So, this chapter's kinda' long... and it was also quick in the making. I guess I'm trying to just make up for the slow postings that are bound to come later on as I'll be getting somewhat busy very soon. I just request you to be patient with me. =) I have a lot of the story written and am in the process of refining it for your excellently-critical eyes! (Yes, that is encouragement to be critical of the work as I'm still a beginning writer and I want any and all help I can get from wonderful reviewers like you!) I sound like a commercial. Great. =) Enjoy the chapter!

The Weasley-Potter family gatherings were known for being loud, messy, and often marked with mayhem. This was expected, after all, considering that the total head-count added up to a grand twenty-three and five sets of families. As Rose walked through the front doors of 12 Grimmauld Place, the Potter's place of residence which was the only mansion capable of housing all the families put together, it was to what she liked to call "the silence before the storm" as most of the members had not quite arrived yet. The large hallway lit by a series of zig-zagged lanterns hanging over-head and lined with a rich red carpet on the ground and family pictures on the walls was the most welcoming sight she had seen in her life. She dropped her backpack next to the thick stump-like coat stand that had been with the house forever. "Mum? Daddy?"

Ronald Weasley--tall, lanky, and topped with a bush of red hair that was only now beginning to thin--came around the corner to see his daughter bounding towards him. He exclaimed in surprise as she jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly around the neck. "Oh-ho!" He laughed, kissing her on the head. "Who is this stranger in the house--I don't think I've ever seen her before."

"You say that every time I come home," She grinned and kissed him on the cheek.

"I say it because you leave for school and come back a year older and all that much more beautiful! Now where're my real kids who celebrate their birthdays with their old man instead of running off to school?"

"They should be here soon! Albus is driving them home 'cuz, you know, they can't apparate yet which is a complete nuisance, of course."

"You know, in my days, we weren't allowed to get our Apparition license till we were seventeen. You guys are lucky to have that one year earlier--"

"Rosie!"

Hermione Granger appeared in the hallway with her thick brown hair pulled back into a messy bun and an apron tied around the gentler curves of her aging body. Her brown eyes sparkling with tears, she ran forward to pull her daughter into her arms. "Oh, Mum, are you crying again?"

"As she always does whenever you leave for school and when you come back," Ron sighed, patting his wife on the shoulder.

"Oh, be quiet, there's nothing wrong with missing your child." Hermione sniffled, pulling Rose away to view her at arm's length. "How was your seventeenth birthday? I heard James came. That devil--Ginny was just saying how he never visits his own mother, but comes bounding for his cousin's birthday."

"Mum was lying, Aunt Hermione." James appeared with a distinct pop directly behind Hermione. She jumped slightly and whirled around to be met with a toothy grin. "I visit her at least once a month. She just exaggerates it because she wants me to stay at home and live the rest of my life with her."

"James, my boy." Ron hugged his nephew. "I know what you mean about Ginny--always trying to lock you kids down, I swear--much like Hermione does with me and these young ones here--"

"I heard that," Hermione slapped her husband across the shoulder.

"It was a joke!" Ron cried out rather peevishly. She glared at him, turned on her heel and walked around the corner to the narrow stairs leading down to the kitchens in the basement. With a sigh, Ron followed her, still hugging his daughter to his side. James trailed along behind them.

"So tell me, James, what all have you been up to since the last time we saw you--what was it, nine months ago?"

"Six--you saw me in June," James replied as they emerged into the kitchen--a large cavern-like room with giant fires set at the far end and two long tables parallel to each other in the middle. Several cupboards and countertops had been made next to the fire to modernize the room and allow for easier use along with rows of long windows at one wall through which the sunlight magically streamed in. Rose smiled, happy to be home again as she always was during the Christmas and Summer breaks from school. At the counters, her aunt and uncle worked side-by-side to make breakfast. Hearing their entry, they turned, beaming. "James! Rose! Where's the rest of the crew?" Harry called out, pulling his round glasses off his nose and wiping them on his apron to get rid of the steam across them.

"Hi, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry. They're in the car--should be here soon, Albus is not the most patient of drivers."

"He has his license with him, doesn't he?" Ginny led a large stack of pancakes to the table at wand-tip and let them drop down with a small thud. "Muggle police don't look kindly upon teenagers driving without their license."

"Urr... yes," Rose nodded quickly. She grabbed a pancake, turned away from her and nibbled at it quietly as James continued to tell Ron about his adventures at the latest dig-site he had visited in Timbuktu. James, a huge fan of all things ancient and historic, had studied archeology in both the Magical world and the Muggle world and worked with both communities to find interesting and exotic artifacts around the world. Ginny turned to their conversation, quite captured by the tale. Rose sighed with relief at the distraction. The truth was that Albus had never actually gotten a driving license in the Muggle world. Considering that they lived so close to King's Cross station, Hermione had suggested him to get a license so he can drive the "Hogwartians"--as Ron called them--home from the station. A fan of the cars, but not so much of having to get his permit and take his license exam, he had simply conjured himself a license over a year ago and told his parents that he had gotten it completely legally. At the reckless speed he usually drove, though, it was a wonder he hadn't had it taken away by the Muggle policemen.

"Hey, kiddo," Harry hugged Rose as he came to join her at the table. Untying his apron and pulling it off, he asked, "How's Hogwarts? Lovegood treating you okay?"

"Luna's great," Rose grinned. "One of the best headmistresses Hogwarts has ever seen. She drives Professor McGonagall mad every time she comes to visit. She's completely gotten rid of the rules about limited Hogsmeade visits--students can go there as many times as they want now, and she integrated the Study of Odd and Unexplained into the curriculum as an elective for third years and above. And the best part of it--you should see the Great Hall when any special occasion comes out. Everyone thinks it's an eyesore with mismatched colors and really odd pieces of decoration and what-not, but I think it's amazing. She's just a riot!"

"That's entirely unorthodox," Hermione sniffed as she placed a large bowl of porridge and a platter of toast on the table. "It's almost like she wants to mock the traditions of Hogwarts."

"Or that she's just encouraging all of us to make our own," Rose pointed out. Hermione quirked her eyebrow at her daughter. "Come on, Mum, you have to admit her 'unorthodox' ways just encourage her students to think outside of the box and be creative throughout their studies."

"Can't argue with that," Harry grinned.

Hermione did not look convinced, but was interrupted before she could say anything else by an outbreak of noise from upstairs. They all stopped to look up at the ceiling.

"I don't understand what the big deal is, Albus--he's only two years older than me."

"Only--only two years? The guy's knocked up in the head and has been since I hit him with a Bludger on the Quidditch field during our third year. What the bloody hell do you see in him anyway? His brain is the size of a pea--I don't think he qualified for a single NEWT this year--and his features resemble those of a Troll!"

"Guys--can this wait, please--?"

"Hugo, go get the trunks out of the car! As for you--"

"Stop ordering Hugo around--you're not his boss!"

"He doesn't have a problem with it--

"Err--"

"Shut up, Hugo! Of course he has a problem with it--you act like you're his mother or something, just like you're acting like my mother. I have a mother already, Albus, and she's controlling enough, okay? I don't need another one--"

Everyone turned to look at Ginny who looked incredibly offended by what she was hearing. Her ears burning red, she put her fists on her hips and glared up at the ceiling.

"I think I better go handle this--"

"I'll help."

Ron and Harry rushed to their feet and out of the kitchen.

"Stop being stupid, Lily, you're not going out with McLaggen and that is final."

"Go to hell, Albus!"

"Lily--don't walk away--Lily!"

But she was gone, stomping her way up the stairs and slamming the door to her room so loudly that they could hear it two floors down. They heard footsteps rushing after her--those of Ron's--and a much quieter voice talking to Albus--that of Harry's. Looking unfazed by what had just passed, Hugo walked into the kitchen, his hands in his pockets, whistling to himself. He stopped in his tracks, seeing the four pairs of inquiring eyes upon him. "Er... hello?"

"Lily... is going out..." Ginny began in a dangerous voice.

"With Cormac McLaggen's son?" Hermione finished for her on a hiss.

"Before you turn your weapons on me," Hugo replied still very much unfazed, "remember that I am only an innocent bystander. As I was telling Albus, what Lily does with her romantic life is none of my business. Now, I'm hungry, can I get some food please?"

Tensions were still high when the other three Weasley brothers--Bill, Percy, and George--arrived with their wives and children an hour later. Albus was stiff-jawed as he downed his breakfast and decided to go out on a walk. Harry and Ron had to physically hold their wives down from lunging at Lily when she finally came downstairs for breakfast well after Albus had left. George and his wife Angelina were the only ones mirroring Hugo's handle on the situation—in other words, they didn't give a damn. George carried around his three-year-old daughter Roxanne on his shoulders and was about to chase after seven-year-old Lucy Weasley--Percy and Audrey's daughter--when the final guest of the evening arrived with a crack at the table.

"Ted--"

"Teddy!"

"Oh, my God--Ted!"

"Hey--look who's here--!"

"What DID you do to your hair--?!"

Theodore Lupin looked slightly overwhelmed by the outburst from his family and offered them a simple, "Hello!" Ginny ran up to him immediately, hugging her godson, and poked at his bright yellow hair which was sticking up in all directions like a spiked ball on top of his head. "Ya' like?" he grinned.

"Definitely!" Ginny laughed.

"Oh, it makes your skin so sallow!" Fleur frowned disapprovingly next to her husband, Bill, who was very approving of the new look and flashed him a 'rock-out' sign.

"Just for the special announcement--"

"What special announcement?!" Several voices called out.

"Oh, but Albus is not here--" Hermione interrupted Teddy before he could respond. "Maybe we should wait?"

"Whatever, he doesn't matter," Lily shrugged rather bitterly. "Tell us, Ted!"

"I'll inform him personally," Ted assured Hermione, "If I don't tell them now, I think they will just about kill me." His eyes turned to look at Victoire who had been sitting silently next to Fleur and who was now staring at her plate of untouched pancakes, her ears bright red and dimples wedged into her chin next to her smiling lips. "I proposed to Victoire last month... and she agreed."

Rose squealed and jumped out of her chair to run around the table and hug Victoire. Her cousin laughed and she hugged her back enthusiastically. Hugo and Fred, George's son, congratulated Teddy with rough smacks to his back and he shook their hands in return. The families gathered around the happy couple, shouting out their congratulations.

"You knew all along?!" Louis and Dominique, Victoire's younger siblings, inquired of their parents, sounding rather put-out.

"Hey, they wanted to tell you themselves," Bill replied defensively and hugged his soon-to-be son-in-law.

"Everyone, everyone!" Hermione called them to attention and after several moments, the room fell silent again. "They wanted to have you all at their wedding, so it's going to be in three weeks--right before you all have to go back to school!"

"Three weeks?! I get to be one of your bridesmaids--right, sis?"

"Oh, all of you do," Victoire replied easily.

"Who you choosing for your best man, Ted?"

"Yeah, and your Maid of Honor--"

"Where is it going to be--"

"I asked Harry if we could hold it here--"

"And I obviously said yes!"

"--so it's going to be right in Grimmauld Place--"

"--three Sundays from now--"

"--and I need everyone's 'elp in getting things together--three weeks! My goodness, we 'ave no time at all!"

"Mum, relax, it will be fine--"

Rose was still smiling an hour later as everyone finally began to head up the stairs to their respective bedrooms. Ron and Harry helped jinx their trunks up to their respective rooms and Hermione, Victoire, and Fleur settled down in the library to begin the wedding plans. It had started to rain sometime during the period when they were all downstairs--the magically created sunlight in the kitchen had not warned them against the shift in weather. Rose personally enjoyed the rain very much and hoped it would continue into the night. She was about to head into her room when she realized that Albus had returned from his walk and was cursing softly in his own room one door down from hers. Frowning, she knocked on his door. "Who is it?" He called out.

"Rose."

She heard squelching footsteps and a moment later, the door was opened to reveal Albus, thoroughly drenched from head to foot, his shirt sticking to his chest, and his hair plastered to his face. She laughed as he turned away with a sour expression on his face and followed him inside. "Don't tell me you got caught in the rain?"

"Caught and thoroughly abused," he replied. "I had walked way too far by the time it started raining and thought I could wait it out, but when it didn't stop for ages--"

"Why didn't you just apparate back?" Rose asked, falling onto his bed.

"Apparate?"

She froze, feeling a fist curl around her insides. This couldn't be happening again. "Yes," she replied. "You know, go poof and appear back home instead of walking through the rain all this time--?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what apparate is," Albus snapped. Her insides suddenly relaxed. "I was in the middle of a Muggle park though and there were a bunch of kids who decided to play soccer out in the rain so I couldn't apparate in front of them. So I started walking towards somewhere where I could apparate from, and then the rain started feeling kinda' good--you know, like a cool off--but then it started pouring and--Rose? You okay?"

"Oh, yes!" She nodded and smiled. "I'm fine. Just find it funny that you're completely drenched though."

"Ha. Leave. I gotta change. Aunt Hermione will kill me if she knows about this."

Rose laughed and began to walk out of the room. She paused at the doorway and turned around. "By the way, Albus--Teddy and Victoire are getting married."

"You're kidding!" Albus's mood changed within a split-second right before her eyes.

"Three weeks from Sunday--right before we leave for Hogwarts."

"And I missed the announcement. Bloody McLaggen--I swear I'm going to kill that kid when I see him next--"

"Whatever--" Rose laughed, closing the door behind her. She walked into her own room and started unpacking her trunk. She began to unpack her books first, and froze when she pulled out her Care of Magical Creatures textbook. When Albus and she had been talking about Apparition, she had been worried for a moment that he might have forgotten what it was. It was happening so frequently now--little things that had always been taken for granted were slowly disappearing from people's memories. First the book... then the pixies. Charms, potions… She had been trying to ignore the signs but the sense of urgency grew stronger and stronger inside her, gnawing at her inside. She had to do something as she seemed to be the only one realizing this was happening. But what could she do? Where did she even start? She took a deep breath and opened the Care of Magical Creatures book again to page 289. "Hey, I'm heading downstairs to wish--Rose, what's wrong?"

She looked up, snapping the book shut. She put it down on the table and shook her head. "Nothing. Just unpacking, thinking about... school and stuff."

Albus looked unconvinced. He walked into the room and grabbed the textbook, looking at it curiously. "Don't lie--you suck at it."

"Actually, I don't," Rose sighed. "You can just sniff it out like a bloody hound."

He grinned. "So, you admit something's wrong. Tell."

Should she tell him? Albus was the one person she trusted most in her life--even more than herself. If she could just ask for one person in the world to listen to her admit anything and still not laugh, it would be him. But the disappearance of magic... it sounded ridiculous to her own ears.

"Come on, Rose, you know you can tell me." Albus sounded legitimately worried. She had tried to ignore it and it hadn't worked... perhaps it was time to see what someone else thought about it.

"Magic is disappearing."

She didn't look at him for the longest time--stared instead at her own fingers which were viciously picking at each other in front of her. When he didn't say anything, she looked up and saw that he was expecting more. She shrugged. "That's it."

"That's it?" He repeated. "What do you mean magic is disappearing? Like... I don't even know--what does that mean?"

"It started with the Pixies--actually, it might have begun before that. Remember the night before my birthday, I was in the library searching for something? Well I had actually fallen asleep in the library and when I woke up, I couldn't remember what I had been looking for for the longest time and then, I looked at this book that was in front of me and there were two lines completely missing in a list of household charms and I would have thought it was nothing--just a page break or something--when the line kinda... well, it disappeared. Like the page decided to edit out the blankness and just filled it up. And then, I was talking to Jamie and Carla about some magical creature or whatever and Jamie suddenly did not know what a Pixie was! I mean, she knew but she didn't think they existed and she didn't remember that we had studied them in our second year and then I searched my textbook and for a good minute, there were blank pages in there where there should have been a chapter about Pixies--right between Phoenixes a-and--but they weren't there and just like that missing line in the library book, my textbook just swallowed up the blank pages right in front of my eyes and there is no proof of Pixies existing as magical creatures anywhere in the library and I even asked Professor Scamander and he just gave me this weird look as though I had lost my mind--and I think I am losing my mind!"

Albus could only stare at her at the end of the rapid speech. Finally, he blew out a sharp breath of air. "Wow... that much, huh?"

"I don't think I'm going insane," Rose corrected herself stubbornly. She'd had a lot of time to think this true and she kept wavering on that one point—whether she was going insane or not. "I know these things are happening right before my eyes and I know what you'll say--you'll point out that I have not been getting enough sleep and I might be imagining things."

"Rose," Albus stopped her. "I don't believe that Pixies exist either."

She sighed in exasperation, feeling as though her last chance had just been snatched away from her. She turned around and fell onto her bed. "But they do!" She mumbled into her pillow.

"I know that's what you think... and if you say that's because I have forgotten about Pixies..."

"Don't tell me I'm going crazy."

"You're not. I-I don't know what's going on, but I hardly doubt you're going crazy--you're one of the smartest people I know," Albus quickly corrected her.

She turned around to frown at her. "What are you saying--you believe me?"

Albus seemed to contemplate the question. "I'm not quite sure yet," he admitted. Fair enough... it was better than laughing in her face."How come you're the only one who's noticed?"

"I don't know." She rolled over and sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. "I swear we studied Pixies in our second year--I remember them clearly. Little blue creature with wings and beady black eyes and everything and if you think that I'm making up their picture in my mind because of a description I read somewhere, then that's not true either. All the books I have read that talk about pixies as--quote-on-quote--fantastical creatures don't have a single consistent description of them. In fact, none of them mention Pixies as having blue bodies which is their key feature. Trust me, I've done my research--Pixies... they don't exist in our world anymore. No one remembers them."

"Except for you."

She nodded.

Albus chewed on the inside of his lip for a long time before he said, "Have you told anyone else?"

She shook her head. "They'd all think I was crazy. Especially if I told Mum or Aunt Ginny--they'd think I'm being influenced by hair-brained Luna Lovegood--they think she's weird or something."

"Granted that she kind of is."

She shrugged grudgingly. "I guess a bit."

Albus smiled at her. "Oh, come on, Coz." He sat down beside her and put his arm around her. "Look, we have lots on our plate already for the wedding. Wait it out--see if it happens again and then we'll both try to figure out what to do, yes?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then smiled back. "Yes. You're right. I'll just have to wait it out, I guess."