Chapter one: Summercelebrating

It was in the middle of the summer and the families Althin and Delaco was celebrating midsummer. Almost all of the seventeen kids had taken a friend with them. Alec Althin sat at his room in the attic were the Althin siblings hang out. He sat in his favourite chair and sketched in his favourite drawing-block. Even though his mom and stepdad had told him to bring a friend over to their summer place he had resisted. The only one he wanted to invite was Kitty Loa and it would have been weird. No way that he had the courage or the opportunity to invite her there. She was way too hooked on Lucaz Delaco. Someone knocked at his opened door and he looked up.

"Hi!" Tindra Delaco smiled at him.

"Hi Tira", he smiled back.

Alec had always liked Tindra. The older girl had always been there for him and he loved her like a sister.

"What are you doing?" She looked curiously at the block.

"Sketching." He held up the block a bit embarrassed.

"That is just wonderful!" She was impressed. "Who's portrait is it? Liz's best friend Signe?"

Alec shook his head. It was the first time he had shown her a portrait. Usually he used to show her drawings of landscapes, animals or other stuff he used to draw.

"It's Signe's sister", he answered a bit shy and proceeded proudly, "and it's sketched right from my memories."

Tindra smiled.

"Uh-oh!" She paused. "Before I forget. Signe came only a moment ago, did you see that?"

Alec nodded and wondered where she wanted to come with it.

"Her sister, Kit I think she said her name was, wanted me to tell you hi from her. And by the way it's lunch."

Alec gasped.

"Is Kitty here?"

Tindra nodded and smiled.

"You like her, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter." He sighed. "She likes Lucaz."

"Come on!" It seemed like Tindra hadn't listened because she now dragged him up from the chair. "You have to fight for her to get her."

Alec laughed. When Tindra had got him up she went to the door.

"Don't forget to wash your hands before eating", she said in the door opening." And if you show her the portrait I'm sure that she'll be impressed."

Alec put the drawing-block at the very bottom of his drawer, locked and went out of his room. When he entered the garden it seemed like all places were taken. With 32 kids it wasn't so weird. He saw Tindra who waved at him to come over to her. When he got closer he saw that the seat between her and a pink-haired girl was free.

"Hi!" The girl smiled.

"Hi." Alec looked at the girl. "You're Signe, right?"

"Yes", she nodded. "Fantastic! It isn't often people can separate me and my sister."

"Well, I know Kitty by just looking at her so it wasn't hard", he smiled.

Tindra shook her head and sighed. Alec looked wondering at her, but she didn't need to say anything, he understood. She had tried to sit beside Kitty but got the wrong twin.

"Now I understand why Liz is sitting at her other side", Tindra whispered. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Tira. I will survive." Alec grinned and his stomach was rumbling.

Alec looked discretely after Kitty. There. She sat beside Lucaz. He sighed a little bit. Out of all these people ,she had to sit beside Lucaz. Lucaz looked up. Looked right at him and smiled. Alec smiled back. He didn't have a problem with Lucaz. Except that he, Alec, was in love in the girl that loved Lucaz. He got a bowl of potato purée from Signe. He gave it directly to Tindra. Someone knocked at his shoulder. He looked back. It was Fanni Delaco, with his pasta. He gave her a smile as a thank you and gave her the plate that had been lying empty on the table. Because there where so many kids in the house, all got to help with feeding each others. This time it was the out gone fifth years students who cooked and cleaned afterwards. Alec was glad that his family and the Delaco's decided to by a big summerhouse together for a couple of years ago. This entire hullabaloo caused him to not think about his dad who always got with excuses of why Alec couldn't stay with him at the summers. He ate his food. Pasta and smoked-cured loin of pork was the dish.

Alec was back at his room. And it knocked at the door again. Alec raised himself from the bed, went to the door, locked up and opened it. He was just going to say something when he saw who it was.

"Hi", Signe smiled shyly

"Hi", Alec said after he got a grip of himself." Do you want to come in?"

Signe nodded and went in. Alec sat down at his bed and waited for Signe to sit down to. She sat herself opposite him at the bed.

"Do you want something special?" Alec stared out the window that was behind her.

"Why aren't you out and playing quidditch with the others?"

"Why aren't you doing it?"

"I don't like quidditch", she answered with a shrug.

"Then we're two", smiled Alec.

It went silently.

"Do you want to play Nintendo with me?" Signe broke the silence.

"Sure."

After a while Liz came up and wanted to hang out, but she left a couple of minutes later as she thought they were too unsociable. When the rest of the kids, who played quidditch, had finishing playing, Lucaz came up and tried to sit down in the sofa. Alec stopped him.

"You have to take a shower before you do anything, don't you remember?"

They heard Mrs. Delaco's voice on the floor under.

"Can I borrow some clothes of you, Alec?"

"Only if you beg on your knees", Alec joked.

"Please, please!" Lucaz stood on his knees and begged.

"Fine!" Alec smiled and Signe giggled at them.

"Where do you have your clothes?" They heard Lucaz voice asking from Alec's room.

"In the closet are the most of my clothes, but there are some in the green chest of drawers."

Alec and Signe kept playing. And a couple of minutes after Lucaz had got in the shower they could hear footsteps in the stairs.

"The toilet is taken by Lucaz", Alec shouted and the footsteps went down again.

"I've heard you have pretty good grades", Signe said out of nowhere without looking at him.

"Oh really? Who have told you that?"

"Liz... and Kitty." She smiled but avoided to look at him.

"Of course!" Alec sighed.

"Ehm…" Signe got quiet like she was regretting that she almost said what was on her mind.

"What?"

"What is your grade in transfiguration?"

"O", said Alec quietly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't hear. What did you say?" Signe looked at him

"Outstanding."

"You wouldn't...?"

"No, of course you wouldn't", Signe answered her own question.

"What wouldn't I want to?"

"Help me with the transfiguration?"

Alec looked liked he thought about it.

"Sure", he smiled big.

"But", Signe started, "maybe we shouldn't tell anyone. I mean a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw that are seen together isn't the best."

"Yeah, you're right."

Liz came up again at the same time as Lucaz get out of the bathroom, with Alec's clothes on him.

"What a luck that they fitted."

Alec just grinned at his comment.

"What are you doing?" Liz watched them curiously.

"Playing a videogame. Can't you see that?" Alec said still grinned.

"How lovely you two are playing." Lucaz looked at the controls that laid peacefully at the floor.

"What? Do you want to play?" Signe smiled.

Lucaz nodded while Liz shook her head.

"I would rather talk to you, Alec. Privately."

"Sure", he stood up and went in to his room.

He sat down at the bed, she closed the door. Liz, who usually talked with ease, found it hard to begin.

"You don't want to..."

"What would I not want to do?"

"Help me with transfiguration?"

Alec thought after a bit.

"Sure, but why do you ask me and not Kitty, or any other girl, for example? She also got an outstanding in her transfiguration grade."

"I believe you are more discreet. "

"Okay, can I go back to the videogame now?"

"Well... I would like to ask you one more thing if I'm allowed."

"Go ahead, he sighed, I'm listening. "

"Is there anything between you and Signe?"

Alec pretended that he didn't freeze for a moment and shook his head.

"Why would there be anything between us? I barely know her."

"I don't know." She loosened up a bit. "It was a silly question. You go and play the videogame with the others, but before you go."

"Yes", he said to make her proceed.

"Can I possibly get to stay here for a little while?"

"Sure", Alec shrugs his shoulders and went out.

Liz went slowly around in the room and touched some of his things. Alec, who always demands her to keep out of his room, hadn't remembered that he used to do that. And it made the whole experience much more fun. Liz saw a key that had been lying under the hollowly little china statue she just picked up. She, the curios little 13-year-old girl, picked up the key and tried it in every keyhole she could find. The drawer, that Alec had put his block in that morning, opened when Liz put the key in the keyhole and turned it around. She took it up. Finally she would get to take a look at Alec's sketches. There was many nature- and animal-drawings but she found other pages with portraits and not just any people. It was both the families and a man that she didn't recognized. But she supposed it was Alec's dad.

"Wow". she said unintentionally.

She had come to a picture of her and three of her siblings. It wasn't strange that he had a picture on those four together, they were a quadruplet after all. But it looked like a picture you didn't know they were taking. Liz took it out of the block and then carefully closed it and put it back. She then locked the drawer and put everything back on the place, well almost everything. She took a last look, put down the drawing in her pocket and went out.

Two days before school would start again the families had there usually barbeque. There was a bit thing's that was different than last year. There were a lot more teenagers and their parents had went away with Delaco's youngest son, Riley who was about to turn ten. Even Tindra had gone away to make it a free-from-adults-day. It had already turned a bit dark and they were sitting around the fire all cosy and stuff. Signe looked at Alec in secret. Alec looked at Kitty in secret. He sighed precisely when Signe did, but he didn't notice her. He went away from the fire and sat down where he couldn't see them all cuddly. And they couldn't see him either. But Signe had followed him with her eyes and went over there. She was determined to not back down. She wouldn't let him ruin her summer because of some stupid crush she had. She got closer and closer but Alec didn't notice her, again. He was listening to music in his earphones, way over the limit, and sketching in his sketchbook. She sat down beside him and waited for him to notice her. It didn't take long for him to raise his head and look at her. He looked surprised at her and took out the earphones from his ears.

"Hi", he said cautious.

"Hi", she answered with a little smile.

Alec looked silently at her, waiting for her to tell him why she was there. He guessed she wanted another favour from him. He who never had a big problem with Slytherin figured out that he had a problem with them. It was like they all demanded something from him. He sighed.

"Did you want something?" He didn't bother to sound nice as he was a bit annoyed.

"Yes." She answered harshly just like he had sounded.

"Then spit it out."

"Why? Can't a girl just sit here without saying something?"

"No, not when I'm sitting here." He realized suddenly that he sounded selfish and he softened a little bit.

"Well, maybe I should go then!"

She rose and prepared herself to go when Alec grabbed her wrist. She looked down at him.

"I'm sorry." He said silently. "Stay".

Signe sat down and stared at him.

"I was going to ask you something if you wouldn't have been so impatient."

"And now you're not going to tell me?" He asked carefully.

"It depends."

"Depends on what?"

"If you're going to show me some of your drawings", she said sneaky.

"Then it's probably not anything important", he said and closed his block.

"Fine! I tell you either way." She smiled and leaned towards him.

"Hey! Don't tell me it's something greasy", he said laughing.

Signe giggled and got closer. He was unsure if he wanted it to happen or not. Then his heart where drowned in his brain thoughts. What the hell, it said, you still get a pink-haired girl. Now she was so close that he kissed her.

It wasn't as disgusting as he had thought and he actually liked it. And her. They both heard steps towards them and they pushed themselves away from each other. They looked up to see who it was. Benjamin Althin looked at them and grinned. He had figured out. Alec sighed at his half brother. Ben understood the unsaid sentence and disappeared. The romantic feeling was gone and a cold breeze reminded them that they still were out and not near the fire at all. Signe shivered and Alec looked at her.

"Do you want to go inside or go to the fire?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"I'm fine", she tried to convince him.

"Well, I'm going to go in now and if you want to look at my drawings then you have to come in."

"Fine", she said. "But only because of your drawings."

Alec smiled and helped her up.

"It's a shame that you're in Ravenclaw", she said after awhile of silence.

It's a shame that a bright and beautiful girl like you are in Slytherin", he said.

"Ew! Now you got sleazy", she laughed.

"Well, it's true." He shrugged his shoulders.

"If it was, you would have noticed me at the very beginning of this summer." She said sadly.

He sighed. Alec didn't know what to say so he sat down on the couch in the living room.

"Didn't you come for a reason, and only for that reason?"

Signe allowed her to smile and looked directly into his eyes.

"Yes I did! So show me now", she demanded.

He looked at his sketch pad that he had in his hands and gave it slowly to her. She opened it and was amazed. And his drawing of Kitty didn't make her jealous as she noticed with surprise afterwards. She was so impressed that she couldn't say a word on the whole night so Alec walked with her to her bedroom. He gave her a slight goodnight kiss on her forehead and went back to his own room.

The clock was almost eleven and Alec looked for a free coupé. He sighed. It seemed like almost everyone were filled. A coupé door opened and out peeped Lucaz head.

"Hey Alec", he whispered. "Here's some room if you don't have anyone else to sit with".

"Thanks." Alec smiled.

Alec stepped in, in the small coupé and saw lots of girls. First he didn't recognize any of the girls but when he had sat down and really looked at them he blushed. He couldn't forgive himself for not recognize the girls. Izabellz, Liz, Iz and Lucaz were representing the Delaco family. Signe and Kitty represented the Loa family and Alec was the only one from the Althin family. It was a three-year-students-coupé, if you want to call it that. He blinked as he thought he dreamt. Lucaz smiled at him and got into the conversation his sisters had. Then Alec noticed who he sat beside. Signe. She smiled at him when he looked at her and he smiled back. He could still remember what had happened the past two days between them. He shook his head like he thought the memories would disappear. It couldn't be anything between them. Not in school at least. She couldn't even been seen with him when he would tutor her so how could they be seen as a couple? He hated the rivalry between the houses. It only destroyed people's friendship and love. Alec sighed. He couldn't wait to the winter break. Finally he would live at his dad over the break. It was a dream come true for him and it made him happy when he thought about it, like he made himself do now.

"Hey, Alec! We might want to leave the girls alone now."

Alec looked confused at Lucaz, who had interrupted his thoughts.

"So they can get dressed", Lucaz explained.

He nodded and the two boys went out of the coupé. They were headed for the toilets with their school uniforms.