BIRD SET FREE 𖤐 DEAN THOMAS

- PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

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BETH HELPED HER mother in the kitchen, they were making dinner. "You can wait at the table, dear. I'll take over from here." Her mother said. She nodded at her mother and made her way to the table, finding her brother sitting with his head buried in a book, and sat across from him.

"Why don't you ever read the books that I give you?" She said in a bit of a complaining tone, resting her chin on one of her hands. He just sighed and continued his reading to the next page. "What are you reading, anyway?" She moved her head to see the cover of the book. "'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. I thought you wanted to be an Auror?" She asked.

"Shut up, will you?" He laughed. "Put your book down, we're going to have dinner." She laughed along, trying to snatch his book away, but he was too quick. "I'll put it down when the food is ready." He said. She was about to reply to him, but her mother beat her to it. "Elizabeth, would you please be a dear and call your father downstairs? Dinner is ready!" She called out from the kitchen.

She replied back to her and stood up. "For the record, I am not the one who reads myself 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump' every night." Her brother said to her. "I don't read it every night." She objected, and he gave her a look. "Oh, shut up." She said at once and made her way up the stairs.

She was half way there into her father's study, she decided to cut the chase and called her father from the bottom of the staircase. "Dad! Mum said dinner is ready!" She yelled. After a few seconds she heard her father yell back. "Be right down, dear!"

Beth walked back to the kitchen and told her mother that her father was on his way downstairs before she walked back to her seat across her brother.

Her mother soon served the meal on the table after her father placed his newspaper down and sat on his usual place. "Oh, did you hear? Fleur is coming to the country." Her mother cheered. "Really?" Beth and her brother said simultaneously as they immediately sat up, their mother nodded in response.

The Delacour family weren't strangers to the Hallowell's. Beth first met Fleur when she was eight and Michael was eleven. They weren't the best of friends but the three of them left good impressions on each other.

"Is she coming to visit us?" Asked Beth eagerly, her brother also seemed to be interested. "Unfortunately, no. Fleur is coming here on school grounds." Her mother answered. "Oh, yes. I hear she and a group from her school is coming to Hogwarts this year." Her father piped. Beth and Michael were now highly confused.

"Beauxbatons, what for?" Her brother said as he had this very confused look plastered on his face. Their parents shook their heads as they didn't know the answer.

"Elizabeth, have you packed your things for tomorrow?" Her mother changed the subject after quite sometime. Beth nodded, her mouth full of food. "Your ticket?" Her mother asked again to be sure, she wasn't completely on board for Beth to go to a Quidditch match but knowing she'll be in good hands calmed her slightly. Beth nodded once again. "All right, that means tomorrow you'll be apparating with your dad to Cedric's house." Her mother informed.

Beth realised what her mom said. "Are you not coming, Michael?" She asked her brother after swallowing the remaining food in her mouth. Michael smiled and shook his head. "Honestly, Beth, between being a prefect and preparing for N.E.W.T.'s, I haven't got time for anything." He answered, much to Beth's displease. Though she quickly put that aside and turned to her mother.

She discreetly frowned at the mention of 'prefect', it seemed both her brother and sister happened to be prefects but not her, she felt like she was out of the loop. She wouldn't blame them, though. Both of them performed brilliantly at school, especially her sister. More than anyone else, she looked up at her sister, Margaret, anyone close to her calls her Maisie. Being older than Beth and Michael, she's now working at the Ministry of Magic like their dad.

Beth felt like she was the only one who's not particularly interested in working at the Ministry of Magic, like her siblings. The only one being a seer, which she wanted nothing to do with. The only one in a different house than the others. Sometimes she regretted her choice being in Hufflepuff, other times she regretted nothing at all.

"I don't understand, why do I need to go to Cedric's first? Won't I be staying with the Weasley's, anyway?" Beth questioned. "Because it's closer, dear. And Arthur's probably enough children to handle already." Her mother softly replied.

After they were all finished with their meals, Beth helped her mother clean the dishes and went straight to her room as she has to wake up very early tomorrow.

"See you at school, Michael." Said Beth, passing him by, seeing as they actually won't be seeing each other until school starts. "See you at school, Beth." He repeated. "Oh, and... Say hi to Oscar and Mary for me, will you?" He added. "Can't promise to mention your name." She laughed and quickly ran to her room. She was expecting for Michael to at least yell something her way, since they were always teasing each other, but he didn't.

Instead, Michael closed the door. When she didn't hear anything from him, a frown crept onto her lips. She couldn't help but think if Michael had grown tired of it already, if he cared less now about the little things and more about maturity, if he had so quickly become just like his sister, if she was left alone yet again.