But if I kissed you, will you your mouth read this truth?

Darling how I missed you, strawberries taste how lips do

And it's not complete yet, mustn't get our feet wet

'Cause that leads to regret, diving in too soon

And I'll owe it all to you, my little bird

Author's Note:

This story gets its title and inspiration from the song Little Bird by Ed Sheeran. Harry Potter belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.

Tuesday, June 15th

Even the best individuals have their flaws. My mother is a great person, but her flaw is what really breaks her. She has a horrible taste in men. It might not seem that bad, but when you bring a child into the world, it gets a lot more serious. Starting with my father, who left at the first sign of magic (coincidentally right after Mom got pregnant), then a stream of terrible boyfriends that all led up to Derek, her supposed true love. I always knew that Derek and Mom weren't meant to be, but Dianne Abbott was for some reason unable to see that. So when the five year long relationship finally came to an end, she was devastated.

"I just don't understand why he ended things," Mom, then blew her nose loudly into a tissue. "It was going to well, I thought he was going to propose!"

I sigh, resting my chin in my hand and take in the scene in front of me. We have been sitting at the kitchen table for almost an hour at this point, and have made absolutely zero progress. Mom was still sitting at her laptop, alternating between wiping her tears, typing furiously, and blowing her nose. There are tissues scattered across the wooden tabletop and I knew that if she weren't hysterical, she would be horrified at the mess and furiously clean it up like the germophobe that she is.

"Maybe it was the whole magic thing. It was probably a bit of a shock," I try to sound sympathetic, but I've been trying to reassure her for the last hour and I was beginning to lose control of my temper. I'm generally a patient person, but something about this situation is all too familiar.

"I knew I just shouldn't have told him, I could've just hid it for a while longer. It was too soon!" She starts sobbing again.

I roll my eyes. They had been together five years. Maybe she should stop dating muggles who are terribly close-minded and pessimistic.

"Anyway, Finn-" she sniffs, "-I think we should go-" blows her nose, "-back overseas . I've been horribly bored here-" wipes her eyes, "-and I think that the change of scenery will be just what I need to get back on track."

My eyes widen at that. "Are you sure that's what you need right now? It's probably better just to stay home with things that you know, right?" I ask, because I have summer plans. I know she's sad, I get that. But this breakup has been a long time coming and I don't think that a vacation will help her to get over a simple heartbreak like this. And I really want to stay home with my friends.

"Yes, definitely. I should write Hannah right now," she mutters, standing up and sending the tissues flying to the floor. She rummages around in the kitchen junk drawer for a moment before producing a piece of parchment and a muggle pen.

"Wait, we're just going to England then?" I wonder. Why didn't she just say that she wanted to visit her sister? I haven't seen Aunt Hannah in ages, I wouldn't mind that at all.

"Mhm, three months back in London is exactly what I need," she explains. Excuse me? Does that mean…

"Wait! Three months? We're going away all summer in an attempt to get over your breakup?" Maybe I'm being slightly harsh, but like I said. The breakup was a long, long time coming. Everyone knew that, but apparently not my mother.

"Hannah just renovated her apartment above the Leaky. They added a guest room, but that's probably where I'll stay. I'll talk to Hannah about booking you a room so you won't have to sleep on the cot in Beth's room anymore, especially if I'm dragging you along, it's the least I can do. Not that you normally stayed there, you used to stay at the Potter's all the time. Anyway, I think this will be good for me," she rambles.

"Mom, focus!" I yell. "I don't want to go to England! I want to stay here, with my friends! I have plans for this summer! Emma and I were going to go to the beach everyday. We were going to try and visit Angelica in Maine…"

"Well cancel all of your plans then. Sorry, honey."

"WHAT?" I shriek. She doesn't even answer, just sniffles and goes back to tapping away at her laptop. Planning our trip I suppose. I stand up from the table, angrily shoving my chair away and storm out the back door, walking off the deck and straight for the ocean. The beachfront home was probably what I'd miss the most, other than my best friend.

I kick off my flip flops and walk out into the water, stopping when it gets to be around knee deep. A wave comes and almost knocks me down, but I don't go back to the dry sand. I stand in the water, staring out at the horizon line.

England wouldn't be so bad, but that country and I have a history. Or rather, I have a history with a few of its residents.

From the time I was born until the year that I began attending Ilvermorny, I spent every summer and Christmas break in England. My mom works at a wizarding preschool, so we both had breaks in the summer and we always chose to spend them with Hannah and her family, Neville Longbottom and later in life their daughter, Beth. I looked forward to these trips every year, because not only did I get to see my extended family, I got to see my best friend.

James Potter and I got along so well that it was comical. You'd never have seen two children click more than us. He was a shy kid, rarely spoke at all, and especially not to strangers. I was quiet, but when I was around people I was comfortable with, I was quite loud and bubbly. I'm not sure why we became so close, maybe it was just an effect of our families spending so much time together. The families always joked that we'd end up married someday, like families do when a young boy and girl are such close friends at that age. I would just giggle and wrinkle my nose at that, but James accepted the fact and treated me like a princess. We played together almost every day, and I spent the night at the Potter's most nights. James was mildly possessive over me, sometimes not letting me play with his cousins Fred and Dominique because I was his. Of course, my strong-minded self didn't stand for that, because "You do not own me, James Sirius Potter!" James generally would accept that, because he didn't want me to resent him, but sometimes he'd go pout while I'd have fun with his family. The squabble would easily be resolved with a hug and a kiss on his cheek, much to the families' amusement.

When we were both eleven and it was time for us to go off to school, we promised each other that things wouldn't change. But of course, it couldn't be helped. Weekly letters became monthly, and eventually they died off. Christmas that year was awkward at best, and I was glad to head back home. My mom met Derek later that year, and I met Emma and Angelica. We decided to stay in California for the summer. Things weren't the same after that. I can't help but feel responsible for the end of that friendship. That uncomfortable Christmas was the last time I was in England. And I don't know what things will be like if I return.

A splash breaks my train of thought.

I look up to see my best friend wading through the water towards me, in a wetsuit like she had just been out catching waves. Emma splashes over to here I'm standing, kicking up water and she bounds through the waves.

"Finn, you would not believe the waves this morning, it was ridiculous!" Emma Humphrey is a No-Maj-Born that lives just down from the beach from me. We played together occasionally as young children as a result of being neighbors, so our shock to see each other at Ilvermorny was immense. We bonded immediately, both seeing the humor in the situation. We had been inseparable ever since, and were joined by another witch, Angelica Hernandez in our second year. We just finished our sixth year a few days ago, and were both so excited to carry out all of our summer plans. "Wait, dude, what's wrong?" Emma asks, dropping her smile and putting her hand on my shoulder. I reach up a wipe away a tear, realizing that I had begun to cry.

"My mom and I are going to England. Her and Derek broke up and she needs time away," I sum it up for her.

"What?" Emma exclaims, grabbing me and spinning me around by the shoulders. I almost topple over in the water, so I take a step back from her and her arms fall to his side. "You can't leave!"

I look at her and try to smile, but I can only hold it for a few seconds before my lips return to a thin line. I glance over to observe her deep frown. My petite best friend had a killer tan and shoulder length black hair that I had always been envious of but would never be able to pull off myself.

"I really, really don't want to go," I sigh, and I feel another tear stream down my face, then another.

"Everything will work out, Finn, just wait."