The alarm played in the back of their heads, and slowly, they were pulled away from their blissful dreams and dragged into the real world. Their eyes opened to their dark rooms and they yawned, sitting up and stretching their arms.

They did it all synchronized, and left their beds in a mirrored image: Albus to the left and Aberforth to the right.

The house smelled like French toast, fried egg and coffee as they began to do their routine. Albus went for a bath as Aberforth went for the sink to brush his teeth. Then, they exchanged, with Aberforth getting inside the shower as Albus brushed his teeth and hair.

They began changing at the same moment, and got out of their rooms at the exact time, looking at each other and smiling.

"Good morning brother"

"Morning Alb"

Stretching once more, they turned the lights off and closed the doors behind themselves, heading to the stairs and following the pleasuring smell of fresh food and coffee.

As they reached the end of the stairs, they walked to the kitchen, where Ariana was basically dancing around the oven and fridge. The table was set and she was finishing the pancakes, putting them all on a plate and gathering the jam and the honey and maple syrup.

Just as they sat down, she placed the rest of the food over the table and sat as well, smiling at her older brothers.

"Good morning boys"

"Morning Ari" they answered together, leaning in and giving her a kiss on each cheek. She grinned happily and began to serve them while they looked around, distracted. Aberforth pulled his school bag closer and checked for all books while Albus checked to see if there was any messages on his phone, sighing in relief when he saw he hadn't slept in any message. Then, they looked up and began eating with their little sister, all of them mostly quiet.

As Ariana sipped on her coffee, she looked at her brothers, smiling.

"So. What are the plans for today?"

"School. Then work. Then home to watch some cool movies with my little sister" Aberforth said, winking at her as he stuffed a new piece of egg inside his mouth. She giggled, while Albus stared at him disgusted.

"Please don't eat like a troglodyte" he asked, politely, and cut his egg in small pieces before smiling to Ariana. "Today is a late day again, Ari. Sorry. Beginning of the year is a mess at the school."

"I was expecting it Albus, don't worry" she nodded. "I will clean the house and check on the garden, make sure all our little plants are growing and ready for eating" she winked and then stayed a little quiet before humming. "Also I thought... about going to the little sale in the town"

Both Albus and Aberforth stopped eating and looked at her, thinking about what she said.

"No way" Aberforth said right away, but Albus lifted his hand and looked at her, smiling and taking her hand.

"Ariana... do you think you can do it?" he asked softly, against Aberforth's wishes, and Ariana nodded, smiling and squeezing Albus' hand.

"Yes. I am sure I can do it. I've been wondering around the streets for the last months... I think I can handle a little sale. Just to buy the essentials like meat and some spices we don't have here at home. Please?"

"I don't like this idea" Aberforth said, crossing his arms, and Albus frowned at him.

"Don't act like this. Ariana is already 16, she had all the rights to do as she wants" he said and turned to his sister, smiling. "Listen, you can go, but if you even think about feeling sick, I want you to come back home okay? The day will be busy today and I won't be able to come right away if you call"

"Don't worry! I will behave and I will come back home at the first sign of something wrong" she nodded and Albus kissed her fingers before letting them go.

"I still don't like this idea Ariana. You can wait until I come back and I can come with you" Aberforth said, firmly, and Albus raised an eyebrow as she sighed.

"Abe, I will be fine. I promise"

"Well, I have to go" Albus said, standing up and kissing both Ariana and Aberforth's heads. "You two behave, call me if you need anything, and make sure you don't force yourselves to anything. I will probably be back around eight"

"Good luck brother"

"See you later Alb!"

Smiling, he shook his head and grabbed his bag, walking out of the house and heading towards the town. The path was short, and so it was to the little supermarket he worked as a cashier. Still, he liked to get there early so he could gather everything and make sure he was beginning his shift with the best humor possible.

After all, working in retail was a pain in the butt and everyone knew that. So he tried to do his best and become manager as quickly as possible, despite of nothing having happened in the last 2 years he had worked there.

While he walked away, Aberforth finished his breakfast and organized his middle day snack before kissing his sister goodbye and putting his backpack on his back.

"Call me if you need anything Ari" he said before leaving, holding the handles of the bag tight and sighing as he took the opposite direction that Albus took, heading to school. He was going to his last high school year, and if that wasn't enough to leave hi extremely nervous, the fact that he was a few months away from choosing what he actually wanted to do for his life surely freaked him out enough.

Applications. Colleges. Universities. All a scary world that Aberforth wasn't ready for, but that he also couldn't ignore. Not with all Albus was doing for them. So he had to suck it up and get better at school, so he could get somewhere worth it.

And make his family proud.

After the two boys left, Ariana was alone once again. She cleaned the dishes and put away the food she had cooked before she walked to the living room and turned on the TV, curling up on the couch.

She didn't really mind what was on TV, she had already watched so many things, having such a boring schedule. Her home classes would only begin in the next week, and still, they only lasted 5 hours total, so it didn't really make up much or her time.

Sighing, she turned to face the ceiling, looking up at it and wishing something different would happen. Just as she wished so, the doorbell rang, and she frowned, standing up slowly and walking to the door, always afraid someone was coming to hurt her.

However as she looked through the door's eye hole, she relaxed, smiling as she opened the door.

"Miss Bagshot!" she said, happily, looking at the old woman as the door was opened. She was smiling at Ariana.

"Oh little sweetheart" she cooed, caressing Ariana's face and making her giggle.

"Please come in!"

"Oh no darling, no I came here to ask you a favor" she said, and Ariana looked at her curious. "Are you alone?"

"Actually yes. What favor you want to ask of me?"

"Well you see, little lady, you know every now and then I have these... reunions with my friends that I can't reschedule but my house is so messy" she giggled, and Ariana tilted her head, confused. "So I came here to ask you to clean it for me today. I will pay you of course!"

"Oh! I sure can miss Bagshot!" she said happily, always loving any excuse to get out of her house. "I can go there right away! Just let me change my clothes!"

"Oh wonderful lovely!" she responded, looking for something in her little purse. "Hm... there it is..." she took out a bunch of keys and gave them to Ariana. "Here it is sweetheart. You can go over whenever you can. I need to go now but I will be back before your brothers return home"

"No problem miss Bagshot, they don't mind when I'm at your house" Ariana answered, taking the keys and grinning. "I will go clean your house better than you've ever seen!"

"I'm sure you will" the old woman said, laughing, and tapped Ariana's shoulder. "I... I needed to tell you something else, but I've forgotten. Well, probably wasn't important" she shrugged, waving at Ariana. "Goodbye sweetheart!"

"Bye miss Bagshot!" Ariana said, smiling widely and holding the keys tight on her hands.

It wasn't the town's sale, but it was something at least. And Aberforth wouldn't mind as much.

And just like that, she changed and got out of their house, ready to work hard and get some change for her and her brothers.

Perhaps she could hold onto it to buy that beautiful dress she had seen in the next town.

She would figure it out once they were all together that night.