"George, ketchup" I held out my hand as George tossed me the ketchup.
"Don't throw it!" Mrs. Weasley squealed as it flew across the table. I smiled as George took the quick scolding. Although I was like one of the family, Mrs. Weasley still seemed to favor me. Fred, George, and I exchanged glances before going back to our food. After we ate we were going to play quidditch out back.
"I'm full, Mum," Ron announced before clearing his dish. Ron was never full.
"Me too, thanks for the meal" I got up and hurried outside after him.
"Oh, you're welcome, dear!" she seemed pleased that I was so polite. In my mind, I was still a guest, though no one seemed to notice. I ran to the shed and pulled out some broomsticks while Ron dug for the quaffle. I tossed Ginny her broom while Fred drew two goals in the air, hovering about twenty feet off of the ground. Thankfully, there were no muggles in the area so we could do this sort of thing.
"Two on two," Ron announced, running to the center of the field. He was our referee, since he wasn't as good at flying as any of us. He was fine with it, saying that he knew everything about quidditch, so it would be a good position for him. Not to mention that if he played, the teams wouldn't be even.
"If Harry were here, we could all play," I noted, with agreements from everyone but Ron, who threw the quaffle in the air almost immediately, beginning the game.
Ginny played offense with Fred while I guarded the hoop. George made threatening faces at me, with, of course, the occasional grin when he successfully distracted me.
"Foul!" I shouted.
"What?"
"You were making faces! That didn't count!"
"If he's distracting you, don't look at him!" Ron shouted up at me. I pouted, but took the advantage of the quaffle soaring towards me to butt it back and hit Fred. If I couldn't hit George from over here, his twin was the next best thing.
"That's not fair! I didn't do anything to you!" Fred shouted, rubbing his chest as if I actually hurt him.
"Oh, really? Because you just tried to score while George over there distracted me! Don't act like I don't know what you two think!"
"Yes!" Ginny cheered, scoring while I was distracting her brothers.
"Hey!" they yelled in unison. Ron sat, howling in laughter, on the back porch. Behind him, inside the house, I spotted Mrs. Weasley.
"Well, that's it for me folks," I saluted them and floated to the ground, "Lieutenant Weasley, time to prove yourself" I tossed the broom at him, and he obliged happily.
I hurried inside and into the kitchen, "do you need help clea-" I stopped when I saw she was reading a letter. I wouldn't have thought much of it, had she not had her hand covering her face. "Mrs. Weasley?" I reached out to her.
"Jenny dear, why don't you sit down," she took my hand and led me to the couch.
"Why?" I asked, horrified. If there was something she needed to tell me that I had to sit down for, it had to be extreme. It could be good or bad, but I had the feeling I wasn't going to be happy for long.
"Well, it is well into July, and if you remember at the beginning of summer I told you-"
"-that Karen was moving. I remember, but why…"
I hadn't been in contact with Karen since Fall.
The paper Mrs. Weasley is holding, could it be… I looked up at the clock, noticing a new hand had been added. When had that happened?
"Don't tell me she's…" I couldn't finish. Her eyes softened and I knew. "No…" I shook my head, "no." I tore my hand from hers and stood, turning to go to my room when Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George walking into the house, suddenly quiet when they saw me.
"Don't tell me you knew," I questioned. Their sympathetic looks were too much to handle. "You knew and you didn't tell me?" my voice rose and I felt myself losing control, so I ran. I ran and I shut the door behind me.
No one tried to open it.
How long had they known? How long had it been since it happened? Why hadn't they told me until now?
They've been lying this whole time.
I was alone. With Karen gone, I had no one. My mother was gone, I knew of no other family members. Whether connection was lost through so many moves or they were deceased, I knew not. All I knew was that my father was the only one left and I didn't even know his first name.
I pulled out my notepad and quill Hermione had given me.
Hermione.
I hadn't heard from her at all this summer. Ron hadn't read any letters on front of me, but I was certain she had sent him some. Hermione had promised us all that she would write every day, and she made us promise, too. They were empty words, though. Harry hadn't written either. I knew I wouldn't have heard from Ron at all, had I not been living with him.
I began writing what I knew and continued to do so until I passed out.
Hey everyone. Thanks so much for reading my story! Any review is a gracious gift to receive :] I will be out of town for a week. I'm going to Tennessee to help with the National Relief Network's flood relief efforts. Then I have my sweet 16 and my senior year starts! Busy Bee :] I'll post more when I get back from my trip, August 7th or 8th. Thanks!
