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Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish I was J.K. Rowling...

It was a cold February morning. I was sitting in the Great Hall eating a huge, fit for a king, breakfast. Then the owls came and I got a letter from my dad. It said:

Dear Rosie,

Good news. I got a raise! I don't mean to brag, but…I have been doing great in my job. How've you been, Rosie? I miss you. Are the boys at Hogwarts keeping their hands to themselves? Because if they don't I swear I'll, your mother is yelling at me. I better go. I just wanted to let you know of my good fortunes and remind you how much I miss you.

Love,

Dad

I smiled at the letter. It was like my father to bring up boys and how he hopes I'll never date. He was very protective of me, but I loved him for it.

Across the table, I saw James sit down with his friends. We made eye contact and he gave me a warm smile. I smiled back. Even though I was much closer to Albus, I still liked James.

"You know, your mum wrote me, Rose," Albus said after taking a sip of his orange juice. "She asked me how I was and told me that my mum's going crazy without me."

I laughed. "Sounds like Aunt Ginny. She loves you, James, and Lily passionately."

"Mum's a real passionate person. Trust me when I say this. I learned from an early age and she would yell at me. I swear that she's worse than Grandmum."

Freddie shook his head. "She can't be worse than Grandmum. Grandmum is the queen of yelling and discipline. And the fact that she's married to Granddad is funny because he hardly ever yells."

I smiled and shrugged. I guess they were so good together because they were so different yet had enough in common to keep their lives in order.

Mackenzie said what I was thinking aloud. "Opposites attract. They complete each other. It's as simple as that." Mackenzie didn't talk a lot, but when she did speak everything she said was very interesting. "That's why Scorpius and Rose have so much chemistry."

My jaw dropped. I hadn't expected her to say that. "What in the world are you talking about, Mackenzie?"

She smiled. "It's easy to understand. You two hate each other because you don't know how to handle all the chemistry that flies between you. And you two are very different which makes the chemistry flame."

"You are bloody ludicrous. Neither one of us fancies the other," I insisted.

"Are you sure you don't fancy him?" Her tone wasn't meant to sound sarcastic, but I still rolled my eyes dramatically. How could Scorpius and I fancy each other? The thought was just too stupid to even try to comprehend. We were rivals and that was it. Nothing more and nothing less.

"Please, Mackenzie, drop it," Albus begged. "Scorpius is an okay guy, but I don't want to talk about my cousin dating him, or anyone for that matter. Just freaks me out."

He glanced at Freddie to agree with him, but Freddie was staring off into space. Then he finally spoke. "Should I drop a Dungbomb on Filch today or tomorrow?"

"Is that seriously all that's on your mind?" I questioned harshly.

Freddie nodded his head. "What else am I supposed to be thinking about? The meaning of life? Why the sky is blue? Please, I have better things to do."

"You are unbelievable," I said with anger in my voice. "You really are smart but all you focus on are pranks. You could be doing so much more."

"Like what, Rose? Solve world hunger? I think that's a big job for an eleven-year-old."

Albus sighed. "You two, knock it off. Rose, Freddie likes pranking. Leave him alone with it. And Freddie, just ignore Rose and don't be rude."

"She started it, man," Freddie defended himself.

"Are you really going to take his side, Albus? Oh, I can't believe you," I snapped. "After all I've done for you-"

"I'm not taking anyone's side!"

Professor McGonagall started speeding towards our table. Freddie groaned when she finally reached us. "I didn't do anything, Professor. I swear whoever told you I did something wrong is lying."

"Freddie, Rose, Albus, go to my office. No questions asked. Just go. Password is Charms." She wore a grave expression on her face. Worry spread throughout my body.

The three of us apprehensively got up and started walking towards her office. Thoughts were running through my head. What had happened? Was everyone okay? Why did McGonagall look so…solemn?

We reached the gargoyle and I said the password. When we walked inside we saw Victoire and Remus were already there.

"McGonagall got you guys too?" Freddie questioned.

"Duh." Victoire rolled her eyes. I was kind of shocked. Usually Victoire wasn't so rude. "Sorry, I'm just so nervous. McGonagall only invites people to her office if bad news has happened. And obviously something bad happened to a Weasley."

I fell into a chair. Her words were running in my head. Something bad happened? But what was it?

McGonagall arrived a few minutes later with Sam and James. "All of you, I advise taking a seat." The others who were standing took a seat. "I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but…" Her voice trailed off.

"What is it, Professor?" Freddie's dark brown eyes blinked in confusion. The playful glint in his eyes had left. We knew McGonagall was about to tell us something really bad. The Gryffindor bravery in most of us was long gone.

"Fleur was taking a drive this morning and got into an accident." Victoire gasped and McGonagall shook her head sadly. "She passed away, I'm sad to say."

It was like the information she just told me had slapped me in the face. Aunt Fleur was dead? Victoire had tears spreading over her face. Albus, whose godmother was Fleur, put his head in his hands. Sam's hands shook. I felt so bad for him and Victoire. Their mother was gone.

"Again, I'm so sorry. I'll give you children time to talk to each other right now." She got up and left the room to us.

"Sammy," Victoire's voice squeaked out. Sam got up from his seat to hug his sister.

Albus stood up from his chair and kicked it over. "Why did this happen? SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THIS!" he shouted. He started pulling his hair.

"Calm down, Albus Severus Potter!" I scolded him. "Yelling will do nothing for us or for her. Shouting about how unfair this all is won't bring Aunt Fleur back."

"Shut the bloody hell up, Rose. I bet you didn't even like Aunt Fleur."

I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself down. Two wrongs didn't make a right, I reminded myself. "You're just angry. You don't mean that."

"You don't know what I mean! You don't know me!"

Of course Albus was extremely upset. He was very close to Fleur. Albus didn't get angry a lot, but when he was angry it was scary. The boy showed no mercy to anyone when he was mad.

"Al, she's right. You have to relax," Remus told him.

He ran a hand through his messy, jet black hair. I knew he was about to snap at Remus. When he was angry, he gave vicious comebacks. "Go screw yourself, Remus, and get your ugly face out of my sight."

"Stop," Victoire begged in a high pitched voice. She was crying so hard that she couldn't get words out in a normal octave. "Just stop it."

"Seriously, Al, this isn't helping us any. And if anyone should be flipping out, it's me and Victoire," Sam added.

"Oh, so now I don't have a right to be angry that my godmother died?"

"That's not what they're saying. We all just want you to calm down," Freddie coaxed him.

I looked at Albus' big brother, who was sitting calmly in his chair. While Albus was a very emotional person, James was the exact opposite. He always hid his true emotions from everybody. I don't think he ever wanted to be that vulnerable to someone.

"YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN? WELL, YOU CAN SCREW YOURSELF TOO, FREDDIE!" Albus bellowed.

"What is wrong with you!?" I screeched. "Just because Aunt Fleur…" I couldn't even say it. That would make it more official.

"Died, doesn't mean you can be an arse," Freddie finished for me. I looked at him carefully. He was so much stronger than me.

"Little brother, stop making a scene," James said rationally. It was ironic that they both had the same genes since they were so different in the sense of controlling their emotions. "Grow up and shut up will you?"

Albus sat down in his chair again. Unbelievable. Apparently the only person who could control Albus when he was on a rampage was his brother. Merlin forbad he had listened to anybody else who had tried to calm him down.

Professor McGonagall entered her office again. "You seven are going home until Monday." That day was Thursday. We all nodded our heads and continued listening. "You'll floo to the Burrow right now."

We all got up and approached the fireplace McGonagall had. She handed us each powder and James was the first go. Then it was Sam, Freddie, Albus, and Remus. It was just me and Victoire left. I was trying to calm her down, considering she was a blubbering mess and wouldn't say the right words. Once she calmed down I let her floo first.

"That was nice to stay with your cousin," McGonagall commented.

I shrugged. "What else is family for? Thanks, Professor." Then I threw the powder into the fireplace and clearly stated, "The Burrow," and jumped in.

I landed in a thud at my grandparents' living room. My whole family was in the room and I saw people hugging and crying.

"Rose!" My mother hugged me tightly. I knew she was crying. She cried a lot. She was emotional like Albus, but she didn't get angry like him. Mum just cried.

"It's okay, Mum. I'm okay," I soothed her worries. When someone dies, a mother is naturally protective of her children, especially if she hasn't seen that child in months.

She didn't say anything, just kept squeezing me. I took in her scent, strawberries. I always loved the way my mother smelled. For some strange reason, it comforted me. And I definitely needed the comforting at that moment.

When I let go of my mother, my younger cousin, Todd, hugged me. He was two years younger than me and was extremely likeable. He was Uncle Percy's second son, but he didn't have the Weasley red hair. He just had ordinary brown hair like his mum.

"Are you okay, Todd?" I asked him softly.

He let go of me and nodded his head furiously. Then he left me to go hug someone else. The person to take his place was my little brother, Hugo. At first he hesitantly stood in front of me, but then I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

"This is all messed up, Rose. She's not supposed to die. Nobody's supposed to die," he whimpered in my ear.

What could I say? "People die, Hugo, get over it." No, that would be terrible. All I did was continue to hug him.

We let go and I hugged the next person in my vicinity, which was my granddad. When anything happy happened to a Weasley member, we hugged like this too. So I guess when tragedy struck the Weasleys, this was the only thing we could do. Be close to each other and hope everyone knows we're here for them.

Over Granddad's shoulder, I saw my dad and mum hugging tightly. She was crying on his shoulder and he was rubbing her back. It was hard to believe that they had been together for so long and were still so in love. I mean, I guess if you count actually dating Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry have been together longer. But I count Mum and Dad's relationship from when he and Uncle Harry rescued her from the troll. Technically, they've been together about five or six years longer than Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry, according to my rulebook.

After I was done hugging Granddad, I hugged my cousin Arthur, Granddad's namesake. Arthur was Uncle Percy's third and last son. He was a cute little kid with glasses.

"Are you okay, Rosie?" he asked me in a small voice.

I pulled back from him and smiled. "Aren't you just the sweetest boy alive?" And then I hugged him again.

"Rose, you're crushing me." I laughed and let go of him. He left me to go hug his dad.

Two large arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders. I felt a kiss being placed upon my head. "You are the best person to hug sometimes. You just make me feel a little bit better every time I hug you." By the voice, I could tell it was my uncle Bill.

I was glad I wasn't facing him. What if he was crying? Never could I bear to see Uncle Bill crying. He's the toughest guy I know and seeing him cry would just be too weird. I kissed his muscular arm and heard him laugh.

"You know, that's just what I needed, Rosie. No condolences or anything. Just a simple kiss from someone I love." He took his arms off me and I felt empty. My poor uncle Bill.

Then my dad picked me up. It was quite easy for him, considering he stood at about 6'2 and I was only 4'10. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed as hard as I could.

"Rosie, I love hugging you." He kissed me on the cheek. "You just make me feel better."

I thought it was funny that both Uncle Bill and my dad had talked about how I was so great to hug.

"I love you, Daddy," I murmured in his ear. "And I love Mum and I just never want to let either of you go. I want you around forever, Dad. Please, never leave me."

He rubbed my back and stayed silent. "Dad, promise me! Promise you'll never leave!"

Dad put me down on the ground carefully. "You know I can't promise you that, baby. I'll try to stay around forever, but no one can do it." Tears slid down my face. "Don't cry."

Finally, I broke. I was full out crying now. I was crying for my aunt's lost life. I was crying because I knew it could have easily been one of my parents in the car accident. And I was crying because I knew that everyone had to die one day. I didn't even care that I had to die, but why did everyone else? Why did they have to leave me all alone?

My dad pulled me towards my mum. He leant down and whispered in my ear, "I figure the two crying women can cry together." He kissed the side of my head. "Love you."

A laugh escaped. I couldn't help it. My dad could make me laugh in even the most horrible situations. I wrapped my arms around my mum and breathed in her scent again.

"At least you're crying with me this time. Last time I hugged you, I felt like the daughter," Mum muttered.

I stayed silent and just breathed in her scent some more.

"Mum, I love you. I don't tell you that enough." I had to finally broke the silence.

She pulled back from the hug and kissed my forehead. "And I definitely don't tell you that enough either."

Then she wrapped her arms around me once more, and for a few minutes I forgot about Aunt Fleur's death. I forgot that the world was a terrible place and people died all the time. And I especially forgot that one day that the woman hugging me would die with all those other people. For the time being, I'd just hold her and forget about everything except for how much I love my family.