Cielie-

The Hogwarts Express pulls into station 9 ¾ right on time. The three of us reach the platform and start scanning the crowd for Mrs. Weasley. Our plan, meticulously put together by Ginny, was to meet Mrs. Weasley here and then head to the house. However, Mrs. Weasley hasn't arrived yet, which is strange. Mrs. Weasley is never late. The even stranger thing is that neither Ron nor the twins have come off the train. I turn to Ginny to say as much, but she's already realized this fact and is already saying something to Luna.

I continue to scan the crowd, hoping that we just haven't found her yet. After ten minutes of this, however, we come to the realization that Mrs. Weasley is not here. That worries Ginny even more and I start to think that she's going to have a panic attack. Ginny's always been a stickler for details and when things don't go right she can get nervous. At this point, with almost no one left in the station, I can start to understand where her panic comes from.

We move closer to the exit, huddling together with our things, waiting for Mrs. Weasley, who, at this point, may not come. The train station is empty, and the Hogwarts Express is preparing to pull out. We look at each other, none of us sure what to do. Finally, Luna says something, breaking the nervous silence.

"I guess we could just head to the house. I mean, it's not that far and if Mrs. Weasley is going to come, she would meet us there. Right?" I look at her and nod my head.

"Besides, we can send an owl when we get there, and I don't see the point in just hanging around here," Ginny says. We agree and, gathering our possessions, run through the wall that separates platform 9 ¾ from King's Cross Station.

XxX

The house looms up before us. The windows are dark, and the façade is worn. In addition, the sky is dark and looks as though it would pour buckets any second now. There's this weird feeling in the air, as though it was charged, and it makes me shudder. I want nothing more to do with this house, nothing more to do with the memories it holds, and most of all, nothing more to do with the former inhabitants. That part of my life seems terribly far away now, and the memories are distant, warped, as if someone else had lived them. Once I finish with this house, I will leave it behind, I will leave that shell of a girl behind and won't look back. I promise myself this, and then, looking at the other two girls, begin to walk up the stairs.

They follow, none of us saying a word. The silence, while ominous, feels better than talking and as I climb the stairs up to the old house, that strange feeling runs through me again. I glance at the others, but they don't seem to feel it, or at least don't let on that they do. With everything that has happened these past few months, I start to think that maybe I'm going a little crazy. That scares me more than anything else. It's what happened to my father, and now, it might be happening to me. I can't believe that, I won't. I reach the top of the stairs and take a breath in, holding it for a few moments before letting it back out. For a few moments, I just stand there, breathing. In, out. In, out. Until I let go of the strange feeling and then I turn my attention to the door.

The other two come up behind me and wait while I struggle with the key and the old lock. I have to jiggle it around a few times, but the key soon turns in the lock and the door swings open.

We walk into the house, Ginny coughing a bit as the dust that had settled on the floor is stirred up. I leave my trunk by the door and lead the way to the living room. Luna runs her fingers over the figurines that sit on the mantle of the fireplace and Ginny brushes some dust off the couch before sitting down on it. I join her there and Luna turns to face us.

"I think getting rid of all this dust would be a good start. Then tomorrow, the real cleaning can begin," I say. Ginny nods and Luna replies in agreement. "We'll cover more ground if we each take a room, so, Luna, why don't you take the living room and Ginny, you take care of the kitchen. I'll start with the dining room and we can work our way up to the bedrooms." They nod in agreement and we head to our respective rooms.

XxX

Later that evening, we are all back in the living room, free of dust now, thanks to Luna. We sit on the couch, admiring our handiwork, and taking a well-deserved break before we begin to make some sort of dinner. Dinner will most likely consist of left over sweets from the train, but perhaps I will find some canned goods in the basement to accompany our 'meal'. My father always kept extra provisions, having grown up near the end of the second world war. That war was between muggles and the wizarding world took quite a blow from it, so I shudder to think what will happen when the second wizarding war comes around. For that is surely where we are headed, what with all the deniers like Umbridge, or outright supporters like Malfoy.

I wonder if it will even be a war, if the wizarding community will even be strong enough to resist and fight back. There are far too few who actually know, or care. And from the few, very little could actually hold their own against a death eater. I know that even though the DA is making an effort, in the end it is wasted, because after all, what can a few kids with sticks really do?

Ginny pulls me out of my thoughts with a sharp jab to my ribs and I jolt back.

"Oi, what are we going to eat? We're starving," she complains. I grumble, pushing myself off the couch and heading towards the cellar stairs. Luna follows, and Ginny brings up the rear. I pull the cord for the light, but it only fizzles and then gives out. I groan and pull out my wand, muttering lumos.

The basement is suddenly illuminated by the light at the tip of my wand and I blink as my eyes adjust. Looking around, I see the shelves that have been gathering dust since before I was born and behind them, the crates. Stacked as high as the ceiling and going off into the furthest reaches of the cellar, the crates of old war time food are certainly a sight to behold. Each box is carefully labeled with its contents and the date it was packed. Each stack is then sorted by type of food, everything placed into a neat order that is no where to be found in the rest of the house.

Ginny and Luna look at them in awe, then the looks slowly turn into confusion. Ginny is the first to ask.

"Why, exactly, do you have this much food stored in your basement?"

I turn to look at her, moving into the maze of stacks as I do so.

"My father, as you know was a lunatic. He wasn't always like that though. I hear he was quite nice as a child. After the second muggle war, he was traumatized. And so, the hoarding and careful planning began in case a third one were ever to occur."

Ginny and Luna share a look, then turn back to me. There is no sympathy, our friendship is far beyond that, only looks of grim understanding and perhaps the tiniest bit of empathy from Luna, whose father is almost as bad as mine was. The conversation just sort of dies as we walk deeper into the stacks. Finally, I reach the one I have been looking for.

In front of me sits what is probably the largest amount of canned fruit in all of Britain. I grin, pulling the middle one out with a quick flick of my wand. I silently thank the ministry for allowing minor feats of magic, albeit not in front of muggles, outside of Hogwarts, then quickly take back the thanks as I remember who employed Umbridge at Hogwarts. The box slowly settles on the floor in front of us and I move to lift the top off. Ginny and Luna rush to help and soon the tin cans are revealed.

Ginny takes one out and pulls back the lid. The citrusy aroma of peeled oranges fill the room and I smile, tossing Luna a can. She catches it and cracks hers open. Pear quarters swim in sweet syrup and she grins. I pull out another can for myself, mine contains cherries, unpitted and optimal for spitting contests. I put the box back into place and we head back to the stairs.

XxX

We are gathered around the small mirror pond in the inner courtyard, spitting cherry pits and having an all together good time.

"Mine went further. Luna, you saw that, right? It definitely went further than Cielie's," Ginny laughs. I immediately go to defend my title, giggling the whole time.

"No, it's not based on how far it goes, it's how big of a splash it makes."

Luna just bursts into a new fit of giggles, supporting neither of our claims. After a few seconds of staring down Ginny, I start to giggle even more and soon we're rolling around on the floor until we have to stop because we're laughing so hard we can't breathe.

XxX

The fire crackles in the hearth and outside a soft snow has begun to fall. We lay curled together on mattresses in the living room, cozy blankets thrown over us. There isn't much talking, mostly we just sit and watch the fire or the snow outside. I feel at home, for the first time in a while, truly at home, with the friends I love, in a warm, quiet, safe place. I wish that this moment could last forever. I wish that my brother was here to share this moment with me, and that my mother was here too. I even wish that my father was here, because without him, we wouldn't be a complete family. More than anything I wish that Voldemort had died the night Harry Potter became the boy who lived. But no one listens to a 16-year-old girl's wishes. So, I guess I'll just savor this moment and hold onto it for the hard times to come.

Hey, TigerMoon here.

I finished the longer chapter that I promised. Hopefully chapters will continue to be around this length and a little more frequent.

Thanks for reading!

P.S.

For anyone wondering, Charlie will make his appearance next chapter. :)