Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling has the rights…not me.

Chapter Eighteen: Separated

Whenever we left my mother and headed for grandmother's, I don't think I realized the severity of what had happened initially. It wasn't until several days later of father coming and going that he told me that separation was going to be the only answer. That Christmas was…ruined to say the least, despite my grandparents earnest tries to make it better. That break was absolutely miserable and I remember returning to school feeling as though I literally had just been trampled.

At first…realizing that my parents meant divorce was hard to swallow. They wanted absolutely nothing to do with one another after a certain point. At eleven years old, this didn't make much sense, but as I grew older…it started to click that they couldn't stand more than two minutes in each others presence.

My parents settled that the house would be my mother's property, my father had no desire to go back to that home while he simply wished to move back in with his parents for a short while. That short while ended up being much longer than we had anticipated, but it got the job done, I suppose. My time was divided between the two places and in all honesty, I preferred being with my grandparents and dad because…they actually acknowledged me when I was there.

Mother, on the other hand,….I really only saw her at meal times and passing by in the hallways while I was with her. And I may have been young, but I certainly wasn't stupid enough to not realize that my mother had jumped right back into finding another man to replace father. When there were several different fellows over in the course of a week…even an eleven year old could have figured that one out.

Another thing about my mother was that the older I got…the more eccentric and strange she became. She was especially distant around me and we seemed to have even less in common as I grew older, but I may be getting a little ahead of myself, therefore, I'll leave it at, my mother's house was not my favorite place to be. In fact, I spent more time at the Flockton's house…even though my mother couldn't stand the Flocktons…she hardly ever paid enough attention to even realize I was gone.

I remember my first visit with mother since the divorce…I was looking for someone to speak with and after getting into a rather pointless argument with my mother, I remember running out of the house, tears running down my face, and I had no intention of stopping. In fact, I ran and ran all the way to the Flockton's home, where I knocked on the door and nearly immediately fell into Mrs. Flockton's arms. After many tears and words to try and explain the situation, Mrs. Flockton finally allowed me to simply sit in their parlour, alone to try and sift through my emotions. I appreciated this greatly and she told me I was welcome to stay for as long as I liked. I knew, of course, I couldn't stay for too terribly long considering my mother would come looking eventually…or she should have. This may have been my original home, but it certainly did not feel like such.

Benjamin eventually entered into the room, his hands in his pockets as he sat across from me. We were only children, but having his presence did make me feel a tad better.

"I'm sorry, Lana," He said quietly, after several moments.

I looked at him with tearstained eyes, wondering what the proper response was to a statement like that. How was he sorry for what my parents did? How could he possibly understand the pain I was feeling in my heart? His parents would probably be together until death…how in the world could he relate? Knowing that if I said any of these thoughts, I would sound like a spoiled, heartless little prat, I swallowed my feelings, my pride and said a simple phrase," Thank you, Benjamin."

He smiled, half-way before saying," You're always welcome here, Lana."

My safe haven was the Flockton's home.

My father, on the other hand, I was a little more comfortable with, but that didn't mean I wasn't still a little upset with him, as well. One time, at grandma and grandpa's house, I remember sitting outside under a night sky full of stars. It was a bit nippy out, therefore, I had a blanket pulled around my shoulders as I stared up at the beautiful sky overhead. The divorce was still fresh and conversations were sometimes chopped and awkward.

"So, how are you adjusting to all of this, dear?" He asked, probably genuinely, but I couldn't help but feel a tad bit of resentment toward him.

"I'm fine, dad," I said coolly, not giving him much to work with.

There was a silence before he tried to start a conversation and said," I'm going to be looking for a new home…soon. That'll be nice, don't you think?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding my head, but saying nothing else.

He let out a sigh before running his fingers through his hair," Lana, dear, I know this is all a little confusing, but please-"

I shot him a look before interrupting," Dad, I know you can't tell me anything…please don't try to say the same thing again."

"Lana, I actually can tell you some things soon, but we have to wait until-"

I looked at him, narrowing my eyes before standing up. I shook my head, mostly because I really was sick of being told that I could know, but the time just wasn't right. I let out a sigh before turning and entering the house, where grandma was standing, brewing a cup of tea in the kitchen as I passed through. Before I could make my way to my room, she had grabbed my arm.

"Lana, dearie, your father never wanted this," She said seriously, looking me straight in the eye.

I stared at her for a long while…looking for answers in her eyes, but little did I know that answers wouldn't come until I was much older. Pure confusion was the most accurate way to describe me at the time.

I didn't understand any of this and the only other reaction I knew to do was express my confusion through tears and collapsing into her arms. I don't know how long I was in her arms, feeling the warmth of an embrace, but it hardly mattered because there was nothing she could tell me that would make me understand. Eventually, I remember being walked to bed, but after that evening…I knew that this was my new life. Nothing was going to change in my foreseeable future, therefore, I needed to get used to it.

And get used to it…I did. Eventually.

Obviously, I tried to make the best of the situation and learned to live with it. Though it may be hard to believe, this life became normal. Over time, I chose to accept that there were certain things I may never understand about my family no matter how hard they tried to explain it to me. Being shipped between mother's home and father's home was what I expected my breaks from school to be like to be like.

Even at school, there was a time where I had no desire to speak to anyone and really introverted myself. I participated in some social events at school, went to Quidditch Games, kept my friends, and continued my job in the medical wing. Years went by where I was just like any other student at that school, sure they were some of the best memories of my life, but all of that was nothing compared to what was in store for me.

If I remember correctly, then it wasn't until my fourth year at Hogwarts that things started to change a little bit. I had turned fourteen years old and had grown into my teenage years, quite comfortably. My friend circle was still the same for the most part Benjamin and Holly were still two of my closest friends. Anna didn't want to have much to do with me, just as before, but my suspicions had been confirmed about her feelings for Benjamin…well, I guess not officially confirmed, but they may as well have been.

Okay, so there was no obvious reason, but I just…had a feeling, alright?

Benjamin had stayed close friends with Percy Weasley, as well. Much to my displeasure, many conversations when walking with the two would go from boring to downright sleep-worthy. Many a time, I found myself strategically unweaving myself from their presence before locating someone else to chat with. Although all things associated with Percy were not boring for he had two younger brothers who were only a year younger than I and they were quite the opposite of boring. Their names were Fred and George, twins, who I found to be hilarious and enjoyed their company greatly.

I'll never forget the first time I met them during my second year...

"Holly, I don't know why we sit here, honestly," I commented to my friend at breakfast as we sat in the Great Hall, picking at eggs and bacon as Percy and Benjamin were chatting about something way above our heads.

My friend looked at me, laughing before swallowing a swig of orange juice," We could always…you know…make new friends."

"Too much effort," I said under my breath, smirking at her as I stabbed the eggs on my plate.

It was at this moment that I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder to see a lanky, red-headed boy who looked to be rather young. He had a smirk on his face and a strange resemblance to Percy…this boy seemed to have a much more…exciting aura about him, however.

"Looking for new friends?" The boy asked me, pulling a strange contraption from his pocket. "I've got just the thing for you! Developed it myself!"

I felt a tap on my other shoulder and turned to see…an exact replica of the boy on my other side. Out of pure shock, I let out a soft yelp and put my hand over my mouth. My reaction obviously was what the two wanted and therefore high fived one another over my head.

"Did not! I helped mate!" The other one exclaimed after they had high fived.

"Only kidding, Fred," The original boy said with a smirk on his face.

At the same time, the two brothers squeezed themselves on either side of me on the bench. I shot Holly, who was laughing, a glance before turning my attention back to the twins.

"Right, George. Now, let's tell the lady about our product," Fred continued, showing me the same contraption from before.

It was at this moment that Percy butt himself into the conversation. Shocking, this appearance of these two boys was enough to break he and Benjamin's conversation.

"She has no interest in anything you two have created," He said snottily, more rudely than I would have done.

The one who I thought was George furrowed his brow," Have you asked the lady?"

"You're just being modest for us brother!" Fred exclaimed, smiling widely.

For some reason, it seemed as though these brothers were trying to get under Percy's skin. It did surprise me that they were related…as far as personalities went, they seemed to be polar opposites.

Percy's face drained of its color as soon as Fred said the "b" word. He looked around nervously before whispering hoarsely to the two of them," What did we say about referring to each other in such a manner in public?"

George smiled wildly at Fred before they said at the same time, more loudly," What was that, brother?"

Seeing Percy in such a state was hilarious in itself.

Percy stood up, giving the both of them a death glare. He addressed the rest of us sitting at the table," Please, excuse me."

As the oldest Weasley stormed off the twins high fived again before Fred turned back to me," Well, esteemed client, it appears as though we've got some damage control to be tending to."

"Therefore, we'll leave you with the New-Friend Magnet free of charge," George said to me, handing me a piece of metal with wild colors painted across it.

"We'll even waive the shipping and handling fees!" Fred pipped in.

"And convenience charge!" George added, like a true salesman.

"No taxes either! Don't forget the tax-free policy!" Fred played right alone.

I chuckled at the spectacle before saying," Looks as though I got quite the deal."

"That you did!" Fred said with a wide smile.

Just as the two of them stood up, the one I thought to be Fred said to me," Now, don't forget…I'm George."

"And I'm Fred," The one I thought to be George said.

Now, I was really confused.

"Fred" hit "George" before he said incredulously," Now, wait you know that I'm Fred and you're George! Don't confuse the poor girl!"

"You're the one confusing the poor girl! I'm clearly George and you're Fred! Oi! Knock it off mate!" The other twin yelled to him, quite frankly I stopped putting names to the both of them by this point.

"The only real important thing to remember is that we're Percy's siblings!" One of them nearly yelled across the whole Great Hall as they ran off, exiting the room, presumably to cause more trouble for I doubted they actually intended on apologizing to their brother.

As they exited, the three of us remaining couldn't help but laugh. Charlie Weasley had been fun, Percy had been "interesting"…but these two seemed to be a whole different side of Weasley that we had yet to experience.

And all of my other encounters with them continued in a similar manner. They were always so happy and exuberant.

As I said before, life was as normal as it could be under the circumstances. Sure, home life was confusing, as always, but the summer going into my fourth year at Hogwarts…I was expecting just another "normal" year. Going to Diagon Alley, getting all of my school supplies with mom (one activity she did do with me because father was growing more and more hesitant toward magic the older he got) and packing away my clothes was just routine by that time. And as I climbed on the train, I would say goodbye to her until the holiday after next. It was just as it had been every year before.

In fact, it wasn't until I was told that I was to be moved up to the next year of Potions that my fourth year of school got a little…awkward to say the least.

Author's Note: Long time no update, I know, I know and I apologize :D I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I realize I rushed through a lot in this chapter, but for continuity's sake…I had to have a "jump ahead" chapter. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think! I hope this chapter made sense...I've been trying to get my brain back into Harry-Potter mode over the last few days.

On a side note, I WENT TO HARRY POTTER WORLD! It is quite possibly the best place on Earth...that is all :)