Shelley walked into the kitchen to see her mum stirring a pot of soup on the stove. She was stirring with one hand and holding baby Samantha with the other. She walked over and held out her arms to take Sam from her mother. Sam squealed happily and reached out for Shelley.

"Thanks, Sweetheart," her mother said as she handed Sam off to Shelley. Andi Quinn tucked a strand of wayward hair behind her ear and turned her attention, completely, to finishing supper preparations for her growing family.

Shelley stepped carefully around her little brother Darrin, who was playing with his Quidditch sports figures on the floor beside their mother. She walked over to stand across from Skyler, who was at the counter chopping tomatoes for the salad.

Skyler looked up from what she was doing and said, "I noticed one of the letters Dora was holding in her beak was addressed to you. Anything interesting from Lover Boy?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Fighting the urge to cry, Shelley talked around the lump in her throat, "No. But I did get a nice note from Mrs. Weasley. She says we're welcome to come for a visit to the Burrow before term starts."

"But no word from Fred, though?" Skyler asked puzzled. "Is everything alright between you two? You haven't received any post from him all summer, and you are usually in constant contact with each other."

"Everything's fine between us," Shelley assured her sister. This wasn't actually a lie; everything was fine between her and Fred. As fine as things can be when one of us is dead, Shelley thought dryly. She did however feel a twinge of guilt prick her conscience for not telling her twin the truth. She always told Skyler everything. The sisters kept no secrets from each other, but she wasn't ready to face reality, just yet.

Skyler stared at her for a few seconds longer before turning her attention back to chopping tomatoes. Shelley breathed an inward sigh of relief, feeling like she'd just dodged a bullet.

"I'm glad everything's OK," Skyler said. "I was getting worried. You and Fred are so perfect for each other, and if you two broke up, then we couldn't go on double dates together."

"Going out on double dates with whom?" Shelley asked uneasily.

"Double dates with George and me, Silly!" Skyler exclaimed. "Who'd you think I was talking about?"

"Draco Malfoy," Shelley suggested weakly.

Skyler screwed her face up. "As if! I wouldn't go out with that git even if you paid me a thousand galleons! She declared.

"You used to think he was cute," Shelley reminded her.

"That was before he found out we were Half - bloods and was a major prick to us about it. Anyway, I think Stella has a thing for him. Though Merlin only knows what she sees in that prat." Skyler rolled her eyes. Whatever made you think I'd ever date someone like Draco. You know snakes and lions never mix."

"I just wanted to see if I could get a rise out of you," Shelley grinned. "And it looks like I was successful."

"You know, I sometimes wonder if you should've been a snake instead," Skyler teased.

"Harry Potter could've been a Slytherin, but he was sorted into Gryffindor too," Shelley reminded her sister with a smile.

"OK, you win!" Skyler laughed. After she calmed back down, she said seriously, "I was actually thinking about telling George how I feel about him."

"That's great!" Shelley forced some cheer into her voice. "It's about time you made a move. What were you waiting for?"

"Him," Skyler replied. I wanted him to be the one to ask me out. That way I'd know that he actually liked me. I didn't want him to feel obligated to go out with me just because his brother is dating my sister."

"But George does like you," Shelley assured her. "Fred and I were talking before term ended about how..." Shelley quickly looked down at Sam and blinked the tears from her eyes.

"Are you sure you're Ok?" Skyler asked skeptically; she had noticed her sister's lapse into silence. "If Fred did anything to hurt you, I swear to Merlin that I'll bash his brains in!" Skyler threatened.

"Who sounds like she belongs in Slytherin now?" Shelley asked.

"You take that back or I'll..."

"You'll what," Shelley wanted to know.

"I'll tell Draco Malfoy that you like him," Skyler told her.

Shelley gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

"I would," Skyler grinned wickedly.

"There's no need to do that because Fred and I are just fine," Shelley repeated.

"Well, if you're sure. But if he does hurt you, you will tell me, right? I want to know so that I can give him a piece of my mind. Nobody gets to hurt you, except for me."

Too late for that, Sis, he's already hurt me. And there's nothing you can do to fix it. There's nothing you can do to fix me, Shelley thought to herself. Out loud, she said, "Don't worry, Sky. I doubt anything like that is going to happen, but if it does, I'll be sure to tell you straightaway."

"Good," Skyler said. "Because you know that you can always talk to me about anything."

Not about this I can't, the voice in Shelley's head went off again.

Just then, their mum called them to come into the dining room to help her set the table. Skyler picked up the salad bowl and went over to the cabinet to get the serving bowls. Shelley went to put Sam on the floor beside Darrin and told him to watch his sister for a few minutes. Then she went to grab the pot of soup off the stove and followed her sister into the dining room.

Shelley breathed a sigh of relief that Skyler had let the matter of her relationship with Fred drop. She was grateful to not have to talk about her painful secret for a little while longer.