Louis wasn't like the rest of his family. It wasn't that he didn't love them, but he wanted so much more. The only one who he truly felt a connection to was his godfather, his Uncle Charlie, and he was all the way in Romania. But he wasn't like Vic, who found her place in life so early in life, or Dom, who found herself by not fitting the mold. Louis loved his sisters, hell he adored them and they adored him. They were stupidly close. But his whole family was stupidly close.

Yet he was itching to get out. He wanted to see the world, wizarding and muggle. He wanted to see the Northern Lights, and learn how the wizards of the North could divine from them. He wanted to experience Holi in India and meet some of the great masters of arithmancy there. Louis wanted to learn more than Hogwarts could ever teach him.

But he had a year and a half to get through at Hogwarts. And the fact that his Mama and Dad didn't exactly think it was the best idea.

"The world is changing. Wait ten years until it settles down." They meant wait until you've had a chance to settle down.

"'ow about a visit to your grandmuzzer? She'll take you to Nice and Paris." Louis had seen more than enough of France. He wanted more.

Some days it was too much. So of course, Louis had to cut loose.

"James, mate, please say you'll help me with this party. That map is 100% necessary."

James sighed at his cousin, and best friend. "Dude, we are in the library. Do you WANT the prefects to overhear?"

Louis shook his head. "Since when were you the goodie-two-shoes? And anyway, the only prefect here is Gemma Wood, and is- isn't that the girl you've been drooling over since you were a second year?"

James flushed, the tips of his ears bright red. "Shut it, she's behind that bookshelf!"

Louis grinned his Cheshire smirk. "Say you'll help me or I'll go get her."

"Lou! No!"

"OH GEMMA!"

When Gemma responded, she saw the two cousins wrestling and threatened to report them to their cousin Dominque, head girl. But she laughed the whole way and Louis caught how her eyes lingered on James fussed up black hair. Oh yeah. They'll be snogging by the end of the night.

(6 hours later, Louis collected three gallons from his other cousin Fred, having won a bet to that exact line.)

But even when he woke up the next morning, hungover from firewiskey, and cottonmouthed from the lovely weed his muggleborn hook-up smuggled in twice a month, Louis was bored. And a lecture from Dom the next morning about how she can't keep covering for him with Headmaster Hooch just made him grumpy.

So he broke the rules. Again.

The memorial to the war was supposed to be off-limits to students. The faculty wanted those who lost someone to be able to go there in peace and not have to deal with students. Sometimes the professors would turn a blind eye if they thought you were going there to mourn. Louis never got how you could mourn someone you never met. Ted did it all the time, and it confounded Louis to no end. But there was an eternally burning torch there that Louis could floo with. (It was really supposed to be an unknown secret but Lou had caught his Uncle George using it once.)

"Charlie Weasley. Dragon Preserve of Romania!" Louis snapped into the fire.

His Uncle was polishing some sort of saddle when Louis stuck his face into the fire, and it took a few times of hollering for his attention before Charlie looked up.

"Merlin's sake, Louis. You've got to stop doing this." He grumbled, but there was an exasperated fondness in the grumbling.

"Well I've got to get out of here. How the hell did Dom get head girl. I thought slytherins never got that."

"Your sister's ambitious. Part of what makes her a snake. And I know it's not Dom that's bothering you."

"Nah. But it's still bullshit."

Charlie rolled his eyes, but ignored the language. "Well, we both know whats really bothering you. Mate I keep telling you. Just push through, then you can do whatever the hell you want."

"I hate pushing through. I don't need this bullshit to get a job at the reporter. I just have to wave my last name in front of the editor and pitch her a decent series of articles. Oh wait. I did that last summer when Aunt Ginny took me to work. She told me I could have my travel column once I finished Hogwarts."

Charlie looked shocked. "Wait, why didn't you tell me?"

"Thought Aunt Gin told everyone. She was prouder than I've seen her since James made the quidditch team."

"Louis, you do know that you are technically allowed to leave Hogwarts after you're of age right? That's what Fred and George did. Though your grandparents weren't big fans of that decision. Nor will your parents be." Charlie chuckled and looked at Louis with a raised eyebrow. "So how about you don't mention that I told you about it, yeah?"

It took Louis all of ten minutes to make the decision. The hard part… was telling James.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE LEAVING?" James raged in the great hall. Louis was taken aback, not that James was upset but that he'd actually started yelling. He grabbed his cousin's arm and pulled him away from the staring crowd. Everyone was always looking for Weasley-Potter drama.

"Can you calm down for fucks sake? You might tell Albus and Lily everything, but I don't. Dom doesn't know yet. And you know the cousins will be telling everyone."

"But Lou! Come on, we had plans! I still need your help planning a proper date with Gemma. And think of the cousins! They need us to guide them! Help them! Come on mate, I can't do this alone!"

Louis knew that they were best mates, but honestly he had never expected this much of an emotional response. After all, he was nothing special. Just another Weasley. And James had always known that he was leaving. Now he's just fast-fowarded the schedule a little bit.

"James… Look mate. It's nothing personal. I just…. I need to get out. Can't you understand that?"

James's eyes were cold, though Louis could have sworn he saw tears about to breach. "No. I don't. I don't understand how you can just abandon your family. Your friends. Hell, mate, I thought that maybe, just maybe, you were finally getting comfortable with all of this."

Louis was dumbstruck, something that the ravenclaw had rarely experienced. James ripped his arm out of Louis grip and stormed off.

"Well shit."

Louis paced back and forth on the roof of the astronomy tower. He'd left a note on his freshly made bed for Professor Heartwick and his owl, Nuit, had letters to deliver to Dom, Victoire, and his parents letting them know his plans. He was heading to Romania the moment the clock struck midnight, when Louis would officially be 17. Well that and hopefully for James to come say goodbye. They hadn't spoken in two weeks, though admittedly Lily had a minor panic attack earlier in the week over some guy getting aggressive with her in Hogsmeade last weekend. It was one of her first trips, and the whole clan had gotten defensive. Even Albus's best mate Scorpius had been on the war path. (Turns out it was some member of a now-garbage family who thought it'd be a good level of revenge on Uncle Harry to disfigure his daughter. Not the first time someone had the idea. Won't be the last.)

But still. Louis had even stooped to sending James messages through Albus AND Gemma. He got that James was pissed but it wasn't like Louis had purposely hurt him. Hell, he hadn't done anything wrong. Louis was grumbling under his breath, twisting his broomstick in his hands. "Fucking asshole. Come on James. Where are you?"

Louis glanced at his wristwatch, the hands ticking down the last minute of his life as a minor. He'd told them that he was leaving at exactly midnight. And if there was one thing Louis was not, it was a liar.

"Oh I'm the asshole? You're the one who's leaving me." Louis felt every hair on his body leap as James appeared in midair. That damn cloak.

Louis swore under his breath. "Shit mate. You scared the shit out of me."

James sighed. He was upset that much was obvious, but he didn't look mad anymore. "Look Lou. I'm going to be mad for a while now. But I couldn't just let you leave without saying goodbye. After all, I'm gonna need you to come back eventually aren't I?"

Louis laughed and pulled James into a hug. James was slightly taller than him, and the hug made Louis remember how it used to feel to hug his dad. Before he and his dad couldn't have a conversation without arguing. "I better be your best man when you and Gemma get hitched. Now come on, hold my bag for me."

James snagged Louis's knapsack, and Louis swung his leg over the smooth ebony handle of his broomstick, grabbed the bag and swung it over his shoulder. He clapped a hand on James shoulder, and with that cocky Weasley grin, bid farewell. "Wish me luck, mate. I'll write you next time I get settled."

Louis pretended to ignore the tightness in James's voice when he replied. "You better. Bloody dickhead."

Louis refused to turn around as he flew off, and James was grateful for that.