And the final chapter of the day! Hope you all like it, even though it's kind of a filler. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter are NOT mine! It all belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling!

Chapter Fourteen: Guilt and Shame

MiaPOV

"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart

But the very next day you gave it away

This year, to save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special..."

Mia hummed along to the song lyrics as she sat at the kitchen table, helping to finish wrapping up the last of the Christmas gifts she and Catherine had bought the previous day. The table itself was littered with scraps of wrapping paper, tape, ribbons, and name presents that were all set to go were stacked on the other end opposite of Mia, and she had just finished with Hermione's gift when Catherine came into the room, a small, pink floral printed box in her hand.

"I knew I had some extra bows hidden somewhere in that closet," she said as she placed the box down beside Mia and had a bit of a smirk on her face as she watched Mia absentmindedly nod her head along with the song that was still playing on the radio."I knew you would like this."

"It's not a bad song, but it does sound a bit familiar," Mia admitted as she got up to place Hermione's present on top of the ever-growing pile.

"I'm not surprised, you were four years old when it was released, and that year around Christmas, you were sick with fever," Catherine told her. "Every night your father would pace around the room with you in his arms, he would play that song and sing it to you, because it wads the only thing that soothed you enough to go to sleep."

"Really?" Mia asked with a smile.

"Oh yes, you should have seen him, always hovering outside your bedroom door, and if you had a bad coughing fit he was always at your side in an instant," Catherine recalled fondly. "He would stay up late most nights worrying about his little princess."

Mia could feel her cheeks get warm and she smiled in an almost shy-like, but very touched way, whenever her parents took the time to remind her just how much they love her. Most of the stories they loved to share were beyond embarrassing, but deep down she secretly enjoyed them.

"By the way, I had to chase your brother out of your room again," Catherine commented lightly as she went to take her seat next to Mia.

"He wasn't going through my stuff again, was he?" Mia asked, her smile turning into a frown.

"It's hard not to, when your school trunk is propped open on you bed with half of the contents spilled out," Catherine replied as she gave her daughter a pointed look. "You know how curious Brian gets about the magical things you bring home, and how much he misses you when you're away. We've told you before that you need to be more careful about where you leave your things, because we don't know what is potentially dangerous and what's not."

"I know," Mia sighed, feeling, mildly annoyed with her brother due to the fact that he just couldn't stay out of her room or getting his hands on anything even remotely magical if given the chance. "I'm sorry."

"Make sure you take care of that once we're done here," said Catherine as she pulled the next present towards her to be wrapped. "And just so you know, if your father sees those magazine clippings he may just blow his top."

At her words, Mia's fingers fumbled against the box she was wrapping up, almost causing it to go crashing down to the table. Her mind temporarily numb with shock and fright before she forcefully pushed it back, working to keep a neutral expression and refusing to meet her mother's knowing gaze.

"What clippings?" she asked nonchalantly.

"You're good honey, but not that good," Catherine pointed out in her "no-nonsense" voice. "It would be best not to lie to me, or play dumb."

"I didn't mean to leave them out," Mia mumbled honestly after a minute. "It's not like Brian understands, anyway."

"Still, that is something I would prefer a six year old not to come across," Catherine said. "I'm assuming that it's an advertisement for something you currently need?"

"Yes," Mia answered in a small voice, wishing she was not having this conversation right now. Catherine was quiet for a brief moment and Mia peeked over at her to see her mother nodding resolutely.

"While I am not thrilled at the idea, I'm not very surprised," Catherine admitted. "You are a teenage girl, and I remember what it was like at that age, when your body went through so many new things, and certain urges came over you-"

"Urgh, Mum!" Mia groaned. "Please, I don not want to hear about any urges you've had!"

All this did was make Catherine laugh at Mia's obvious discomfort, never once faltering from her work as she continued on wrapping and cutting with an experienced hand.

"Relax dear, all I'm saying is that it's normal at this stage in your life," she giggled. "You're curious, and Harry is a young, hormonal boy, what else did I expect to happen?"

"This cannot be happening right now..."

"Well, it is. Just be lucky that I found those clippings instead of your father, otherwise he'd be on his way to the Burrow right now. Mia, what I'm really trying to say is that I'm happy you're taking the proper precautions. Being intimate with Harry, mistakes can happen, especially when things heat up in the spur of the moment, but you're being smart about it. Did you put the order in for the potion already?"

"Yes," Mia sighed. "Madame Pomfrey, our school matron, recommended the brand to me when I went to her a couple months ago. This is just until I learn how to make the potion myself."

"Good," Catherine praised with a smile. "Because as much as I love the idea, I'm not ready to be a grandmother yet."

"Can we please talk about something else?" Mia begged, desperate for this conversation to be over. Catherine agreed, laughing again and the two of them kept up with their wrapping until every last gift was prepared.

Together, they carried the gifts into the living room, which had been transformed with all of their usual Christmas decorations, including the holly, tinsel, lights, and little figurines that Catherine was always so fond of. Any intended gifts for immediate family were placed under the tree while the others were stacked up close to the front hallway, to be [picked up when it was time to go over to the Burrow for Christmas dinner. Mia honestly couldn't wait because while she loved spending Christmas with her family, sharing that special time with the Weasley family and their friends, made it all the more wonderful. It had become a lovely tradition that Mia had come to look forward to. As Mia stood there admiring her and Catherine's handy work, the doorbell rang suddenly, and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Mum, are you expecting anyone?" she asked.

"No, are you?" Catherine said. Mia shook her head in response and told her mother that she would see who it was. When Mia approached the door, she debated on whether or not to pull out her wand from the back pocket of her jeans but then she shook her head, knowing she was overthinking things. Still, that didn't stop her from taking a moment to peek through the curtains of the window to steal a glance at the unexpected visitor. When she saw who it was, a brief feeling of surprise bounced around in her stomach but then she smiled with enthusiasm as she quickly opened the door to see a young girl standing on the threshold with dark hair and wearing a pretty dark blue velvet dress.

"Claudia?" Mia said. "What are you doing here?"

"You invited me over to your home during the holiday vacation," Claudia pointed out with a slight eye roll. "Or have you forgotten?"

"I guess I just never expected you to take it," Mia admitted. "Please, come in."

"Not yet," Claudia said, fixing Mia with a firm look. "Ask me a question."

"Sorry?"

"Come on Mia, surely you must know of the new security measures put in place by the Ministry? Ask me a question that only I would know the answer to, and I'll do the same. That way we know that we are not impostors."

"Fair point," Mia murmured, wanting to kick herself for being so willing to let Claudia in without checking first. "Hmm...when was the first time you connected with Garrett? Not met, but connected?"

"Down by the river, in Swansea, where he went barefoot into the water to find me a rare white stone," Claudia answered with a small, sad smile. "What do I call you whenever you go on about Potter?"

"A Lovestruck Half-Wit," Mia replied with a grin. "Now will you come inside and out of the cold?"

"Yes, thank you," Claudia agreed, her smile turning more cheerful as she stepped inside, and Mia could feel her muscles visibly relax when she embraced the warmth of the house, although she could tell by her movements that Claudia was nervous. Mia briefly wondered if Claudia had to debate with herself on whether or not she wanted to come over, but she decided it didn't matter in the end. Claudia was here now, and Mia was happy she agreed to visit. The two girls were still getting used to the idea of being friends, and Mia found that she truly did enjoy Claudia's company, even though the girl still had some mannerisms that were instilled by her family that she was trying to break the habit of. The Slytherin girl could be quite brunt, much like Hermione, but in a different, brash way that Mia was used to at this point. She could see that Claudia was trying to do better, and that was enough for her. Unknown to many others, Claudia was very funny, and Mia almost always found herself laughing when they were together. Mia took Claudia's coat to hand it in the hallway and then led her into the living room, where Catherine was straightening up.

"Mum, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine," Mia introduced, gesturing to Claudia. "This is Claudia Nessen, we're in the same year together. Claudia, this is my mum."

"Oh, well hello there, dear," Catherine greeted warmly as she extended a hand. "I'm sorry for tidying up more, we weren't expecting company today."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Thatcher," Claudia spoke with a smile and a politeness that was sure to have charmed many. "There's no need to worry, I hadn't told Mia that I was coming by. I apologize for not giving enough notice."

"I told Claudia that she could visit over the holidays," Mia explained. "Can she stay for dinner, Mum?"

"Of course, we would be thrilled to have you," Catherine replied. "I was actually just about to get started on dinner, you two go on and I'll call when it's ready."

"Thanks, Mum!" Mia said, eagerly taking Claudia's hand and pulling her towards the staircase. The girls walked on up to the second floor of the house, where Mia could see Brian emerging from his room with a toy train in his hands.

"Mia, do you wants to play trains with me?" he called down to her.

"Sorry Brian, not right now," Mia answered. "Claudia and I are going to be in my room until dinner."

Brian's face fell and he huffed at that, grumpily stomping back into his room and closing the door loudly behind him.

"What's wrong with him?" Claudia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have no idea, he's been a bit sour since I came home," Mia sighed with a shrug of her shoulders, wishing she knew what her brother's problem was this time. "I'm sure he'll get over it soon, he always does. Come on."

Mia led Claudia into her brightly lit room, and she hurried over to her bed to clear off all the colored pencils, paint brushed and sketch paper she had strewn about, grabbing them all and carefully placing them into the desk drawer that she had dedicated to all of her art supplies. She also threw anything school or magical related back into her trunk to be dealt with at a later time, heaving it onto the floor and under her bed.

"This is a cozy space," Claudia commented as she took a seat on the bed after Mia offered it, taking a look at the pictures on the walls, both hand drawn or taken with a camera, as well as all the other books, trinkets, and radio set up. "Very personal, and definitely you."

"Isn't that the point of bedrooms?" Mia inquired while bouncing up on the bed next to her and sitting Indian style.

"I suppose, but it was always stressed upon me to have a very neat, presentable room, and i never really decorated with anything that I liked much, really, besides a few pictures," Claudia explained. "I didn't really see the point, as I never had anyone in my room, or spent time in anyone else's."

"Really? A lot of girls like to take their friends up to their bedrooms to play, or just gossip and talk, in our case," Mia informed her, reaching over to grab a few Muggle magazines and place them in between them. "We can look at these, or we can do our nails, hair, talk about how stupid boys are-"

"So, the typical Muggle teenage things?" Claudia concurred.

"The typical girl things," Mia corrected. "You've never really had days like this?"

"Not really," Claudia muttered, shaking her head. "I mean, the girls who I thought were my friends at school would talk, and I would join in, but someone it still felt all pretend, with no real emotion in it. And I've never talked, I mean really talked, with someone before. Until you, I mean. The topics my parents would usually draw me into whenever we hosted a party or had guests were rather dull, or ones I didn't want to be a part of."

"Well, today we can do or talk about anything you want," Mia stated encouragingly. Claudia smiled at this and over the next hour, the two girls chatted about many different things. Mia showed Claudia the magazines she had, telling her all about different celebrities and musicians, including her favorite, Celine Dion. That turned into Mia playing a CD on her radio, and seeing Claudia's face light up in delighted interest. She even allowed Mia to run a brush through her hair and tie it back into a braid, revealing Claudia's heart shaped face and her crystal blue eyes stood out even better now that her bangs were out of the way.

Once Catherine called them down for dinner, Mia and Claudia quickly made their way to the kitchen, where Ben was already seated, having just gotten home minutes ago from work. After Mia gave him a welcoming kiss on the cheek, everyone sat down together at the kitchen table and dug into a delicious pot roast, complete with vegetables and buttered rolls. Claudia made conversation with both Ben and Catherine, asking curious questions about their work and also some Muggle things she still didn't quite understand, such as how exactly some of the electronics work, reminding Mia of a less energetic Mr. Weasley. Out of all the time Mia had known her, she never remembered a time when she saw Claudia so relaxed and at ease, with no need to put up a snotty facade. It made Mia happy to see that she was enjoying herself, and a part of her wanted to invite Claudia to come with her to the Burrow on Christmas day, but she knew better. Inviting Claudia over unexpectedly would not only be rude to Ron's parents, but she had a feeling Claudia wouldn't be the most welcome. The judgmental feelings about Slytherins aside, Mia had no idea just how connected Claudia's family was-or if they even were-to the dealings and actions of the Death Eaters, despite not being ones themselves. Mia also had a feeling that Claudia knew her presence may not be received very well from certain people, so even if Mia did invite her, she had little doubt that Claudia would refuse.

After filling their stomachs, Ben fixed up some hot chocolate for them all, and then the girls retreated to the living room, where Mia put on "A Christmas Carol" for them to watch, seeing as Claudia had never seen it before. Brian had fussed a little, saying he wanted to watch the movie too.

"Why can't I watch it too?" Brian whined.

"Because I want to watch it with my friend alone, that's why," Mia said with a small frown. "And you'll just talk the whole time, like you always do."

"I do not!" Brian protested. "Mia, please?"

"No Bry, go see if you can watch it in Mum and Dad's room!"

"I wanna watch it here!"

"Dad!" Mia called, growing more frustrated by the second.

"Brian, leave your sister and her friend alone!" Ben called back from inside the kitchen. For reasons Mia couldn't fathom, Brian grunted and gave a very angry and distasteful looks towards her and Claudia before stomping upstairs. The brunette furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip, starting to get concerned over Brian's behavior. While he had his moments were he would have the normal childish tantrums, his mood certainly took a turn for the worse not long after she came back home for the Christmas holidays. Deciding to worry about ti once Claudia left, Mia turned her attention back to the television, Mia and Claudia finished the movie and just as the mantle clock struck eight o'clock, Claudia decided it was time for her to head out. She thanked Ben and Catherine for dinner and commented that they had a very lovely house before Mia showed her to the front door.

"You're welcome back anytime, you know that right?" Mia asked her.

"I know," said Claudia, with a genuine smile. "Your family is very kind, and welcoming. Thank you for having me over today Mia, it...well, it meant a lot to me. I'll see you soon?"

"Absolutely," Mia confirmed with a nod of her head. Then, she went in for a hug and giggled at Claudia's exasperated sigh before she returned it.

"You Gryffindors and your constant need to express yourselves," she muttered.

"You Slytherins and your insufferable need to hide away feelings of affection," Mia snarked back with a light laugh. When they let go of each other, Claudia gave Mia another smile before she turned and made her way down to the curbside, looking back over to wave once more before walking off down the street, disappearing around the corner. Mia waited a few more seconds and when she heard the distinct crack of Claudia disapperating, she closed the door and locked it. Then, Mia trudged up the stairs to the second floor to go to her room so she could get changed for the night before checking in on Brian. She felt kind of bad for snapping at him, but he was always around whenever she had company, it wouldn't kill him to play by himself for a while. When Mia went into her room, she was just about to find some pajamas when she caught sight of something that made her pause in her movements. Both of her desk drawers were open, and they were completely empty.

"What the..." Mia mumbled to herself before she turned to head back out into the hallway. She saw that the bathroom door was cracked open and there was the sound of running water coming from inside.

"Brian?" she said as she came to the door and pushed it open. "Brian, were you in my-my..."

Mia's words died in her throat at the scene she walked in on, her eyes going wide and dread filling her as she saw Brian on his knees in front of the tub. The faucets were turned on, filling it with water, and there, floating along the bottom was everything Mia had in her drawers. All of the paper from her sketch pads with her paintings and drawings, the colors quickly turning the water into a liquid rainbow, her charcoal crayons, emptied paint tubes, broken pencils all drifting about like pieces of dead wood. And worst of all, along with all her art supplies, Mia caught sight of very familiar, precious books that had been turned upside down, so as to soak up all the water they could before the heavy bouding caused them to sink to the very bottom. She stood there, horrified, for a brief minute before she let out a shrill shriek and darted forward.

"No!" she screamed, shoving Brian out of the way and quickly turning off the faucets. "What did you do?!"

"I...you..." Brian stuttered from his spot on the floor, looking torn between being caught red handed and being handled roughly by Mia.

"No, no," Mia whimpered, her hands shooting into the water for the books at the bottom of the tub and quickly, yet tenderly, pulling them out. A devastated sound escaped her throat as a few pages fell out of one of them and all both fell with a cringing squelching sound on the tiled floor. The spines were terribly loose, and the ink on the pages were already smudged to a point where the words were very difficult to make out. Mia's breathing became erratic as she hovered her hands over them, feeling utterly helpless. No, no, this can't be happening! All at once, she snapped her head over to Brian, who was starting to get back up on knobbly legs, and a terrible fury swept over her. her hands clenching into fists as she all but snarled at her brother. Without thinking, she grabbed his shoulders and gave him a rough shake, getting right in his face.

"How could you?!" she yelled. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

"What is going on here?!" Ben hollered as he came charging through the doorway with Catherine right behind him, their faces filled with worry. "Amelia Marie! Let go of Brian, now!"

"Look!" Mia shouted, pushing Brian away from her again and pointing to the books on the floor as well as all of her drawings and supplies in the tub. "Look what he did! He destroyed everything! He ruined it all!"

"Mia, what-" Catherine said.

"All of my paintings, my artwork, ruined! And my books-my books!"

Mia took hold of one of the books and damn near shoving into the frightened boy's face.

"Aggie gave me these!" she yelled at him through quivering lips. "They're all I have left of her, and you ruined them! You know I can't use magic at home, now I can't repair them! How could you do something so horrible, you-you-"

At this point, tears of anger were welling in Mia's eyes and she let out another furious shout before smacking the book down on the floor, gripping it tightly and hunching over it, her shoulders shaking. There was nothing but silence for a moment, and then Brian spoke, his voice trembling, and Mia could hear his own tears.

"I'm sorry, Mia," he whispered.

"Leave me alone," she said in a hushed tone. "Get away from me."

"Brian," Catherine said sharply, the disappointment clear. "Come here, now."

After a few seconds, Mia heard Brian's feet shuffling away, and she also heard her mother hissing scolding words to him as she led him away down the hall. Ben came over and bent down next to Mia, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, princess," he muttered softly. "We can probably still save most of this, we just need to dry them all out.

"Not the books," Mia sniffled, her tears starting to run down her face. "They were old Dad, very old, and who knows how long they were sitting in the water for? A couple were handwritten decades ago, so the ink is all but washed out. A-and the pages fell out too..."

Mia began breaking out into sobs, knowing there would be a slim chance that she would be able to save her beloved heirlooms from Mrs. Brugger without magic, and they weren't due to go to the Burrow for a couple more days, so they had to wait until then to ask anyone of age for help. Through her tears, she pleaded with Ben to help her get everything else out of the tub and he did so, handling each and every paper he pulled out with extreme care, laying them out on the bathroom rug. Once everything was taken out, he drained the tub and then he lifted up the rug to take out into the hall.

"Come on, love, let's get these downstairs and then I'll get your mother's hair dryer. Let's see what we can salvage," Ben said, moving quickly down the stairs. As Mia passed Brian's room, she could hear Catherine reprimanding him on the other side of the door as well as Brian crying. She gave a scathing glare at the door before following her father down the stairs to try and save whatever was left.

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=

Over the course of the next two days, Mia had outright refused to speak to, or acknowledge Brian at all. Because of him, her precious books looked as though they were going to be near impossible to mend. Thankfully, some of her drawings were able to be saved, even though they were smudged, but the others, specifically any colored illustrations, were not. There was one in particular that Mia had started weeks ago as a rough draft for a painting that was to be a gift for her parent's anniversary that coming spring. The draft was of Catherine and Ben when they were teenagers, having met outside of the produce market Ben was working at that summer.

Now it was ruined, and all the hard work Mia put into it all was as well.

Catherine must have been very firm and thorough with her scolding of her son, because on the first morning after the incident, Brian had come to Mia and apologized to her for what he had done, but Mia, with her anger still fresh in her mind, completely disregarded him and spent most of the day holed up in her room, ignoring his near constant knocks on the door. On third day, when they all had gathered in the kitchen for breakfast, Brian sort of inched his way into the room, casting weary glances over at Mia, who was already sitting at the table slowly chewing on her toast, not even acknowledging the boy. Brian took up the seat next to her, across from Ben, and he gave the strong impression of a puppy who had gotten into trouble for going to the bathroom on the carpet. Mia kept her sight focused on the food in front of her, the toast started to taste more like cardboard at that point, and she didn't even move an inch in Brian direction when he finally got the nerve to speak and turn his body towards her.

"Mia?" he piped up tentatively. "Mia, I'm really, really sorry that I took your stuff and put them in the bath tub. I was mad at you, you never want to play with me anymore and you're always with your friends, even when you're home. I just...I missed you."

"So instead of talking to me about it, you decide to take away something that I love," Mia commented dryly, still refusing to look at him. "That sure is a great way to tell me you miss me."

"Mia," Ben said pointedly, giving her a look. "He's trying to apologize."

"I don't care, he can say he's sorry until he turns blue," Mia countered, standing abruptly up from her chair, suddenly not feeling very hungry. "I'll never forgive him for being a horrible, selfish brat."

Mia stomped her way out of the kitchen, ignoring her mother's calls for her to come back, and she stormed her way up the stairs to her room, nearly slamming her door shut behind her. She plopped herself down on her bed, scowling heavily as she clutched her pillow, tightly. Why should she accept his apology when he had done something so terrible? All because he was upset with her? No, she would not just forgive and forget! No way! For a long while, Mia simply laid there on her bed, fuming and glaring at the floral pattern on her blankets, and listening to the sound of some of the neighborhood children playing through her bedroom window. The time passed on slowly, and Mia eventually was broken out of her thoughts when her door opened, but she didn't bother turning her head to see who it was. The person came over and took a seat beside her on the bed, and after inhaling a whiff of the scent of freesia, she knew it was her mother.

"Mia," Catherine sighed softly as she placed a soothing hand on Mia's back, rubbing small circles. "You know, you can't stay mad at him forever."

"Yes, I can," Mia grumbled.

"Honey, I understand that you are upset, and you have every right to be," said Catherine. "What Brian did was wrong, I'm not condoning it at all, but try to see things from his point of view. Whether you realize it or not, you haven't been spending as much time with him as you would usually do, even during the holidays. I'm not saying you need to spend every waking moment with him-you're sixteen years old with a boyfriend and friends your own age, I know you don't want to constantly be around your baby brother.

"But you have been pushing him to the side more often than not lately, sweetheart. This past summer, after you were fully healed, if you were not at the burrow, you were at Carriage. The few times you were at home, you were doing school work or keeping yourself entertained in your room."

"I'm sorry Mum, but I just wasn't in the mood the play trains and dragons for the hundredth time in a row," Mia argued, turning over on her side to face her mother with an irritated expression. "He has his own friends, why does he feel the need to pester me?"

"Because you're his big sister, who he loves and admires more than anyone else," Catherine replied, completely sincere. "And he doesn't have a lot of friends, at all."

"What?" Mia said, briefly taken aback by this bit of news. "He doesn't?"

"Unfortunately not," Catherine admitted. "Joshua, Cole, and Malcolm are the only friends he has, and he truthfully doesn't see them as much as he'd like during the summer holidays. Malcolm's parents are divorced, so he spends his summers with his father in Kent, and Cole's parents have him enrolled in a private summer camp, so he's really only home in the last couple weeks of summer before school starts. Joshua is the only one who's available most of the time, but even so, Brian misses you terribly while you are away, and that's why he always wants to be by your side when you come home. He looks up to you, more than you know, he brags about how wonderful you are to his friends, but not saying anything about magic, obviously. So when you ignore him or shoo him away to spend time with your friends, you make it seem as though you don't want to be bothered with him at all."

"That's not what I intended," Mia said, shaking her head.

"I know that, but he doesn't," Catherine stated. "He's only six Mia, he's still trying to process the fact that you are a big girl who wants to to spend a lot of time with Harry and the others. Think about it dear, have you really spent some one-on-one time with him since you came home earlier this week?"

Mia was quiet as she reflected on all that she has done since returning home. Of course, Mia, Catherine and Brian had all gone out to do some last minute Christmas shopping, but other than that, Mia hadn't really done anything with her brother at all. They had a tradition of watching "A Christmas Carol" together every year, and Mia realized that was probably why Brian was so sour when she only wanted to watch it with Claudia. Her angry scowl turned a bit more sad when she though about all the things they would normally do around this time, such as make gingerbread houses, watch their favorite holiday specials, and Brian was always eager to show and teach Mia the new things he learned in arts and crafts, so they could place handmade decorations around the house. But lately, all Mia has done was work on her art in her room, write letters to friends, listen to her music, and reject Brian's request for them to play together. A seed of guilt was being planted in her stomach, and she hated the feeling.

"I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad, sweetie," Catherine told her. "What he did was still wrong and inexcusable. I'm only asking you to try and understand why he did what he did. Don't go to bed angry again tonight, it will just make you even more miserable."

"I do understand Mum, but those were Aggie's books, ones she's had since she was younger than me," Mia stressed. "She loved them dearly, and I do too, but now..."

"Don't give up hope so easily," Catherine said, and Mia was surprised to see a bit of a smirk on her face. "We do have connections, after all."

"What do you mean?"

Catherine just made a motion for Mia to get up with her, and, with only a quiet groan of protest, Mia left the room with her, heading down the stairs to the living room where Ben and Mia had placed her things out to dry. To Mia's utter shock, she saw that Ben was standing over the coffe table where her books and papers were laid out, and standing beside him was Sirius.

"Hello, Mia," the man greeted with a smile.

"Sirius? What are you doing here?" Mia asked, smiling in return for the first time in days.

"Your Mum and Dad asked for my help with repairing some damage that your brother had caused," he replied, gesturing over to the books.

"But how..." Mia trailed off, looking over at Ben in puzzlement.

"Sirius gives us a call every now and then, to check up on things here," Ben explained. "It just so happened he phoned in a couple of days ago after everything happened, and I asked him if he wouldn't mind helping out."

"You-you can fix my books?" Mia breathed, hardly daring to hope. "Really?"

"I just may be able to," Sirius answered as he bent over and gingerly took one of the books in his hands and examining the water damage. "Poor Remus had to mend many books James and I ended up ruining during our late nigth adventures, and he eventually taught them to me, telling me it was about time I cleaned up my own mess."

Still holding the book in his hand, Sirius muttered a spell under his breath and then, the book lifted just a few inches above his palm. Then, to Mia's pure delight, the book began to mend itself, the damages made by the bath water vanishing from sight. Any wrinkles on the pages were smoothed out, and the spine connected properly to the binding like pieces of a puzzle. All Mia could do was stand there, dumbfounded as Sirius repeated this process with every book that Brian had tossed into the tub, so they all came out looking as though nothing had ever happened to them. By the time he had placed the last book down on the table, Mia was rushing forward and throwing her arms around him, tears of joy welling in her eyes.

"Thank you, Sirius!" she said, not being able say anything else to express her gratitude. "You have no idea how much this means to me! Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Sirius chuckled as he returned Mia's hug, giving her a fond squeeze. "I know how much you love your books."

"Especially these ones," Mia agreed, pulling back and beaming up at him. "I owe you big time, Griff."

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" Sirius sighed dramatically.

"No can do, sorry," Mia replied, not sounding the least bit apologetic, causing Ben to snicker.

"Thanks for the help mate, I didn't really want to have to wait until Christmas to get them mended if we didn't have to," said Ben.

"Would you like to stay for tea, Sirius?" Catherine asked with a smile.

"That sounds great, thank you," Sirius agreed. "I'm sure Remus would appreciate some more time with Harry anyway. He's in full professor mode, teaching Harry a couple of handy housework charms along with going over his Defense assignment."

While Catherine led Sirius into the kitchen, Mia glanced over at the staircase, biting her lip.

"Are you coming, love?" Ben asked her.

"No, I...I'm going to go upstairs for a while, Mia answered. Ben had a knowing glint in his eyes and he nodded at her with a ligth smile, patting her shoulder before going into the kitchen himself. Sighing, Mia gathered her books into her arms and then walked up the stairs, and down the hall to Brian's room. Peeking inside, she saw the boy sitting on the carpet, looking miserable and put out as he half-heartedly played with his dragon toys. His eyes were red and he sniffled a little as he played with the wing of his favorite dragon, and Mia could feel the guilt she experienced earlier come back. Stepping into the room, she carefully placed the books on the bed before squatting down next to Brian. He didn't move or make a sound, but Mia noticed that his shoulders were tense. Crossing her legs to sit properly, she folded her hands in her lap as an uncomfortable silence passed between them.

"I'm still upset with you," she finally said, but there was no bite in her words anymore. "But I know why you did it."

"I'm sorry, Mia," Brian whispered, and his small, shame-filled voice was enough to evaporate any feelings of anger or resentment that still lingered in her heart. She wordlessly took his arm and gently pulled him into her lap, letting him wrap his small arms around her neck and hide his face in her shoulder. Soon enough she felt the tears slide from his eyes onto her shirt, but she didn't care. Following her mother's tactics, she started rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"I know you are," she said quietly. "I'm sorry too, for yelling in your face and pushing you. And I'm sorry that I haven't been spending much time with you at all lately. It's not that I don't care for you, or don't want to hang out with you anymore, I just like spending time with my friends, and others my age, but I should have realized how upset I was making you. The next time you feel like that, I want you to come to me so we can talk about it, all right? No more destroying my things."

Brian nodded his head vigorously and tightened his hold on her, sniffling again, loudly.

"Do you still love me?" he asked.

"Of course. No, matter how angry I am at you, I will never stop loving you. That's a promise."

"Even if you have a baby with Harry?"

"What?" Mia said pulling him back a little to look at him, wide-eyed. "Where did that question come from?"

"I heard you and Mummy talking," Brian explained, wiping at his eyes. "She said she wasn't ready to be a grandma, and she could only be a grandma if one of us has a baby, right? Cole says his sister got all the attention when she was a baby, and he thought his family forgot him."

"Oh Brian," Mia sighed, not sure whether to feel exasperated or amused at the fact that he was eavesdropping. "I'm not going to have a baby, not anytime soon, and even if I did, that wouldn't mean I would stop loving you. You're the best little brother ever, and nothing can change that."

Brian gave the smallest of smiles at this and placed his head back on her shoulder. Mia shook her head, wondering just what on earth she was going to do with that brother of hers.