Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places you recognize from any of J.K. Rowling's books, and I do not plan to steal the rights to said characters or places from said author by flying across the Atlantic Ocean and sneaking into said author's house. Then again, the rights to said characters and places are probably not in said author's said house, so it would absolutely pointless to fly across said ocean to sneak into said author's said house to steal said rights... Is the word 'said' starting to sound funny to you?

A/N: A crazy evil mutant monkey man stole AuthoressMegz's computer and decided to type chapter two of 'Adjustments'. He also really likes the word 'said'. Said evil mutant monkey man is now laughing his head off at the stupidity of his own disclaimer.

(AuthoressMegz storms into computer room, glaring at evil mutant monkey man. She wrestles the computer away from him, starts to delete the disclaimer, but then reads said disclaimer, and starts laughing. She decides to leave said disclaimer because the evil mutant monkey man is crying and begging her not to delete it. She smiles and pats evil mutant monkey man on the head, promising him a banana if he's a good boy and never touches her lap top computer again. He promises and goes to watch the Discovery Channel – a program about monkeys of course – eating said promised banana.)

Real A/N: Okay, that was really random… (glances toward evil mutant monkey man to make sure he's still watching TV like a good boy) Anyway! Thanks to my reviewers from last chapter (few though that may be)! Special thanks to ProperT and NairobiDawn for sticking through most of 'Family Ties' with me, and reviewing last chapter! You two are amazing! (AuthoressMegz glances once more at evil mutant monkey man to make sure he's still being a good evil mutant monkey man (if that's possible). evil mutant monkey man is sucking his thumb, fast asleep.) Awww. What a cute evil mutant monkey man!

Okay, on with chapter two!

Chapter Two: Arguments and Apologies

Aria's POV

By the time Sean and I get back to the house – just around supper time, we're starting to feel a little guilty about not telling anyone where we went. We're also starting to feel guilty about not inviting Jake to go along. But when we walk through the back door, our guilt multiplies by ten – at least mine does.

"Where were you?" he – meaning my (or rather, our) father – bursts out angrily, coming toward us and pulling the door shut as we stand there. I glance at Sean, and he gives me a slightly frightened look. Not exactly comforting.

"We just went swimming," Sean mumbles, looking down. I look away lest our father wants any further explanation from me.

"You went swimming," he repeats slowly, disbelievingly. I chance a quick look up at him. He looks like he wants to strangle us.

"Yes," Sean says, looking up.

"And you didn't think to tell anyone where you were going? Do you have any idea how worried we've been? You've been gone for nearly six hours! We thought something awful happened to you! What were you thinking?" he shouts, his face growing red with anger. I take a small step backwards.

"You weren't thinking were you?" he continues without waiting for an answer. "You just thought you and Aria would waltz out of here and spend six hours at some damn swimming hole in the woods where no one in their right mind would think to look for you. And you didn't tell anyone! How irresponsible can you get, Sean?"

"Hey," I say defensively, not liking that Sean's shouldering all the blame here. I went too! They both look at me, Sean motioning wildly behind his – our – father's back for me to shut up. "It wasn't just him you know. I went too." I regret what I've said instantly.

"Oh, good," he spits furiously. "Then both of you can go to your rooms and stay there for the rest of the night!"

"What about supper?" Sean asks, looking terrified at the thought of missing a meal.

"Go!" he shouts, pointing toward the stairs. I don't need a second reminder. I get out of there as fast as possible. I make it up the two flights of stairs in record time and close my bedroom door behind me as soon as I get through the doorway. A few seconds later I hear Sean's door close loudly.

I flop down on the bed and blink hard, willing myself not to cry. So he yelled at me, big deal. It's not like Mum never yelled. I've been yelled at before. But not by my father. I feel as if a heavy weight is resting on my chest and tears press hard against the back of my eyes.

"Quit being such a baby," I snarl aloud. "He hardly even talked to you, and you're sitting here crying like a little kid." I take a deep breath and sit up. Something's different in here. I look around, trying to figure out why the room feels so different. I glance toward the window and feel a pang of guilt.

The old faded floral drapes are gone. In their place are long gauzy light yellow curtains and a pull-down shade. He got me new curtains. And I wasn't even here to thank him. I glanced down at the bed to make sure he didn't get me new bedding as well, and I feel slightly more relieved to see that the ugly flowered bedspread is still there.

Sean's POV

This isn't fair. I take Aria out for some fresh air – which she obviously needed – and I get sent to my room! Okay, so we probably shouldn't have stayed out as long as we did, but I shouldn't be punished! Am I not supposed to be bonding with my "sister"? Mum told me to try to make her feel like she belongs here! So I try doing that and I get punished? What kind of justice is this?

I glance at the wall that separates Jake's room and mine. Dad doesn't know it, but we conned Uncle Harry into putting a secret door in the wall so we could get to each other's rooms easily when we were younger. We still use it, but we don't feel so sneaky anymore. Now we just use it out of laziness.

I know Jake's mad at me for ratting him out to Aria, but she deserves to know. How would he like it if I knew who his father was for months and I never told him? He'd hate me! Besides, he could have at least told me. I'm his best friend after all!

"Where were you?" His cold voice makes me jump. I look over to see him standing in the doorway between our rooms. He's glaring at me.

"None of your business," I snarl at him. He shrugs.

"Fine. Excuse me for caring." With that he turns around and the door disappears into the wall again.

"Damn it!" I shout, knowing if Mum hears me she'll be up here in a flash, scolding me, but I don't really care. Today is not my day. I try being nice to Aria and the rest of the family turns on me. Some family. I punch my pillow angrily, but the impact isn't hard enough to relieve anger.

There's a timid knock on my door and I jump up to answer it. Aria's standing there uncertainly. I stand aside so she can come in and she does. She looks around my room curiously.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. Is she kidding me? She's sorry?

"For what?" I say with a laugh. Her eyes snap up to me defensively. She thinks I'm laughing at her. Oops.

"For getting you in trouble," she says matter-of-factly.

"You didn't get me in trouble," I laugh. "I would have gone to the swimming hole alone if you hadn't wanted to come, so I would have gotten in trouble anyway. So really I got you in trouble," I tell her. She stares at me.

"I don't want to argue about this," she sighs, sinking down onto my bed. She puts her chin in her cupped hands and sighs again.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sitting down beside her. She glances at me.

"This is weird," she says.

"What's weird?"

"This," she says, waving her hand around. "Everything. Me, being here. It's weird. Don't you think so?" she asks me, turning to look at me. It strikes me how much she looks like Dad. How come I've never noticed that before?

"Maybe a little," I answer. "But you were going to spend the summer with us anyway, weren't you?"

"But not as your sister!" she exclaims. "Not as a permanent part of this family!" I feel bad when tears spring to her eyes.

"It must be hard," I say quietly. "To go from living with one family to a different one without any warning at all."

"You have no idea," she sniffs, wiping her eyes.

"Jake would," I murmur, more to myself than to her. I'm starting to feel bad about being mean to him.

"Not really," she answers. "You said he's lived with you since he was just a little kid."

"Yeah, but can you imagine how much harder it would be to have to live with another family knowing your mum was still out there and she didn't want you? And what about his dad? His dad abandoned him," I tell her. It suddenly hits me how strange it is that when we met, Aria, Jake, and I all had that in common – none of us knew who our real fathers were.

Of course, Mum's told me about my real dad – not that I think of him as my real dad, because I've never met him. She says he was a really great guy (but not as great as Dad) and that he died fighting in the war against Lord Volde-whatsit. She says I don't really look like him though.

"I guess it is harder for him," Aria says quietly, bringing me back to earth.

"What would you know?" For the second time today, I jump and look around to see Jake standing in the doorway between our bedrooms. Aria turns around and looks at him, surprised. He's glaring at the two of us.

"So now you're having secret meetings about me?" he sneers. I find myself frowning at him.

"So now you've taken to eavesdropping?" I retort angrily. He clenches his teeth and glares at me.

"Stop it!" Aria cries. "You're both being idiots! Just stop!" We both look at her in surprise. She's looking back and forth between us angrily.

"If you're going to act like this, I'm not sure I want to stay here for the rest of the summer," she snarls, getting up and storming out of my room. We watch her go in shock. Great. Now we're right back where we started.

Keira's POV

If lunch was quiet, supper is absolutely silent. Jake, Aria, and Sean have all decided to skip the evening meal I guess. This is probably the strangest thing I've ever witnessed. I have never known Jake or Sean to skip a meal. Granted, Sean isn't allowed to come down for supper, but Jake? Jake's stomach is a bottomless pit! I would know, because I've had to feed it for the last ten years!

"Mummy, where are the boys?" Abby asks as we sit down to eat. I look at her, unable to miss the resemblance to Aria. Anyone with eyes could see they look exactly alike.

"They aren't hungry," I tell her. Abby looks shocked. I have to smile at her expression. Even at the age of four (almost five), she knows how strange it is for those two to miss a meal.

"Henry, don't be like this," Ron begs our son beside me. Henry is refusing to eat, obviously not happy with eating without his brother and Jake. He only ate at noon because Jake fed him.

"C'mon, Henry," I croon as he kicks the plastic seat of his high chair angrily. "Please eat, sweetheart." He clamps his mouth shut and turns away with his nose in the air. Ron sighs and gives up, going back to his own supper.

"How's Aria?" I ask tentatively, knowing I'm bringing up a sore subject. Ron's still upset with me for losing my temper with her this morning.

"She's …" he trails off thoughtfully. "She's been off with Sean, so at least she isn't isolating herself completely. And I think I heard her yelling at Jake right before I came downstairs, so she hasn't completely lost the ability to speak." I smile slightly.

"What were they arguing about?" I ask curiously.

"I don't know. All I heard was yelling," he replied with an unconcerned shrug.

"It's nice that she's getting along with Sean," I say pensively. Ron looks at me and shakes his head.

"It would be nicer if they told me where they were going before disappearing," he says angrily.

"Ron, really. They were having fun. So they shouldn't have stayed out so long, and yes, they should have told someone where they were going, but no harm, no foul, right?" I say. Ron sighs.

"I guess," he mutters, jabbing at his food irritably. "I suppose I shouldn't have yelled at them," he adds quietly.

"They'll get over it," I assure him. He looks up at me with a slightly disbelieving look on his face.

"Sean will. What about Aria, though? I mean, it's only been a couple of weeks since…" he doesn't finish. He swallows hard and looks back down at his plate. I feel my stomach clench uncomfortably at the constant reminder that he was still completely in love with Hermione when she died.

"She'll be alright too," I say confidently. He snaps his head up and glares at me. Obviously the wrong thing to say.

"How would you know?" he snarls. "Your mum's never died! You don't know if she'll be okay! How do you know that she's not sitting up in her room, hating me right now because I overreacted and yelled at her?"

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off. "How do you know she isn't crying because she wishes her mum was still alive because she probably didn't yell at her for going swimming?! How do you know she isn't lying in bed, thinking about how much she hates it here?"

"Well, Ron," I say slowly, glancing over his shoulder. "I know because she's standing right there."

Ron's POV

I turn very slowly to see Aria standing behind me, giving me a strange look of fear, awe, and wariness all rolled into one.

"Hello, Aria," I sigh, feeling the back of my neck burn. She offers me a crooked half-smile, like she's not sure if I'll attack or not.

"I know I'm supposed to be in my room," she says softly, "but I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" I ask, surprised. For what?

"For not telling you where I was going," she murmurs, looking down at her feet. "I shouldn't have just left." She pauses, looks up at me, then glances at Keira. "You were right by the way," she says.

Right about what exactly?

"Mum wouldn't have yelled at me for leaving without telling her where I was going." Oh great, here comes the guilt. "She would have screamed at me until her voice was gone, and then she would have grounded me for a month."

I smile slightly. I know she's exaggerating just a little, but it's nice to know I'm not a terrible parent or anything.

"Are you hungry?" I ask her. She bites her lip and glances at Keira again. I look over to see my wife eating as if Aria isn't even there, ignoring her completely.

"Yes," she says quietly. I motion for her to sit down beside me and she does so slightly hesitantly. I summon a plate from the cupboard and set in front of her. She dishes up eagerly, and I can tell she's hungrier than she thinks she is. She has eaten since yesterday after all.

"Keira?" she says after a long moment of silence. Keira looks up at her expectantly. "I'm sorry for this morning," she says.

"It's alright, dear," Keira says, her face softening. Aria might not know it, but Keira actually likes having her here. Keira loves Aria like her own daughter, but I doubt Aria can tell.

The meal is pretty much eaten in silence, broken only by Abby's occasional chattering. Aria never speaks unless spoken to, and she keeps her eyes on her plate. I think Keira and I make her nervous. I hate that she feels that way.

"So," I say, trying to get a conversation going. I'm reminded of the chess game we played last Christmas. Aria wasn't very talkative then either. "What do you want to do tomorrow?" I ask her. She looks up at me, surprised.

"I don't know."

"We could go shopping," Keira suggests. "Or we could see if Harry and Ginny are doing anything and get together with them."

Aria shrugs. I can tell she isn't comfortable enough to ask to do anything. She feels like a guest here.

"We could go see a Quidditch game," I suggest, and Aria's eyes light up. Hit the nail on the head there.

"Or we could do that," Keira says, put out that Aria doesn't want to do something more girly like shopping.

"I think the Harpies are playing tomorrow aren't they?" I ask Keira, which is stupid, because she doesn't care about Quidditch. She shrugs.

"Yeah," I say to myself. "I think they're playing Ireland."

"That should be a close game," Keira comments. "They're both pretty good teams."

"Ireland's better," Aria pipes up. I smile at her. At least she didn't inherit Hermione's disinterest in Quidditch.

"Who's your favorite team?" I ask as Keira stands to clear the plates away. Aria bites her lip, thinking.

"I don't really know," she says slowly. "I've never actually seen any of them play."

"We'll have to go to a lot of games this summer," I say, and she grins – actually grins. I haven't seen her grin like that in awhile.

"I'd like that," she says softly.

A/N: It wasn't the best. I'm trying to get into the plot, but I have to set up everything first, so there might be some plot development next chapter. Or they might just go to a Quidditch game. :)