A/N: This is like soooooooo late. I know. I'm so very sorry but I barely have any free time now.

Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 11

"Alex! Wake up!" She groggily sat up to find a pair of hazel eyes staring at her. "C'mon! You said you'd play Quidditch with me today!" It had been a couple days into the holidays, and Magnus was desperate to do something.

"Okay, I'm getting up. Calm down." Magnus cheered and impatiently waited as she swung her legs off her bed.

A Weird Sisters poster hung on the wall of her room. Pictures of her and her family, who were happily waving at Alex, surrounded it. The other side of the room was occupied with a blue shelf full of books.

Alex had a lot of books, from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, to Quidditch Through the Ages. She even had Wandering with Werewolves, though she was clueless as to how it had gotten into her room. Her cousin must have left it during her last visit, as Alex had no love for the over-rated and self-centred author of the book.

That reminded her! Alex's cousins were coming today to stay with them from America. She could hardly wait. It had been so long since she had last seen them.

She stumbled out of her room, nearly slamming into her Puddlemere United poster. Magnus skipped happily ahead, leading her outside. "Why are we outside, Magnus?" she asked.

"Quidditch!"

"Nope. Breakfast comes first little bro." His eyes fell in disappointment, and he reluctantly followed her back in. "Cheer up! Do you remember Braxon?" Magnus nodded. "Well, he, Claire, and Em are coming over today."

"Oh yeah! I remember! When are they coming?" His hazel eyes sparkled with excitement once more.

"In an hour or so, I think."

"They can play Quidditch with us, then!" He started running around, nearly slamming into Atlas, who was trying to drink his orange juice and avoid Magnus at the same time.

Magnus swallowed his waffles in a hurry, while Alex watched on in amusement. Even the smallest things could get him excited, she thought, as she continued to eat her breakfast at a more leisurely pace.

Finally, breakfast was finished and the table cleared off. They gathered around the fireplace to await the arrival of her cousins, her parents included. The orange fire turned a bright green, and a girl stumbled out. Shortly after, another girl walked out, as did a boy.

Greetings were exchanged, news delivered, and soon, there were just six people in the room. Magnus was behind Alex, while Atlas waited timidly at the side. She looked the other three over. Not much had changed.

Braxon Caldbane had his usually messy light brown hair combed, for once. He had green eyes that were framed by thick eyebrows, and a prominent jaw line. He was easily the tallest of the six.

Claire Caldbane looked liked her twin, with messy light brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and green eyes that sparkled.

The similarities ended there. Braxon was athletic, and looking to join a Quidditch team. Claire was into potions, and hoping to get a job in experimental potions.

Emily, or Em, as Alex liked to call her, looked nothing like her siblings. At the age of eleven, she was younger than the other two, both of which were fifteen. Her dirty-blonde hair flowed past her shoulders in waves, and she had piercing grey eyes. Em was interested in art, and had a habit of doodling on whatever parchment she could find.

Alex introduced her cousins to Atlas and vice-versa, while Magnus tugged on Braxon's sleeve, begging him for a game of Quidditch. Her cousin soon succumbed to her brother's pleading eyes and fetched his broomstick.

His broom was a Nimbus 1999, second only to the Nimbus 2000 and far outstripping the Cleansweep she was using. It was a good broom, and was matched by a good player. Braxon was on his school's Quodpot team, but had an interest in playing Quidditch.

They gathered outside behind Alex's house. Atlas, Claire, and Em had decided no to play until both Atlas and Claire were persuaded to join the game. Em, however, opted to not play and decided instead to draw the others while they played. This presented them with a problem.

"Emily! If you don't play, we're going to have an uneven number of players. Join us, please?" begged her brother.

"Yeah! Uneven isn't good. Play some Quidditch with us!" said Magnus.

"I already told you guys, I can't play. I suck at Quidditch," she said.

"So? Claire over here," Braxon said, gesturing to his sister, "can't play to save her life. But she's still playing."

"BRAXON!" Claire shouted, smacking him on the head.

"Ow! What was that for! I was just saying the truth." His comment at the end earned him another smack from his twin sister.

"We can still play, can't we guys?" asked Atlas.

"Yeah, I guess so. There's just going to be an uneven amount of people on each team," replied Alex.

"Well, I want Braxon on my team," said Magnus, clutching his cousin's arm.

"Then Claire and Atlas are on my team," decided Alex. Of course Magnus would choose the best Quidditch player out of them.

Magnus was keeper, and Braxon chaser. Atlas was keeper for their team, while she and Claire were chasers.

Her team wasn't the best. Claire frequently dropped the apple they were using as a Quaffle, Atlas kept letting goals in, and Alex wasn't used to playing in the chaser position.

They played until lunch was ready, at which point everyone was starving. The team of Magnus and Braxon ended up winning, of course. They ate happily, sharing jokes and laughter. The day passed rather quickly, and the house was never quiet, despite its enormity.

Alex was watching Braxon giving a piggyback ride to Magnus when she realised Atlas had left the house. Dodging Braxon and Magnus, and avoiding the scattered parchment paper on the floor, she went outside, searching for Atlas. She finally found him in the forest that surrounded the house. He was sitting by a pond and didn't turn around when she sat next to him.

"What's it like?" he asked.

"What's what like?"

"Having a family." His question took her by surprise. Surely he had some family members. Alex knew he at least had a mother.

"I'm not sure, really. We all love each other, but there are times were we can't seem to get along. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know what it was like."

"Don't you have family?"

"Just my mum. My dad left her before I was born. I don't know why, and she never told me. And I've got no siblings, or cousins."

"None?"

"No. It gets lonely. You're lucky, you know. You've got people that care about you. Don't get me wrong, my mum is awesome, but she's hardly there. She's always doing something for work, and is constantly working late. It seems like she's never there when I need her to be."

"You've got me and Nick, and your other friends."

"I don't have any other friends. It's just you and Nick." Alex was shocked. She had always thought that there were other friends he could turn to. "Nobody in my house would even consider being my friend, and almost everyone doesn't want to be friends with a Slytherin," he continued.

"Why, though?"

"You think all those people in my house who think so high and mighty of themselves would stoop down to befriend a half-blood that makes friends with the "enemy", or so they put it? Do you think people would simply jump at the chance to be friends with a Slytherin rejected by his own house?"

"I – I -" she stuttered, unable to think of words.

"No they don't. It's as simple as that."

"That's not true! What about me and Nick, huh?"

"We weren't always friends. Have you forgotten that?" His voice was quiet, and resigned.

"I – well – I -"

Atlas turned away from her and faced the pond, staring at his reflection. Alex sat next to him, unable to formulate anything to say.

They sat in silence for a while, neither looking at each other. Finally, Alex broke the silence.

"It doesn't matter, you know. It doesn't matter if you have one family member, or hundreds. It doesn't matter if you only have two friends, or a group of twenty. What does matter is that you're loved. And as long as that is true, you're never truly alone. Someone will always love you, whether it is family, friends, or both. Listen to me! You are not alone, and you never will be, not if I can help it."

Alex turned to look at him. He was still staring at his rippling reflection. "Thanks," said Atlas.

"No problem."

Suddenly, arms were wrapped around her and hugging her tightly. "Thank you."

A/N: I should probably explain. Alex's cousins are American, and are related to her through her mother's side. Her mother is British, but her brother (Alex's uncle) moved to America and raised a family there. Just to clarify.

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