobbed his knee up and down continuously, something he often did when anxious.

"Well you see Mr and Miss Rose. I called you to my office to deliver some news. Your Mother, she was found dead in her home yesterday."

When Kira heard those words she froze. Her Mother could not be dead. No. This whole time she thought she was simply neglecting her and Thomas but she was gone.

"How long, Headmaster? How long has she been dead." Kira croaked out. She needed to know.

Her brother sat beside her sobbing. She grabbed his hand in an attempt to comfort him. She couldn't cry. Not now. She'll save that for the funeral. She needed to be strong for her brother.

"3 weeks."

Those two words broke her heart. She thought she was being careless. She couldn't have owled them even if she wanted to.

"And my father?" The words tasted like bile on her tongue but she needed to know.

"There has been no sign of him yet. The Ministry is tracking him down."

Kira nodded slowly. Of course he wasn't there.

"You'll be flooing to the Raymond Manor. Your sister has told me she has clothes for you both so you are welcome to leave now."

For Thomas' sake, Kira decided to leave immediately. She sighed and tugged him up by the hand she was still gripping his hand tightly. She pulled him into a hug. He had not yet stopped crying. Thomas had always been closest to their mother.

A bag of Floo powder was handed to her and she allowed Thomas to go first. Once he had gone she grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and stepped into the fireplace.

Before she could speak, someone else did.

"Miss Rose. I am truly sorry for your loss." Dumbledore spoke with such sincerity. She hated it. She hates pity and being pitied. Dumbledore may have cared or felt something similar to what she was but she doesn't need to be treated any differently.

"Thank you Headmaster." Kira smiled softly. Of course she did not mean it, but she had to be polite. "Raymond Manor." She spoke clearly and loudly the name of her sister's home.

She landed with grace for she has traveled this way many times before. She saw her sister comforting her brother and walked over to them.

"Hello Irene. Robert." She greeted them with a kind smile. Robert hugged her and rubbed comforting circles on her back. She gripped him tightly before pulling away.

"Where's Charles?" Kira asked, alarmed that he was not with them. Her eyes darted around the room in hopes she just had not seen him.

Irene hesitated before she spoke, "Father must have him. We owled him but we have not yet found him. The ministry does not know where he is either. Charlie still has the trace but they do not track uncontrolled magic by young children unless it's too out of hand."

Kira sucked in a breath. Her 8-year-old brother was stuck with her sadistic abusive father. He was not safe.

Kira turned to Thomas. "You should get some sleep Thomas. It's been a long day." Thomas nodded and wandered off to a spare bedroom. Robert followed to help him find it.

"How are you doing, Kira?" Irene asked with a sad smile. Her makeup was ruined and her eyes were all red and puffy from crying.

Kira shook her head and took Irene into her arms. "I'm fine Irene. Don't worry about me. Just worry about Thomas okay?" Her voice nearly cracked as she spoke. She felt Irene nod against her shoulder. Kira allowed herself to cry.

Not for her parents no. But for her siblings.

Most importantly for Charles. He was not safe. Not in the slightest.

Two days later the funeral took place. Kira stood in her black dress and black heels, her hair blowing roughly in the wind. She found it ironic how the weather perfectly matched the mood of the funeral. It was cold and windy and she had no doubt it would rain later on.

Beside her stood her sister and brother who wore similar attire to herself. A stunning black dress and handsome black tux adorned her two siblings.

Both her sister and brother had tears running down their faces as they stood in front of the grave. Kira allowed herself to grieve for her mother the night before. She was sad yes, devastated even, but she had accepted that her mother was dead and nothing could change that, no matter how hard she cried.

The end of the funeral could be shown by the departure of nearly everyone. The only ones who remained were her siblings, Robert and herself.

She stood to the side watching Irene and Thomas stand by the gravestone. It was a white marble with her mother's name carved into it, along with the year she was born and the year she died. It was surrounded by flowers and old photographs, left by people who once knew her very well. Some flowers that stood out to her were the Chrysanthemums. She put them there. They were her Mother's favourite flowers.

Robert walked over to Kira and stood next to her. "Anything from the ministry?" She asked him, not taking her eyes off of her two siblings.

He sighed, "no, nothing. They say if he really is with his father then he should be safe."

"We both know that's not true. He's a Death Eater. For all we know he's hiding out at one of their hideouts with Charles." Kira spoke. She was outraged. This man has the nerve to murder his wife and their mother and then take her brother with him. She hoped Charles was okay and he wasn't being given the same treatment she used to receive.

"I know Kira. We cannot do anything but wait until the Ministry figures out his location. If he truly is under You Know Who's protection, then that is highly unlikely." Robert was always the one to tell her everything straight forward. He was honest and believed she needed to know what was going on.

"That's what makes it worse. I know there's little to no chance of getting Charles back. I just hope he's okay." Kira sighed. She turned around and walked back to the house, it was only down the street.

The next time she saw her father, he would pay. If he touches Charles like he did her, then she would hurt him far more than he could have ever done to her.

She would make him suffer. Charles is only 8. He deserves to be with his family to mourn over the loss of his mother, not with a sadistic murderer. The one who most likely murdered their mother.

For now, though, she was forced to return to school and pretend as if she is alright. As if the fact that her mother is dead and her brother is missing does not bother her.

Herself and Thomas would be returning to Hogwarts tomorrow. She did not want to go but she knew she had to. She had to be okay. Even if she pretended to. She had a reputation to uphold as a star student and prefect. And a big sister.

At least the learning will be able to distract her more from the loss of her mother and Charles. It could be months even years before she sees Charles again. The Ministry doesn't care for a missing child, especially with all the murders going on around them due to the War. One little child is nothing to them.

No one ever truly cares what's happening around them unless it's happening to them.

One of the many problems of the world.