AN: A bit of a shorter chapter this week! But stay tuned for the next chapter because things get a little wild! As always thank you for your continued support.


"What the bloody hell happened at Hogwarts this year."

Bill didn't raise his voice at all, which his brothers would have preferred. The deadly calm tone he had taken on belied the seriousness of the situation.

Scattered over various couches in the living room of their Egyptian apartment the Weasley boys faced off with their older brothers.

Charlie, who had ensured their privacy with a few well-placed silencing charms, raised an eyebrow at his brothers.

"Nobody has anything to say?"

The younger brothers knew better than to be the first to speak up. Ron was steadily counting the tiles on the floor in front of him. Percy's eyes were darting to each of his siblings, never landing long enough to catch someone's eye. And the Twins were uncharacteristically silent watching their hands as if they were the most interesting thing they had seen all day.

Charlie crossed his well-muscled in front of his chest and blew out a breath of exasperation.

"Let's start with you then Perce. Explain to me how one of our sisters was being possessed by You-Know-Who for an entire year and the other one was petrified by a basilisk, and none of you even noticed. "

Percy flinched at the harshness in Charlie's tone. It was well deserved though, he had failed in his duty as an older brother. He had failed to protect them.

"I-," He began, "I was distracted by classwork, and prefect duties and... Penelope." The last word was whispered so quietly that it was a wonder that the others even heard it.

"And you two? What's your excuse?"

The Twins glanced wide-eyed at each other.

"Quidditch and pranks," they said simultaneously

Charlie turned expectantly to Ron whose ears were tinged with red.

"I was- we were... trying to solve the mystery of the Heir of Slytherin."

Bill and Charlie looked aghast at each other.

"You mean to tell me, in all of your wannabe detectives, never noticed that the Heir of Slytherin was possessing your own sister!"

Ron's face flushed entirely red as he bowed his head and slouched down in his seat.

Bill took a calming breath and counted to ten in his mind. He wouldn't get his point across if he lost his temper.

"Look, Ginny told me that it took you all over 12 hours to notice that Lola was missing-"

"And Lola told me that she had come to you all multiple times to say that something was wrong with Ginny," Charlie added.

"They're little girls. Only eleven years old. This shouldn't have been what their first year was like. They shouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of this. Lola shouldn't be constantly worried about Ginny...Ginny shouldn't-'' Bill cleared his throat and tried to swallow the lump that had formed there.

They had all heard the harrowing screams that signaled Ginny's nightmares. They had seen the dark bags that stood out under her eyes. a stark contrast against her pale skin. They had seen the haunted look she got in her eyes, sometimes it was too much for Bill to take.

Charlie clasped a hand on Bill's shoulder.

"We're not trying to say that this is any of your faults. It's not. What we are saying is that they could have died, and it would have happened right under your noses. Keep a better eye on them, make sure they're ok."

A long moment of silence descended on the brothers as their thoughts swirled around the events of the past year. What they could have done differently, what they would do differently.

On the other side of the silencing charms, Ginny woke with a shout.

"NO! PLEASE! I CAN'T-"

Lola hopped out of her own bed and crossed the room in a sleepy haze. It had become almost routine. Ginny would wake from a nightmare and Lola would be there to rub her back and talk her back to reality.

"It's ok, Gin. I'm here, you're ok. Tom's gone. Harry killed him, remember?"

Ginny sobbed into her sister's shoulder.


The early morning air had an enjoyable warmth that relaxed the tension in Lola's shoulders. Her legs dangled over the edge of the balcony as she looked out at the twinkling lights scattered throughout the dark city. A loud voice rose in the distance and soon was joined by several others in an achingly beautiful song.

The muggle call to prayer. Lola thought

Which meant the time was about 4:30 in the morning. That meant she had been awake for roughly 3 hours. That was an improvement, she had gotten about 3 and a half hours sleep before being awoken. This time by her own nightmares.

Things had gotten worse since they had gotten home from school. Madam Pomfrey had sent them home with a week's worth of dreamless sleep potion and strict instruction for their Mum to wean them off of it. Both she and Ginny were unprepared for how bad the nightmares would be.

Lola, herself, had gotten off easy. She knew that. She had adjusted rather quickly to her nightly dreams which featured large yellow eyes and oppressive darkness that made her feel like she was suffocating. Ginny on the other hand... Ginny was dreaming of the horror of Tom Riddle's mind. She had confided in Lola that he remembered things from his past, terrible, horrible thoughts, feelings and memories that chilled Lola to the core when she pressed Ginny to share them.

The sky had turned pink as the sun became closer to rising over the pyramids in the distance. A white bird with a long black beak flew across the horizon.

Lola did press Ginny to share even though the things she told her were horrifying. It was the least she could do. No one had been there to protect Ginny when she needed it, and Lola wanted nothing more than to be able to protect her sister from the horrors she had faced. Lola wished that there was something, anything, that she could do to protect others from the likes of people like Tom Riddle. However, all Lola had the power to do was listen. Ginny needed to get it off of her chest, she needed to share her burden with someone. In the dark of the night after the nightmares had abated she told Lola as much as she could remember. The girls cried together in those moments, connected on a deeper level than ever before. But in the mornings, in the light of day, Ginny and Lola had never been further apart.

Lola picked up a bit of rock and lobbed it across the rooftop. She was frustrated with Ginny and her ever-present guilt. She had told Lola that she started to remember the attacks from last year, from Tom's perspective. That had her feeling incredibly guilty for their fight and for petrifying Lola.

But Lola didn't care, she just wanted her sister back. She didn't want this distant and cagey Ginny who took every excuse to not be in the same room as Lola.

The city was coming to life below her. The store vendors were setting up shops and the streets were filled with early morning tourists who were eager to get a jump on their sightseeing. Lola wished she could feel an ounce of the carefree fun they were experiencing. Egypt had been fun so far and she was truly trying to enjoy it. But she couldn't help the melancholy from underlying her experience.

"What are you doing up here LoLo?"

Lola started. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Bill taking a seat next to her.

"Just enjoying the morning, Bill."

Bill looked at her with appraising eyes. She had clearly come up here straight from bed, judging by the messy curls that were half falling out of her bun.

"You get enough sleep?"

Lola looked away from Bill and hoped that he hadn't noticed the bags under her eyes.

"More than last night."

Bill sighed and hugged Lola to his side.

"Come on, you can help me start breakfast."