"Right, I'm bloody sick of this," Bill suddenly announced, dropping his knife and fork onto his plate with a forceful clatter, and a high-pitched echo screamed through the room as his chair scraped along the floor before falling backwards as he stood up.
If the room had not already been abysmally silent for the best part of three days, now would have been the best opportunity for the room to drain itself of all sound, the mere action of a pin hitting the hardwood floors would have rung as loud as a thunderstorm, yet such sound had already run dry, as we all sat their, eyes wide and dreadfully silent.
"I have no idea what has happened between you lot, but I want it sorted. Now!" Willam stated sternly, running his hands through his fiery locks before dragging them down his face.
The room remained silent, no one dared speak. Ginny was averting her eyes from Harry, whilst Harry did everything in his will power to accomplish the same. Ron and Hermione eyed each other suspiciously from opposite ends of the table, although still neither said a word, and when Ron turned slightly and caught a glimpse of Harry, both boys cheeks burnt rosey and dark, concealing Ron's freckles and masking Harry's scar, except whilst Harry's blush appeared to be out of embarrassment, Ron seemed to be enraged at the sight of his best friend.
George aimlessly twiddled his thumbs and Tonks did the same, refusing the lift either of their heads from their hands. And Fred and I too did not disrupt the uncomfortable silence, both pushing the food around our plates purposely.
A complex and extended series of unfortunate events had led us there, to a point of intolerable silence and unsettling company, everyone far too intimidated by the prospect of unpacking the days prior to say a word, all of us attempting to salvage our own sanity above all.
After the conversations I'd had with Hermione and Harry, everything sort of unravelled from there, the lies began piling sky high, sudden strings of harbored secrets pouring out from all directions, not enough tape in the world to contain or piece together the spilling words, broken information scattering itself around the group, driving us all to a point of either anger, frustration or immense confusion.
I awoke the first morning of Christmas break nuzzled breathlessly between Fred and George, the room filling with the gentle winter sun's rays casting a bitter warmth across the floor boards, and the sounds of steady breath as the twins slept soundly beside me.
The glazed windows trapped in the subtle amber, illuminating an otherwise lightless room with gentle heat, and as my eyes fixated on the honey like sun spilling in through the panes, a sudden flutter of wings flapped from just below, before a gentle tap sounded on the window.
A large owl had perched itself on the window ledge, its mousey brown feathers were neat and clean as though they had been frequently groomed, although the white feathers around its large eyes only gave it a sense of unrefined innocence. The bird's eyes were captivating, vividly orange as though they had absorbed the sunset from the night before, and it held an envelope tight within its beak.
"Thank you" I whispered, reaching out the crack in the open window to retrieve the envelope, before running my fingers along the soft front of the owls stomach and waiting before it flew away.
I made my way over to the armchair in the corner of the room, neglecting the idea of climbing back between the twins, knowing my shifts would wake them.
I glanced down at the back of the envelope, the penmanship overly neat and pleasing, each letter of my name effortlessly rolling to the next in a royal blue ink that I noticed perfectly matched the royal blue wax seal as I broke open the letter.
~~~~~
Ardelle,
I am so shit at this stuff.
Essentially, I have been a terrible cousin and an even worse friend. Coming to Hogwarts can't have been easy, especially coming from the family that we do and I couldn't get my head far enough out my own ass to realise maybe you had every right to be cautious around me. Instead of accepting that maybe you needed time, I did what I do best and pretended you didn't exist for a while. Sorry about that. I am trying to do better.
Anyway, Merry Christmas and all that fuckery. You don't have to wear it, you don't even have to accept it, but I thought you should have this anyway. It belonged to Pollux Black, our great grandfather.
Your, I hope, friend
Draco x
~~~~~
Sitting in the bottom of the envelope was a sterling silver ring with the embellishment of black vines trailing around the band. It was hanging by a dainty silver chain that I imagined Draco had attached himself to make the large ring wearable somewhere other than my finger.
I secured the chain around my neck, shivering slightly as the cool metal made contact with my exposed skin, smiling down at the band as it rested just above my sternum.
Until that moment, I had spend to majority of my life taking little scraps of family, collecting them up and gluing them together to make them my own, I had never had family in its entirety and there I stood in possession of a family heirloom, a constant reminder that I was in fact less alone than I thought.
That was the only recognisable point of that day and the days that followed that were not shrouded in confusion and silence and misheard information due the lack of communication. Essentially, from there, everything plummeted into a downward spiral no one could escape.
The rest of the day was relatively calm and unproblematic, the harsher complications saving themselves for the days to come, as we spent the majority of the day lounging around the crackling fire, chatting lazily and playing board games.
Ginny refused to engage in any game or conversation, purposely nestling herself into a book she must have read three times over before the day was through. Hermione was constantly shifty, her gaze trailing between Harry and Ginny in concern, as well as occasionally locking her eyes with mine and casting a worried glare.
I desperately refrained from hinting that I was harboring any form of secret, constantly engaging myself in busy conversation with the twins and Ron, who were of course none the wiser to the current headspace of their sister.
It was only when Harry, Ron and Geogre disappeared upstairs for a brief moment to get changed before dinner that the mood shifted once again, and from then, as they descended the stairs, it was evident that Ron was ignoring Harry, not only that but was visibly angry and uncomfortable in the presences of his best friend.
We ate dinner in broken silence, the only voices filling the gaps belonging to Bill, Tonks and Fred, with the occasional comment from George. But the awkward hostility remained, the majority of which radiating off of Ron as he tore through his food, his cheeks burning fevered scarlet whenever he caught sight of Harry.
Going to bed was no issue, everyone retreating to their designated rooms, Ron opting to sleep on the couch and neglecting any of the questions fired at him when he was asked why, and Hemrione and I moving to Percy's vacant room in an attempt to give Ginny some space.
The next morning, it was evident that more of the group had been dragged into the pained antagonism that was becoming Chritsmas 1996, as we watched George and Tonks descend the stairs in complete silence, both red faced and sheepish, an unnerving sense of humiliation radiating off both of them that rendered each of them mute.
Fred and I, considering we seemed to be the only remaining people that could stand each others company, left and spent the day by the lake at the edge of the field, sitting in the snow and talking dazily about Christmas and expressing atrocious conspiracies regarding the group and the sudden consuming hositly.
By the time Fred and I had returned into the inviting warmth of the burrow in time for dinner, everyone had now officially been submerged into what was soon becoming our new normal, as noticeably Hermione was now officially shunning Ron and I for a reason I was struggling to detect, neglecting to meet our gaze or answer any of his questions.
Our group, for the first time in months, had been forced into silence.
Before bed that night I approached Ron, questioning him on Hermione's shifty behaviour, and curious as to whether Ron had been left just as much in the dark as I had, which was likely the case. If I had no idea, it was probable that neither did Ron.
"I have no idea Ari. She was fine one second, disappeared upstairs for just a moment, and came back absolutely raging, refused to even look at me" Ron had huffed, crossing arms over his broad chest and watching Hermione ascend the stairs back to Percy's room.
I had decided to join Ron on the couch that evening, thinking I was being kind and giving Hermione the space she was wordlessly expressing she was in dire need of, but my choice to sleep alone with Ron only angered her more as walked heavily up the stairs.
From there, the following day was the worst of them all, from the moment the harsh winter sun awoke from its slumber, to the moment it dipped once again behind the steep horizon, we all remained in painfully tiresome silence.
No one spoke, everyone either staring aimlessly into space, twiddling purposely with their thumbs or burrowed into books we all collectively acknowledged no one was actually reading but rather desperate for a distraction.
The first word spoken all day was William calling us to the dinner table before we submerged back into wordless conversation, consisting of backhanded looks and bitter glares.
And that had brought us to dinner that evening, seated in agonising tranquility, the opposition of solace, as Bill finally grew tired and disrupted the silence, waiting for a response as he questioned our behaviour from the past few days.
"Harry's cheating on Ginny" Ron blurted out suddenly, the first to break the silence, as he sent Harry a murderous look, before glancing at his sister.
"WHAT?!" Both Harry and Ginny announced simultaneously, Ginny's look was just as lethal as Ron's, whilst pure confusion washed its way over Harry's features.
"I heard him tell George two nights ago" Ron explained, his tone growing louder and his breathing uncontrolled, the fury laced in his words enough to have turned his iris's a violent shade of red.
The whole group immediately turned to George who sat dumbfounded and perplexed at Ron's statement, the anger rising throughout every Weasley as we all sat waiting for George to respond.
"That never happened" George interjected, his brow furrowed as he searched his little brother for answers.
"It wouldn't be the first time he's lied" Hermione muttered bitterly under her breath, seemingly unable to contain the truth as it began spilling out.
"What was that?" Ron spat back, crossing his arms over his chest with a stern look.
"You heard me loud and clear Ronald. Don't act like something isn't going on between you and Ari" Hermione confirmed in a shout, throwing her arms in the direction of myself and a suddenly very shy redhead who sunk back into his chair.
"What?!" Fred exclaimed, shooting daggers from the depths of his golden eyes over to Ron and then over to me.
"Why do you care Fred?" Tonks asked innocently, immediately regretting her decision to intertwine herself in the mess that continued to unravel endlessly before us.
"Yeah? Why do you care Fred?" George teased, stifling a laugh as he glared at his brother knowingly.
"Shut up George, or maybe we should let the entire group know that you saw Tonks naked yesterday?" Fred shouted, a mixture of angry and hurt laced in his tone.
Tonks and Geogre both quieted down immediately, the blush on their cheeks uncontrollable as they simultaneously sunk into their chairs, as low as their body permitted, George burrowing his head in his hands.
"You saw what?" William asked in pained astonishment, looking between Tonks and George who both desperately averted their gazes from the rest of the group.
"Forget that bullshit, why the hell do you think there's something going on between Ron and I?" I asked Hermione, attempting to capture her gaze, my tone breaking slightly at the thought of Hermione genuinely believing I would do that to her. Did she really think I was capable of that?
"Seriously Ardelle we know nothing is going on between you and Ron, it's evident you've been shagging Fred for god only knows how long" William quipped in half amusement, half aggravation.
"What the hell William?!" I shouted, throwing my arms up and letting them fall to my sides as I stood up, my chair clattering as it fell behind me. "So what, are we going to pretend like Geroge and Tonk's little escapate isn't grinding your gears?"
Williams cheeks burnt scarlet and his jaw was slack and Tonk's hair flashed pink before settling down to its usual shade of brown.
"Can someone please tell me why the hell Ron thinks I'm cheating?" Harry butted back in, unfazed by the sudden declarations spouting for each end of the table, his tone wavering as he ruffled his shaggy locks.
"I HEARD YOU" Ron shouted, now joining myself and William in a standing position, pointing his finger accusingly at his best friend.
"NO YOU DIDN'T" Harry screamed back, his cheeks growing warm as he seethed with anger.
"Yes. I. Did!" Ron spat, "You and George were talking. You said how scared you were to admit your feelings and that you know it's wrong but you can't stop thinking about them"
"I'M NOT CHEATING ON GIN YOU MORON!" Harry yelled, his face red raw with burning fury.
"Then what the hell were you talking about?" Ron screamed.
"I WAS TALKING ABOUT DRACO" Harry bellowed in a breathless pant, the words spilling out by no fault of his own, the adrenaline fueled rage forcing the truth out of him unannounced.
"YOU WHAT?" Ron seethed as he ran his hands through his hair.
"Ron stop-" Ginny attempted to interject, but was immediately silenced by her brother.
"No Gin, this needs be sorted"
"Ron it's fine" She pleaded, trying to reason with him.
"Nothing about any of this" Ron motioned around the room, "Is fine, what makes you think this is okay, its-"
"I'm gay" Ginny whispered in embarrassment.
And the room was rendered to silence once again.
No one was entirely sure where to go from there. Those of us standing awkwardly sat ourselves back down, the tone of the room growing increasingly intolerable, the tension heavy as it lingered in the unusual thickness of the crisp winter air.
"Right," William announced after a few moments, "These past few days have been the product of secrets and miscommunication and God only knows what else, and screaming at eachother like this isn't going to solve anything. We need to air everything and then deal with it. Hermione start"
"I found a couple notes in one of Ron's books, in Ardelle's handwriting, asking Ron to meet her at the library at different times past curfew, that's why I thought something was going on" She bowed her down as though she was a naughty child having been caught doing something she was not supposed too.
"Ron, without shouting" William asked.
"Ardelle has been tutoring me, McGonagall told me if I don't pass these new year exams I am at risk of having to retake 5th year. I didn't tell you 'Mione because I was embarrassed, you are so smart and collected and I thought you would be disappointed I was failing " Ron admitted shyly, surprisingly calm in contrast to his outburst just moments prior.
"Harry?" Bill motioned over to Harry.
"I have known about Ginny for months, part of me didn't quite want to let go, but when I found out George knew, I voiced to him that I was having particular feelings towards Draco" Harry admitted shyly, unable to tear his gaze from his hands, and although I dare not voice it, a small beam of pride resonated within me at Harry's confession.
"Ardelle?"
"Fred and I kissed at the beginning of October, I was scared to say anything because I was worried Ron would be mad or think I was choosing Fred over our friendship. And 'Mione, don't think for a second that anything is going on between Ron and I, I would never do that to you, you are my best friend, genuinely. I've never had one before, but by the looks of things I need to work on communication" I admitted with an innocent smile, relaxing my posture as Hermione reflexed my expression.
"George?"
"I ACCIDENTALLY saw Tonks in the shower, it was an accident I swear, it just made things terribly uncomfortable considering how painfully obvious your feelings are towards her" George confessed before motioning to William. "Probably best you take over mate"
William signed knowingly before turning to Tonks, "Go on a date with me, if its too weird we can go back to being friends, but I can't deny there is something here and-"
"Yes" Tonks replied with a content smile, her cheeks glowing pink as a smitten look graced her features, as though she had waited her entire life to hear those very words.
"Ginny?" William finally asked, the entire group flicking our gazes over to Gin who sat red faced at the end of the table, her knees subconsciously having been brought up to her chest as she hugged them innocently.
"I'm sorry, I should have said something sooner, I was just so scared. I didn't want to hurt you", Ginny admitted turning to Harry, "I loved you, please don't think I didn't but-"
"Ginny I am so proud of you, I think I speak for everyone when I say that, I wish you would have told me sooner, not for my sake, but so you didn't have to hide for so long. I am glad you have come to terms with who you are and if we were meant to work out we would have. You haven't hurt me Gin" Harry ensured, reaching across the table and clasping her hands in his own.
Tears were streaming down the cheeks of both parties, Ginny wiping her face on her raised knees whilst Harry neglected to care, allowing the emotions to free fall, and I watched as his gaze captured mine for a moment, and I knew that whilst he was hurt, he was exactly where he need to be.
"Sorry I didn't tell you guys about Draco" Harry admitted shyly under his breath, pulling away from Ginny and hugging himself across the chest.
"Honestly mate it's a little weird, not cause he's a guy, just because it's Draco you know? But we love you and we can get on board with anything if it means enough to you" Ron admitted, smiling at Harry for the first time in three days, hesitating for a moment before standing from his seat and lifting Harry out of his and enveloping him in a silent embrace.
"For the record Ron, I would never think less of you for needing help in school" Hermione chuckled before joining the boys in a hug.
I quickly joined them, burrowing myself between Harry and Hermione, and soon enough everyone was immersed in a large group hug, each and every one of us basking in the embrace of one another, immediately regretting the distance we had placed between ourselves and never wanting to break the affinity of that moment.
"So let me just make sure I am following" Tonks announced, her voiced ever so slightly muffled as she lent into Bill's chest, "Ginny is gay, her and Harry are broken up, Harry likes Draco, George is still dating Oliver, Ardelle and Fred are whatever Ardelle and Fred are, same goes for Ron and Hermione, Ardelle is tutoring Ron so he doesn't flunk school and everyone is okay with everyone now?"
"Pretty much" Fred chuckled deeply.
"Yeah, I have definitely underestimated what I am getting myself in for" Tonks laughed as she glanced up at William.
"You most certainly have. Welcome to the family"