Hello everyone! Forgiven me yet for my awful cliffy? LoL. I know I said I'd post yesterday but my little sister graduated from high school (yay for her, but don't I feel old? lol) and I was so busy all day.

Anyway, many thanks going out this chapter to a lot of people:

cascade88
Lyric Mania
remuslives23
butherecomesthefall (btw, yes I know I'm mean lol)
Lady Fabulous
new reviewer lilredroses9793
and new reviewer alisonrocks08

And of course thanks to everyone who is still reading :-)

Obligitory A/N: Whatever you recognize is JKR's...everything else is mine

The next few weeks were by far the worst of Evey, Fred, and George's lives. Though they were distraught over the "loss" of their friend, Fred and George acted as though nothing was at all out of the ordinary--pulling pranks on the Slytherins, attending Quidditch practice and matches, and of course working on products they plan to sell in the shop they hope to open after graduation.

When they were alone, however--whether in the library seemingly planning a brilliant prank or making it seem like they were going up to bed a little early--they were really figuring out what they could do to make Evey speak them again. They tried numerous times to send her notes and owl mail apologising for their overprotective behaviour, but when she recognized the handwriting she'd sent the parchment up in flames with a simple flick of her wand. They tried getting her alone to talk to her, but she acted as if they weren't even there and kept on doing whatever she was doing, making sure there was always someone else around.

Little did they know that ignoring them was the hardest thing Evey had ever done. At first she managed to hide her unhappiness from her room mates, putting up Silencing Spells at night so they couldn't hear her crying. She wasn't sleeping well but used a spell to hide the black rings around her eyes, she pretended to eat while just pushing the food around her plate, she didn't take notes in class - instead scribbling notes of apology and explanation to Fred and George… notes she never sent.

But one night, it all caught up with her. She forgot to put up her usual Silencing spell and her room mates heard her weeping. The other girls were concerned and spent some time trying to calm her down, Evey finding it difficult to stop the tears. She eventually managed to get the whole story out and how she now regretted shutting the boys out but didn't know how to make it better. She felt better after talking it through and her room mates agreed to keep her 'breakdown' a secret, Evey promising in return that, by the end of the month, she would find a way to speak to the twins.

It was December 18th, another Hogsmeade trip for the third-years and above. While the others bundled up in their jackets to face the frigid temperatures, Evey sat in one of the cushioned window seats in Gryffindor tower, wearing casual clothes and reading an assignment for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Today, she had her wand safely secured in the large pocket of her hoodie, just in case she decided to take another walk that didn't end so well.

After Angie, Alicia, Katie and Patty all tried in vain to convince her to join them one last time, she was finally left alone in the quiet, peaceful common room. With her cat, Dorothy, curled up at her feet, she was completely content with sitting where she was all afternoon.

Apparently, Life had other plans.

At about one o'clock, Evey heard the portrait open but didn't look up from her book. That is, not until she heard two very familiar voices muttering to each other. Quickly as she could, she closed her book, leapt off the window seat (much to the dismay of a sleeping Dorothy) and quickly hurried to the stairs. Luck was not on her side.

'Evey! Evey, wait, please!'

She tried to ignore the pleas and kept walking, but she felt two sets of arms wrap around her and lift her into the air.

'PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!' she yelled as she struggled to get out of their firm but gentle grips.

'Sorry, love, but we just can't do that.'

'Nope--not until we say what we have to say.'

'I don't want to hear it! AND DON'T CALL ME THAT!'

The twins gently sat her on the couch, hoping she'd stay still. Of course, she refused, popping straight back up to her feet.

'Evey, please sit still.'

'We don't want to Petrify you.'

Evey glared at each of the twins in turn but sat down again, stubbornly crossing her arms across her chest.

'Thank you,' the twins said in relief.

'Now,' Fred continued as he and George sat on the coffee table in front of her, 'we know you didn't like us…keeping an eye on you--'

'Stalking,' Evey corrected immediately.

'Alright, stalking,' Fred conceded.

'So we thought, "how could we possibly fix this little mess?"' George continued, rubbing his chin and furrowing his brow as if deep in thought.

'And then it came to us! Would you like to tell her, George?'

'Why not together, Fred?'

'Agreed!'

'We got rid of the map!' they cried happily as they leapt to their feet and threw their arms out dramatically.

Evey sat there, her green eyes flicking back and forth between the two ginger-heads.

'So?'

'So?!' George exclaimed as Fred scoffed. 'We got rid of the key to our success for you!'

'Why?'

'So you'd trust us again,' Fred said as he said beside Evey.

'And you'd talk to us again,' George added, sitting on Evey's other side.

'We miss you, Evey!' the twins cried out in faux agony as they piled themselves on the tiny girl between them.

'Ugh, get your fat arses off of me! You're crushing my lungs!' Evey shouted as she attempted to push the twins away, though laughter was lacing her words.

'Only when you forgive us!'

'And promise to talk to us again!'

'FINE! Now let me breathe!'

It was another minute before she could comfortably draw breath as the twins crushed her in a hug. Evey couldn't help but laugh and embrace them in return--she had missed her best mates.

The remainder of that year went by at a steady pace. Between the Sirius Black sightings, the Quidditch championship, and O.W.L.'s, Evey barely knew where the time went. At the end of the year, mere days before they were all to board the Hogwart's Express back home, Evey received a letter.

At breakfast the day after her final O.W.L. exam, an unfamiliar brown owl with hazel eyes landed in front of her.

'Who's is that?' Lee asked with a full mouth, earning him a head-slap from Angelina and Alicia when he spat bits of chewed bacon all over the place.

'No idea, I've never seen him--I mean, her before,' Evey said, correcting herself when the owl nipped her finger.

'Well are you going to open the letter or just stare at it all day?' Fred asked smartly.

Evey glared at him as she nimbly removed the letter from the owl's leg, giving the bird a crust of toast before it flew off. She never got post - no one but her parents knew she was here. Who would be writing to her? Evey immediately opened the letter and her eyes widened as she scanned the page.

Charlene,

After much discussion, your mother and I have decided we were a bit harsh to you last summer. We want nothing but the best for you , darling, and sometimes we forget that you know better about that then we. We look forward to your return home this summer, and your mother and I have a wonderful surprise for you! We hope you are excelling in your studies like we know you always have. We love you very much, my dear. Stay well, and we look forward to seeing you when you arrive at the train station on the eighteenth.

Your Father,

Edward G. Collins

Evey's jaw dropped in shock--what had gotten into her parents?! The letter was affectionate and warm…very unlike them, but it was her father's handwriting and his signature at the bottom…maybe they really had changed.

'What? Evey, what is it?' George asked, noticing the shock on his friend's face.

'It's-it's my parents…they're looking forward to me coming home this summer. They say they're sorry,' she said, the surprise evident in her voice.

Angelina, Alicia, Patty, Kenny, Katie, and Lee were confused, not knowing of Evey's relationship with her parents; Fred and George however, were very happy for their friend.

'Evey, that's fantastic!' Fred said, leaping over the table to hug his friend.

'We're so happy for you!' George said, also embracing Evey.

'Th-thank you,' Evey said, a smile slowing spreading across her face.

Her parents had done a total one-eighty, and regardless of the reason, she was thrilled.

The next week passed agonizingly slowly but finally, Evey was sitting on the Hogwarts

Express, the small villages just on the outskirts of London whizzing by the window. The twins and Lee were talking in the background about that summer's Quidditch Cup, but she was too excited to pay much attention. Finally, the train pulled into King's Cross. Evey leapt to her feet and started to frantically gather her things.

'Calm down, Evey.'

'Yea, they won't leave without you.'

'I know that,' she responded to the twins as she pulled her knapsack securely onto her shoulders, 'but I'm excited to see them!'

'Well, have fun this summer.'

'And don't forget to write!'

'Never! Bye!' she shouted as she ran out into the hall.

She ran down the car to the exit and hopped onto the platform and, dragging her heavy trunk behind her, weaved through the many magical parents waiting for their children, heading towards the barrier that separated this platform from the rest of the station. When she finally got through, Evey's green eyes scanned the crowd looking for her driver, and she was shocked to see her parents standing nearby, checking their watches.

'Mother! Father!' she yelled happily as she rushed over towards them.

'Charlene, darling!'

Evey didn't even care that her mother had used her first name, she was just so happy to see them and to receive the unusually warm greeting. She dropped her things (including Dorothy's case, much to the cat's displeasure) and was embraced by both her parents. She couldn't help the tears of joy that fell down her cheeks--she finally had the parents she'd always wanted - loving and affectionate. Once they broke apart, her father loaded her things onto a trolley and the three began walking through the station towards where the car was waiting.

'So, how was your year darling?'

'Oh it was amazing, mother! I did really well on all my exams, and our house won the cup for the first time in YEARS!' she responded.

She didn't even care that her parents had absolutely know idea what "cup" she was speaking of; they were actually listening, and seemed interested.

'Wonderful, dear!' her father said with a smile.

She couldn't believe it--it was like everything she ever wanted from her parents was finally happening! She just knew it'd be the best summer ever.

'So,' her father said smiling at his only child as Lester pulled the car away from the kerb.

'I'm sure you're wondering what wonderful surprise your mother and I have in store for you.'

'Of course.'

Her parents smiled at each other before her father spoke again, 'Well, dear, you're going to spend the entire summer in Newport with your Aunt Georgina and Uncle John and your cousins Jacqueline and Robert!'

Evey sat in stunned silence--her parents were shipping her off to the States for the summer? What kind of wonderful surprise was this?!

'Wh-what?'

'Oh you'll have so much fun, darling!' her mother gushed. 'They just got a new stallion, and of course there's always the country club and their yacht.'

Evey stared back and forth between her parents, a look of total disbelief on her face. 'You're sending me away?!'

'Of course not, dear,' her father assured her with what she knew to be a fake smile, 'we just thought you'd like to visit Jacqueline…you two were always so close.'

'I haven't seen her since I was seven! Mother, father, you can't send me to the States! I-I promised to visit my friends this summer!'

'You mean those…those boys?' her mother practically hissed.

'You know very well, Charlene, that your mother and I don't like you befriending those boys; it just isn't right for a young lady to go gallivanting around with boys.'

'What is this, 1775?! I'm 16 years old--I can pick my own friends! This is why you're shipping me off, aren't you? To take me away from my friends?! How could you do this to me?!'

'We're doing what's best for you,' her father said strongly.

'No, you're doing whatever you want! Well I refuse to go--you can't make me.'

'You will get on that plane if I have to drag you on myself, do you understand me?' her father said in a voice so quiet and forceful it chilled her to the bone.

This was what she expected from her parents - the kind and attentive mother and father of a few minutes earlier were gone and in their place were the cold strangers she'd lived with for sixteen years.

Her green eyes filled with tears as she glared at her parents, 'I hate you…both of you.'

With that she turned away and watched the city of London pass by at top speed as they travelled towards Heathrow. This was going to a horrible summer.

Oh no! Poor Evey! Aren't her parents simply awful? I'll post again asap (which won't be tomorrow cause it's my boyfriends birthday and I'll be otherwise occupied ;-))...and remember reviews speed up the posting process :-)