It had been two weeks since they'd all accidentally had dinner together, and Erin was happy to report that whatever weird, awkward, and unsettling rut that Rose and Scorpius' relationship had somehow fallen into seemed to be in the past.

She wasn't oblivious, contrary to what her roommate and her roommate's boyfriend might think. It had been obvious that things weren't normal all week. Rose had been mopey, for one thing. Al had mentioned Scorpius was too. It hadn't exactly been planned to get them both to dinner that night, but it hadn't not been planned either. Al said he missed Rose, Erin said she missed Scorpius… It all just sort of worked itself out after that.

At first, Erin had regretted her meddling. Dinner had started out awkward as hell. Thankfully, the excuse to leave the table had miraculously shown up, and things had been a lot better upon their return. Until Al had opened his mouth.

She loved the bloke, but really. He wasn't always the best at reading the room.

It had also been very amusing to introduce Al to Kiran, who hadn't stopped mentioning it to her just about every day since.

"Is his family really as close as the press makes them out to be?" he asked late in the afternoon on the last Friday in August.

"Yes, they're all very close," Erin said with a sigh, checking her notes and marking off that she'd added the second measurement of holly berries. "All the aunts and uncles and siblings and cousins get along tremendously. Well… for the most part. There's been some drama with a few lately, but you didn't hear that from me."

Kiran immediately perked up at the prospect of juicy details. "Really? Drama amidst the chosen family?"

"No one calls them that."

"Do they ever have parties?" Kiran asked, tilting his head in thought almost as if he were trying to work his way around a dilemma. "Like, ones that you - as a guest - could invite your own friends to?"

Erin narrowed her eyes at him. "No, they don't, and before you even make the suggestion, I'm not going to make sure you get to know Al better just so he can be the one to invite you."

Kiran pouted and slouched on the table across from her. "You're no fun."

A smirk grew on Erin's face, but it immediately fell away at his parting comment.

"I suppose I'll just have to wait until I'm invited to your wedding."

Her eyes widened and she was struck silent as Kiran left her lab, cackling as he went.

People really needed to stop saying things like that. It was liable to send her into a panic.

As long as she focused on work, she wouldn't have to think about the fact that her relationship was growing more serious by the day.

She really did love Al. There was no doubt in her mind about that. But they were only eighteen. They had so much life to live. There was no need to get serious so soon. They had plenty of time for that, but any talk of settling down and marriage was for the future, not when she was eighteen.

Half an hour later, there was a rap on Erin's open door and Draco stuck his head in. "I'm heading out for the evening and everyone else is gone too. Remember to lock up the Floo when you leave and don't work too late?"

Erin nodded and smiled at her boss. "Just a few more steps to finish up and then I've got myself a party to get to."

With a final nod, Draco was gone, leaving Erin to peacefully stir in the last few ingredients for her potion. After letting it simmer for five minutes, she removed it from the flames before ladling some into an empty vial. She held it up to the light, squinting at the nearly translucent pink potion, and she only had to wait ten seconds before it began to grow cloudy. Just like it had done last time.

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath, putting a stopper in the vial and laying it next to five others that looked similar, all with varying degrees of cloudiness. She'd been closer with the last one.

They'd been working to adapt this particular potion for cost reasons, swapping out ingredients for similar ones that were cheaper and attempting to produce the same results. It hadn't quite worked yet.

With a sigh, Erin picked up her notebook and checked the time. She was due at the Burrow in five minutes to bid farewell to the Weasleys and Potters still returning to Hogwarts. It had felt a little odd to be invited. This had always been one of those occasions that only those in the actual family got invited to. But now that she qualified as a "significant other," which Ginny had pointed out when she and Al had gone to his parents' for dinner the week before, she was invited to come, and even expected.

Just another sign in her mind that things were straying into the world of serious when it came to her relationship.

She could afford to be a few minutes late.

After making sure the fire was put out and everything that needed to be packed away to keep fresh was taken care of, Erin made her way to the library at the end of the hall of potion labs. It had become her favorite spot to think in the month she'd been working for Draco at Malfoy Manor. Sometimes she'd spread herself out at one of the desks, books and notes scattered everywhere. Other times, she preferred a corner of the couch, which was where she settled herself tonight.

With a sigh, she relaxed back into the cushions that were far more comfortable than their appearance led you to believe, and flipped through her notes on her current project. That was something she'd had to grow more meticulous about, rather than just relying on her memory. She had to catalogue every step she took with each new batch, not only to make sure she had it documented when she eventually got it right - hopefully - but also to make sure she never made the same mistake twice.

If only she could just intuitively know which part to change each time.

It wasn't until she'd spent what she only thought was about fifteen minutes studying her notes and formulating a new plan for Monday, that Erin finally glanced up at the clock, only to realize it had actually been an hour. She grimaced before making one last note and closing her notebook, hoping no one would notice how late she was to the Burrow.

But before she could go, the usual tasks relegated to the last to leave had to take place. After checking to make sure nothing was still lit in any of the labs or in Draco's office, she wandered back into the library, cast a quick spell to tidy things up, and took off her lab robes. She hung them on the only remaining hook by the Floo, the others all taken up by her coworkers. Her bag was slung over her shoulder and her wand in the pocket of her skirt. Draco was still old fashioned enough to insist on business attire even while working in the labs. Finally, she reached to grab the jar of Floo powder, only for the Floo to light up before she had the chance.

Erin barely had a moment to take a step back in surprise before someone was coming through the Floo, and it wasn't until she took in the full black attire and mask covered face of the late night guest to the Manor that she realized she should even be wary at all.

Her mouth opened in a scream and she reached for her wand, but the intruder was on her before she had much of a chance to do either. And everything happened in a blur of fear and shock and terror, her wrist twisted behind her back in a strong grasp and a rough hand smothering her mouth as she was held against a solid chest.

And the last thing she remembered was the sound of the Floo bursting to life once again before everything went dark.

The Burrow was full of people, as was tradition the night before they returned to Hogwarts.

Only Rose wasn't returning this year.

All summer, she hadn't been saddened by this fact. It would randomly pop into her head when she made plans for days she'd normally be spending at Hogwarts or got even more settled in her flat and her job, but the whole missing it aspect hadn't hit home yet. And it was now.

She glanced around the room, enjoying the last day that most of her family would be together for a while. Molly was sitting on a couch by the fire with Ethan, deep in conversation with Lysander and Dominique, who were sitting together quite cozily on the rug in front of the former Head Boy and the new Head Girl. Rose was so excited for Molly. When McGonagall had asked for a recommendation, she'd felt it might be unethical to recommend a family member. But after hesitantly saying she couldn't really picture anyone else filling the roll, the Headmistress had smiled at her and agreed.

Rose's attention moved to Ethan, who was smiling warmly at his girlfriend while she talked to her cousin. A pang went through Rose, knowing they'd have to face a year of distance. She was grateful she'd never had to do that.

At the sound of laughter, Rose's eyes jumped to where Lily and Lucy were on the other side of the couch with Violet and James, playing with the puppy he'd bought for his girlfriend for their one year anniversary a few weeks before. It warmed Rose's heart to see Lily smiling. And to see her spending time with Lucy. Their relationship hadn't been quite as affected by recent events as the others, but if Lucy was anything, she was honest, and there was no way she would have let them just slip back into a stable relationship without talking about everything first.

Maybe things were looking up for her brother and younger cousins.

At this thought, Rose's eyes scanned the room in search of Hugo. She'd barely seen him all evening, and he'd been quiet when she had. Giving up on finding him herself, she walked over to where her dad was talking to Louis and her uncle Bill.

"Any of you seen Hugo?" she asked.

"He went outside," said Louis with a nod towards the back door.

Rose didn't wait around to ask the question on the tip of her tongue. Louis had looked worried, but then again, they'd all been worried for weeks now. She passed by the group behind the couch, exchanging an involuntary glance with Lily, whose expression was similar to Louis' but held more longing.

As she stepped out onto the porch, Rose shook off thoughts of every other member of her family as she approached her brother. Her focus right now was Hugo. Pretty soon, she wouldn't be able to spend time with him, and any opportunity to be there for him would be significantly less frequent.

"Kind of hard to believe you're not going back," said Hugo, his gaze almost sorrowful as he looked out towards the orchard behind the Burrow. Rose was surprised to find tears in her eyes as she stepped closer to her brother, placing her arm around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder as he put his arm around her.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked. Hugo shrugged.

"You've had that worried look on your face every time you've looked at me all night," he said. "Figured it was only a matter of time before you made your move."

Rose smiled. "And did you come out here so I'd have a chance to corner you?"

Hugo scoffed. "Course not"

Rose just continued grinning. "I can't believe I'm actually going to miss you," she said, and felt Hugo chuckle.

"I'll miss you too," he said. "All that reminding me to do my homework and interfering with my personal life."

He squirmed as Rose dug her fingers into his side, but made sure he didn't pull away from her.

"Well, seeing as you'll miss it so much, are you going to let me pry one last time?"

Hugo let out a sigh, and she let him pull away. He sat on the porch, his legs dangling over the side and his feet grazing the grass. Rose joined him, her own feet only reaching to midway down her brother's calf. He'd gotten even taller over the summer.

"I think I'm finally at a place where I actually believe things will be okay," he said slowly. Rose just waited patiently for him to continue, swinging her feet and listening to the chirping crickets. It took a few moments, but he eventually did, and his words surprised her.

"Was I wrong?" he asked softly. "I know I handled things poorly, which might even be an understatement, but to even be upset with her in the first place. Did I blow things completely out of proportion?"

Rose sighed, wishing she had a simple answer for her brother.

"I think," she began, "that our emotions can cause us to not see things clearly. But I also think that if you truly were as hurt by everything as you seemed, something wasn't right. How we feel might not tell the complete truth about our actual circumstances, but that doesn't make them any less true or valid. You can't really help how you feel."

Hugo nodded, seeming comforted by her words.

"I also think," Rose continued hesitantly, "that sometimes, our anger or hurt doesn't even really have to do with the person who wronged us."

Hugo gave her a skeptical look. "Huh?"

"Okay, so, do you remember last summer?" Rose asked. "When we went to Malfoy Manor?"

Hugo nodded.

"So, I could tell something was going on with Mum and Dad and Scorp's family, and when I asked him about it, he wouldn't tell me. Said it wasn't his place and that it would change our friendship if I knew. I got so mad at him for it, accused him of not trusting me and didn't talk to him until the day we played Quidditch. We eventually got past it, but I realized much later that the real problem was my insecurities about our friendship and that I hated not knowing something and being kept in the dark. It really wasn't his place to tell me and it wasn't his fault that my feelings for him were messing with my head, but the easiest thing to do was be angry with him for all the things I was feeling, when none of them were even really his fault."

She watched her brother carefully, growing uneasy as he simply stared out into the fields. It had always been a personal struggle of hers to actually let silence play a role in conversation.

"I mean, sometimes people really do terrible things to hurt us," she couldn't help but continue, "and I don't blame you at all for being upset with Lily, but if you're still holding onto any anger, maybe it's not just about her anymore."

A slight breeze blew through and laughter floated out through the screen door behind them. And then Hugo sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"You're probably right," he admitted. "But I don't think it's really a question of anger anymore. I just don't know if I trust her right now."

"Trust her how?"

"To actually mean it if she apologizes," he said with a shrug. "To actually try to do better next time. To actually be there for me. I mean, the one time she tried to patch things up, she was all about just shoving it under the rug and pretending nothing had happened. Who's to say she won't try to do the same thing again?"

Rose leaned her head against her brother's shoulder, trying to imagine how much this whole thing was hurting him. "Sometimes you just have to have faith in people, you know? They might not always deserve it, but if she'd proved herself, you wouldn't need faith, would you?"

Hugo gave a humorless chuckle. "I should've known better than to talk to you about this."

Rose sat up and looked at her brother, a bit hurt until she saw him smiling at her.

"You're always right."

A burst of laughter escaped Rose, and she scooted closer to her brother, linked her arm through his, and leaned her head against his shoulder once more. "Thanks, but if I've learned anything over the last year, it's how incorrect that statement is."

They lapsed into silence, sitting there, lost in their own thoughts, and enjoying the feeling of being effortlessly loved by someone. She'd seen sibling relationships where it was very difficult to see any type of close bond. She was thankful she didn't have to look too far to know her brother cared about her.

And with everything else in her life completely draining her of energy, it was nice to have a quiet moment of peace.

Even if it was ruined only a few moments later.

"Hey," Scorpius said as he stuck his head out. "Sorry to interrupt, but did Erin say anything to you about skipping out on tonight?"

Rose shook her head as she turned to face him. "Last I heard, she said she was coming. Is she not here yet?"

Scorpius shook his head before briefly glancing back into the house. "Al's getting a bit agitated about it and talking about heading to yours to see if she's there."

Rose stood with a sigh, using Hugo's shoulder to help pull herself to her feet. She paused with her hand still on his shoulder and looked down at her brother. "You going to be all right?"

Hugo nodded and gave her a small smile and a nod, giving her the assurance that she wasn't abandoning him in a time of need. She gave Scorpius an amused smile as she approached him, resting her hand against his chest and going up on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"She's probably just caught up at work," she said with a roll of her eyes. "It's been happening more often lately."

Scorpius let out a chuckle, winding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her back into the house with him. "I'll check in at the Manor," he said. "If she's not deep in a potion, she's probably at your flat getting ready to head here right now."

They were approached by Al almost as soon as they entered the house, and he was quickly told the plan.

"Right, great," said Al with a sigh of relief as Scorpius headed towards the fireplace. "I'm probably overreacting," he admitted to Rose. "She has been staying later at the lab recently."

Rose smiled at her cousin, though he was too busy staring at where Scorpius had just disappeared through the fire to notice. She was very aware of the fact that he hadn't seen Erin much the past few weeks, since her best friend had indeed been spending more time in her potions lab now that she was starting to get the hang of things at work. He was probably anxious to see her.

"I think Hugo and Lily will work things out soon," she said, trying to find something to distract him with. "He seems anxious for things to be fixed, and Lily's finally got her head on straight from what I've heard. Dom was just telling me the other day that she's made things right with Lou as well as Lucy."

Al said nothing, merely nodded absentmindedly and continued to look towards the fire.

"Something's not right," he said suddenly, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as he continued to stare at the fireplace. Rose couldn't help rolling her eyes.

"You're just being paranoid," she assured him. "All those cases you've been reading up on probably clouding your rational thinking."

Al gave a snort of amusement and finally turned to face his cousin. "I'm being trained to read the signs and be paranoid when there's good reason to be paranoid."

"So her just being late is enough for you?" Rose asked skeptically. "I've always been more of a worrier than you and even I'm not concerned."

Al just shrugged and turned back to look at the fire.

"Look, do you want me to just go ahead and check our flat?" Rose said with a sigh after a few moments of impatient waiting. "Would that make you feel better?"

Al shot Rose a look at her exasperated tone.

"Al," she said slowly, "you're worrying over-"

She stopped short and the whole room fell silent when a patronus in the shape of a cheetah leapt through the still open back door, coming to a stop in front of her uncle Harry, who was standing by the kitchen with her dad. Rose noted how immediate the change from relaxed to on-guard their expressions took just before the patronus' message reached her ears.

"Another break in. Malfoy Manor. Potential witness unconscious and injured trainee to be taken to St. Mungo's. Report to Ministry immediately."

A/N: Well, things have taken quite the serious turn. Sorry for the cliffhanger! I'll work on getting you an update ASAP. But it would be great if you review in the meantime.