August 24th 1995
Song: Liability by Lorde
Summer child by Conan Gray
Mr lover man by Rick Montgomery
A different age by Current Joys
Song: everything I wanted by Billie Eilish
Circus by Britney Spears
This is why we can't have nice things by Taylor Swift
📍Clearwater Manor
OOTD:
Sometimes Astrid forgot Cedric was dead.
It seemed forced.
Like her mind would convince her even though she knew it deep down, course it happened often the first few weeks. Gradually she started to be so sure of it like it had been printed onto her heart the moment he stopped breathing. Still, now and than she would catch herself rushing to her writing desk with a parchment in hand, looking through her drawers for a fresh quill and ink. Some nights she wouldn't even write when she'd remember and on unfortunate events she would write her heart out; onto stacks of parchment, only to be reminded he was gone by the look her owl would give her when she urgently said his name.
She didn't know how, but even her pets knew he was dead.
It's like the world knew, every twig, every plant, even the wind carried the knowledge in every breeze, passing it from home to playgrounds back to homes
She would go on to rip apart the parchments, knowing her concerns wouldn't be answered or comforted.
He was no longer around to ease her pain
Astrid always wondered what happened to a wizards wand after they died. Would it snap in half? Give one last gust of magic before becoming dead wood? Or would it remain the same, and if it did remain the same would it work in the hands of another or did it just keep all its magic in it?
Amos kept Cedric's wand, so she never asked.
It felt weird, family events but without family.
It was the late afternoon of her sixteenth birthday, none of her friends, besides Hermione, stayed the night, insisting they were too busy with other things. She didn't want to celebrate her birthday, she used to like it when she was younger, when her mother would dress her up as a princess and dress up in a fancier dress herself. But she was older now, at the age where she hated herself and the attention.
Astrid had many fears in life, something she often talked about in her therapy sessions; from killing someone to snakes and being a traitor to her own friends to being watched and torn apart in-front of the whole world. Somethings that had happened before. She thought she was beginning to develop a fear of her own birthday. She was really just afraid of moving on.
Sixteen meant she was soon going to outlive Cedric, meant she was going to see the world as Elio did at sixteen when he left, sixteen was the age her aunt almost got murdered and she was sure something bad would happen soon too.
Astrid stepped into her home, every crevice and corner familiar to her. She enjoyed the peace and quiet their front lawn and backyard provided, with the plants and flowers. Often she would spend two hours watering the plants while she listened to music on her muggle iPod. Songs Sirius had recommended to her, she'd smile and agree whenever he claimed Bowie wrote songs about him;
'He must have had a dream about me' he'd nag her as she played the songs he liked 'The Prettiest Star, who else would be his muse if not me and of course Lady Stardust is also me, Remus said so"
Astrid would just nod, paying him little attention as he did this with all songs really, wether it was Queen, David Bowie or ABBA. Astrid never said anything out loud, but when she looked at Sirius, she could agree that he of all people would be one's muse.
"Go on and get ready" Lucille smiled excitedly at her daughter, stepping into the hallway leading to the front door with a piping bag in her hand
Astrid looked her mother up and down, overalls splattered with dried paint from years ago loosely hanging on her body and a T-shirt that belonged to her older sister under. Her hair was short again, messily out of her face with a headband.
"No thanks mum" Astrid climbed the stairs "not in the mood"
"Honey" there were footsteps as her mother rushed to put the piping bag on the kitchen counter, running over as she wiped her hands down her legs. Catching Astrid at the top of the stairs "I've already planned a small dinner"
Astrid turned to her, beyond frustrated "mum"
"And Eli sent a dress" Lucille pouted "she expects photos you know"
Astrid turned away, letting out a sound of disapproval that confirmed she would do as her mother asked, putting the earbud back into her ear.
Sometimes she wished her birthday wasn't just deemed as a 'break everyone could use'
Nonetheless she put on a smile and got ready, her bedroom overflowing with gifts sent from friends, family and admirers all over the world. So, she wore the dress her aunt had made her, smelt the flowers on her bedside table from her friends, sprayed the bergamot perfume Krum sent her and re tied the heels Pansy had designed and gotten made for her. She laughed at the note Theo's gift held, a pair of earrings for the next piercings they'd get together and smiled warmly at the set of candles Blaise sent that smelt of blueberry pancakes, a memory from their childhood.
...
"Where is the birthday girl?" Anthony's voice drifted to the stairs where Astrid slowly descended
She smiled at how warm and familiar it was, how every-time she saw him she'd feel nostalgic.
"Getting dressed" Lorenzo's bored tone answered
She cleared her throat, walking in with a smirk on her face and her hands crossed behind her back "well I hope you didn't come empty handed"
"You absolute git, is that how you greet a man after his long travels?" He grinned at her, throwing an arm around her to pull her into a rib crushing hug
"You decided to travel, not my fault"
"Hello!" Arthur's voice came from the front door
"My boys" Astrid squealed, clapping her hands at the group of people that had walked into the living room, shaking their coats off and smiling brightly with gifts in hand "ohh my sweet boys" Astrid ran over to Ron first, bombarding him in a tight hug as they rocked back and forth, almost knocking the small blue bag out of his hands
"Oh my sweet Harry" she reached an arm out to hang around Harry's neck, breaking the hug off with Ron to hug Harry properly, squeezing him tightly
"It feels like I just saw you yesterday" Harry sighed dramatically "gosh, things haven't changed one bit"
"Idiot" Astrid pinched his cheeks
"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, looking around after hugging her parents hello
"Ah" Jean smiled brightly "there she comes"
Astrid watched Ron tip toe over to where Hermione was stood alone, fixing the bow on the wrapped gift she held in her hands, in a trance. Ron's finger rose to his lips when he caught Astrid's sight, shaking his head at her. All it took was Astrid closing her eyes tight for a second and re opening them for him to continue on, hands raised as he tried biting back his grin. Astrid very slowly nudged Harry who was sat next to her, playing with Forest who had snuggled into his lap. She kept her eyes on Ron when Harry looked to her, sporting a grin when he looked up to see what she was so focused on.
Ron took advantage of his tall height, pouncing on Hermione from behind "argh" pretending to be some kind of monster
Astrid and Harry broke into fits of laughter at Hermione's face, the girl letting out a funny sounding "ahh", the gift now on the ground as she squatted, burying her head into her hands "not funny Ronald!" She hissed
"Oh come on" Ron pushed her hands away and pulled her to her feet "it was a little funny" still holding both her hands in his as he looked down at her, amused by her
Astrid swore Hermione's face went red as she rolled her eyes "yeah, well, whatever"
"I thought it was hilarious" Harry voiced
Astrid began to frown as the two broke away, noticing that people had been watching, Hermione picking her gift up and placing at least ten feet of distance between her and Ron
"You ruined it" Astrid looked to Harry "they were having a moment"
She wondered often if Ron and Hermione had moments like this when they were alone, the weeks where Hermione would be at the Burrow before Astrid and Harry arrived. The times Harry and she would find them sat together at tables or in the common room.
"Sorry" Harry held his hands up, everyone moving to the couches for gift giving as Lucille quickly tried finishing Astrid's birthday cake
"Wait!" Lucille called, "Jasper and I have a gift we want to give"
"We do!" Jasper jumped over the couch, standing by his wife, a hand wrapped around her waist as they smiled at the group of people who were stood waiting
"Well" Lorenzo impatiently rocked back and forth "what is it"
"Close your eyes" Lucille clapped her hands excitedly "both of you"
Astrid looked back, Hermione shrugging
"Okay" Astrid whispered, closing her eyes
"One" Jasper counted
"Two" Lucille went on
"No fucking way" Anthony gasped "oh kiddos, you're going to love this"
"Hurry" Astrid began to smile, biting her lip
She wondered what it could be, a car? No what would she need that for, a new broom? But she liked hers very much, a dog! Possibly
"Three" Jasper chanted "open your eyes"
Astrids eyes shot open, her smile only widening at the sight of her aunt and uncle, smiling at them all with flowers and a gift bag in hand.
"Ahhh" she screamed, clapping her hands as she walked over, hugging her aunt "oh gosh" she wiped her tear's looking down at Lorenzo who was also tightly hugging their aunt
"Happy, happy birthday!" Amos came singing with open arms, leaving Eliana to greet Anthony
Astrid messed Lorenzo's hair as all three hugged "thank you so-so much for being here" Her voice intensified as she began to cry again "Thank you"
"You didn't think I was just going to send a dress and call it a day?" Eliana pulled Astrid into her embrace again, wiping her tears and kissing her cheek
Astrid tightly squeezed her before breaking off the hug, her heels clicking onto the wooden floors as she walked over to the middle of the hallway to wait for Cedric.
Some birthdays they'd sleepover and others Eliana and Amos would arrive first, greeting Astrid. Than Cedric would come tiptoeing and scare her terribly from jumping out of hidden places. Today she was ready, today she would impress him by catching on.
She clapped her hands in a beat lightly as she lifted her weight from one foot to another, waiting for him to appear.
"Strid" Ron whispered, grabbing Astrid's shoulders and leading her back "it's okay, we'll talk later okay"
"Everything okay?" Molly questioned looking at the two kids
"Yes" Ron smiled "just looking for Forest, he sometimes walks out the house when the door opens"
"Oh he's right here" Harry lifted him in the air
They caught up to Amos and Eliana, "Gosh" Astrid lightly laughed, patting the mascara on her cheeks "I really need to stop crying so much"
"Oh my sweetie" Eliana patted her cheek "come sit"
"Okay" Jasper smiled, an arm around Amos' shoulder as they walked to the family room to sit "now let's open gifts"
Astrid smiled at everyone, sat in between her parents, both boys sat by her feet with their legs out and ankles crossed, both Crookshanks and Forest snuggled by them.
"Hello!" Edmus' came into the house, sitting with Hermione and Ginny by the fireplace "sorry I'm late" he rubbed his hands "I was on night shift that got extended to morning and than evening so"
"Hey, you're here now right" Astrid smiled
"I didn't bring a gift though" he frowned "slipped my mind completely"
"My family and friends are all together, what more could I ask for" she smiled brightly
Edmus mouthing a 'thank you' to her
She was glad to have those she cared for around her on a day that was meant to be special to her. But she felt, empty and numb. She felt like she had to be happy today and excited or else she'd let everyone down.
"Us first" Sirius stood up, handing her a bag and than Remus passed her a box
Two sweaters and an annotated copy of Jane Eyre from Remus
An old leather jacket and red boots from Sirius
"We're last" Ron quickly said
"Of course" Lucille laughed
She got a few things for Forest from the Weasley bunch
"Now we worked really hard on this" Fred approached her with a long box in his hands
"Course we tried it on Ron first to make sure you wouldn't get sick or any bad reactions from it" George explained, handing her the box
Molly hissed aggravatingly
"Took five batches if you were wondering" Ron rubbed his stomach as if he was about to be sick
"Three rashes, one migraine, vomiting and going blind temporarily a few times later" Fred opened the lid "we perfected it"
"Candies?" Astrid asked, looking at the three colours filing the box
"Not just any" Fred began
"For anxiety" George smiled
"Three flavours, lemon" Fred went on
"Strawberry" George added
"And watermelon" they sat back down "because we can tell the potions taste bad, thought this may be helpful"
"You're using me as a test subject too aren't you?" Astrid smiled
"Well" Fred shrugged "if they work for you I guess we can be considerate and sell them to others who have crippling anxiety"
"Thanks Fred" Astrid nodded her head, lips in a thin line "what was Ron so anxious about anyways?"
"Ron's usually our test subject, he just doesn't know it half the time" Fred explained "he was anxious about getting you a gift, worked well for us"
"Thank you" Astrid blew them kisses "I appreciate this very much"
Her father got her a piano prior to everyone coming over and her mother gifted her a family heirloom
Lorenzo made her a card and a jewelry dish in a pottery class he went to with Nicks grandparents
Eliana gifted her a vintage knit sweater, a dress she had made and two pairs of her old heels
Amos gifted her one of Cedric's old blankets
"I wrote you a poem" Nick shyly voiced
"Oh Nicky" Astrid squealed, "come here" she sat him with her, hugging him
"Read it Nick" Lorenzo cheered him on "it's really good, he read it for me last night. Go on"
Nick casted a confident look on his face now, clearing his throat
Eyes of Lilly pads
Smile picked from the god of love
Her heart fresh from a lions chest, still beating, still pumping
Her hair is silk
"That's how far I got" he shrugged
"Oh" Astrid kissed his temple "that was amazing, thank you, I'll keep it forever"
"You know that reminded me of something" Ron tapped his chin, looking and than pointing at Ginny "someone with dark hair and green eyes"
"Okay" Hermione stood up "our turn" diverting everyone's attention
She gave Astrid a stack of books and three of their favourite muggle movies on DVD
Harry gifted her a baroque framed picture of all four friends for her room and a few songs on vinyl
"Okay" Astrid poked Ron's back, Lucille moving to let him sit with Astrid "your turn, what'd you get me?" She wiggled her eyebrows
Ron opened his mouth but was interrupted by the front door opening
Astrid gasped "CHARLIE!" She ran to greet him "I didn't know you were coming"
"Well" he kissed her head "here I am" presenting her with a red box
Ron stood and watched, tucking the small pouch in his own hand into his jeans pocket as he walked backwards, away from everyone, alone.
"It's beautiful" she hugged him again, looking at the gorgeous dragon brochure pin
"Hello sweetheart" Bill chirped
"Hmm" Astrid crossed her arms and looked away from him "don't think I don't know who you're here to see"
Bill gasped, hand over his heart "how could you frame me like that"
"Mhm" Astrid tried to bite back her laughter "I know the affect pretty girls have on hopeless boys"
"Hopeless!" he pinched her cheeks, pulling her into a hug "is that what you think of me?"
"Whatever Weasley" she hugged him back, thanking him for the flowers he had sent leading up to her birthday
"Fleur should be here soon with the cake" Lucille nervously cracked her knuckles "all the way to France" she began to rant to Bill and Charlie "she insisted so I was like okay, that's fine"
"I thought you baked a cake?" Hermione asked
"I did, thought it would be a good back up if she forgot"
Astrid turned to Anthony when Fleur walked into the house, profusely apologizing to Lucille as they both moved to the kitchen to set everything up
"Oh Ant" she covered her mouth
"That's real sweet" Charlie rubbed Astrid's back
"I love it so much" she wiped her eyes, hugging the photo album he had delicately put together for her "thank you"
"I've got good home videos we can watch after dinner" Jasper cheered, flipping through the pages
"Oh" Astrid looked from Fleur to everyone, Sirius now making his way to the kitchen to oversee the cake decorating business "this is Fleur everyone, how shall I introduce you?" She asked Sirius "this Fleur is my delinquent uncle, don't be startled"
"Not your uncle" Sirius barked, flicking the back of her head
"Moony is though" she rolled her eyes "means I'm forced to like you too"
"You love me" he fake punched her
Astrid took a hold of his hand, asking him to spread his fingers out
"Why" he watched as she counted them
"Now your toes" she wiggled her eyebrows
"You know I despise you" he walked away from her "I really do"
"What was it again Sirius?" She called out, putting a thinking face on "was your dad also your uncle or cousin?"
"Careful" Sirius smiled to himself "you and Weasley may be cousins too"
"Let's rip out the karaoke machine too" Fred begged, ignoring them "it's been forever"
Ron looked up from his hands to a smiling Astrid, her arm around Hermione as she walked back from the kitchen to where everyone had gotten up to get refills of drinks and help move the food on to the long dining table in the other room.
She laughed and talked all around her for a few seconds, tying loose ends to conversation before she moved on.
She was so good at faking it
He thought to himself, watching his childhood best friend closely. When she grew into a lady, he just didn't know. And not in the stupid way where he pointed out Hermione being a girl in fourth year. But genuinely. He forgot to track down when they stopped playing with snails and worms in the garden; and when they started to busy themselves in boyfriends and girlfriends. Still somethings never changed, she was his best friend and he knew her well. For a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve she was so good at turning it on and off when she needed.
But he knew the fake smiles to mask how she truly felt. Knew what setting and conversations would make her eye twitch.
He just didn't have many photos with her to prove they were best friends, still everyone knew it.
And Ron took a lot of pride in knowing Astrid preferred him over the others.
"Okay okay" Astrid held her hands up in mercy to Fred "but I want my last gift", tucking away the jersey Oliver Wood had sent her from his own Quidditch team, a note with it that had truly made Astrid shed more than a few tears
"You want more!" George stared at her wildly
"You ever meet my cousin Dudley?" Harry leaned on Astrid's shoulder
"Very funny!" Astrid pushed Harry off her, going to go sit down next to Ron who had been quietly sat alone "I mean, I saved the best for last" she held a hand out in front of Ron
"I didn't get you anything" he mumbled
"Liar" Ginny called him out "I saw you, today you packed it in a bag"
"You've been working on it for days now Ron" Fred frowned "day and night"
"You made me teach you how to braid" Ginny annoyingly hissed "everyday for two hours"
"And you called to ask how to work with metals" Charlie went on
"Yeah, well, I lost it" Ron huffed
"Come on Ron" Bill pushed "give it to her"
Astrid nudged him "what's there to hide between us"
Ron sighed, reluctantly placing a small blue pouch in her hand
Astrid looked from him to the pouch, untying the string and pulling it open. Everyone watched in silence as Astrid pulled something thin and dainty out of it.
She smiled genuinely, a maroon bracelet braided with gold coloured thread. A charm hung in the middle, a magnifying glass with a small 'W' in cursive in the middle of it
"It's pathetic" Ron groaned
She noticed the same roped bracelet around Ron's wrist when he rubbed his face out of embarrassment. Only his was her favourite shade of green with a small pocket watch charm, a 'S' engraved on his
Sherlock and Watson
Astrid began to cry, once again, quietly this time
Ron's head snapped to her, staring at her with bewildered eyes "you hate it"
"I love it" she cried, falling onto him in a hug "oh Ron"
"Oh" Ron patted her back "you do?"
"You made us a friendship bracelet" Astrid wailed "no one's ever done that for me"
Ron couldn't understand why, in between getting fancy jewelery, clothes, brooms and a piano, she would cry over something as tiny as this. It didn't even cost him a Knut, he had found scraps at home and used those.
But here she was, sobbing into his sweater as if he had given her the most important thing in the world, like he had picked the moon for her.
"You made it for me" she sniffed "how could I ever thank you"
Ron didn't say anything to her, quietly watching her break down into his arms as he patted her hair and shushed her softly.
He wondered why he ever doubted himself in the first place
Ron often wondered how she managed to stay so strong with everything that had happened in a span of five years. Why she never hated them for dropping her in third year over Sirius, how she didn't blame Harry for Cedric's death, how she handled the things people said about Elio. He wanted desperately to access her mind and take a look in how her brain worked. Because he knew she wasn't okay, so how did she convince others she was?
...
"Happy birthday" Lucille kissed her daughters temple, looking down at her with a smile
Another birthday where she'd blow the candles out by herself
Astrid faked her own smile for everyone else's sake, looking around at all of them before blowing out the candles. She clapped when they all did, trying to get up to leave before being stopped to take photos with everyone.
"How should we do this?" Lucille looked at Ron, Harry and Hermione who had stood behind Astrid in a line
"Here" Astrid stood up, pushing a chair next to the one she was sat on "we can do one with the guys sitting and Mione and I can sit on their sides"
Astrid pushed Hermione to where Ron was, sitting on Harry's right thigh and telling Hermione to do the same. She wrapped her arms around Harry's neck, leaning into him with a smile on her face. Peeking glances at Hermione who shrugged off the blush on her face as Ron steadied her on his leg with an arm above her waist.
"How about one with you girls" Lucille suggested, the guys standing to the side as Astrid sat back down and pulled Hermione to sit on her lap, kissing her cheek for the photo
"Me too" Ron ran up sitting on Astrid's other leg like Hermione was, making her hiss in pain and laughter, but she didn't say anything
Harry came with open arms, stood behind the three who were seated, leaning into them, his head leaned against Astrid's before lifting it off and pressing his stomach against her skull instead, an arm around Ron and Hermione, posing like a dad
"Okay" Lucile smiled, satisfied with all the pictures "cake time"
Astrid got up before her mother cut and served the cake. Walking over to the backyard of her home, she watched from inside, than took a few steps into the cold pavement and looked up at the sky as it rained
"Astrid still celebrates elios birthday, once you love someone you can't forget them" Lucille whispered to Edmus who watched quietly "she's much stronger than I am, I don't know how she does it"
He nodded his head, somehow being adopted into this crazy group of wizards and witches. But he liked it, felt like he had been brought back home.
"It must pain her, all of you, to think of him" he watched her lean her head on the pillar, staring out at the sky expressionless
"Yes" Lucille laughed lightly, pulling at her fingers "my first born, he was perfect. Such an adorable child, not fussy at all. I just wish I could tell him how much I love him, where ever he is, whatever he is, I'll always love him. Even if he doesn't want to come back home, just to know he's alive"
Edmus nodded his head once again, not knowing what to say "she has his smile"
"She does doesn't she?" Lucille looked at Astrid and than Lorenzo "Enzo laughs like him too now, it's so odd, seeing them carry the traits he did, I know he'd be so proud of both of them if he were here"
"He really would" Edmus shot her a comforting smile
"Anyways, what have I roped you into, go sit, eat!" She guided him to the table with the others, turning back to look at her daughter "Come get cake darling" Lucille called Astrid over
"Coming mum" Astrid called back, looking back once more before returning to the table to eat the first cake before they all had dinner and finally indulged in the last cake.
"A toast!" Sirius stood up, the adults with drinks in hand, few people still eating dinner and the others finishing off their cake slices with milk as they watched old home videos "Astrid, my darling girl, you are one of the bravest witches I know. You believed in me at my lowest when no one else wanted to hear me out, I will forever be grateful to you for reuniting me with Harry"
Astrid smiled at Sirius, Harry rubbing her back as everyone cheered to her.
"May you always glow bright and achieve all you aspire too, I'm beyond proud of you" Jasper wiped under his eyes, he began to chock up "you make your old man proud honey"
"Gosh" Astrid covered her face "stop!!"
"Okay okay" Arthur raised a hand "No more emotional talk, let's watch the Christmas Eve video where Astrid pushed the Christmas tree on Ron"
"Gee, fun dad" Ron shook his head, Astrid howling with laughter
"Blimey" Hermione winced, seeing a bloody Ron scramble out from under the large green tree in the video
"Thirteen stitches" Bill laughed
"Oh goodness" Lucille cringed "Molly I'm so sorry about that"
"I find it funny" Arthur shrugged, getting smacked on the arm by his wife
"No need for apologies my dear" Molly smiled
"There's Astrid crying" Ron pointed "think she cried more than I did"
"Thought I killed you" Astrid sat herself properly on the ground "Percy was so mad" she recalled "he full on yelled at me, than Elio yelled at me too"
"And Charlie took you out for hot chocolate to make it up to you" George shook his head "evil"
"We need to do that again sometime Charles" Astrid turned to him, a smile on her face "it's been so long"
"Anytime lovey" Charlie agreed
"I'll come too" George piped "actually, why don't we all go, make it a family activity"
"Way to ruin plans" Astrid rolled her eyes
"Let's leave them too it" Jasper got up "another bottle of wine?"
"Yes" Sirius raised a fist, chugging his half empty wine glass as he followed
"Karaoke time!" Fred stood up
"Who's first?" Ginny asked
Hermione shot up, pulling Astrid up to her feet "we are"
"Are we now?" Astrid followed Hermione to stand on the table, karaoke mic in hand as Hermione flipped through the cds to pick a song for them
"What do you think?" Hermione asked
"Maybe Britney Spears?" Astrid suggested, shrugging
"Baby one more time or circus" Hermione read the booklet that came with the cds
"Circus definitely" Astrid looked over her shoulder, passing her the pink mic as Lorenzo slipped the cd in and started the music for the girls
The girls held back their laughter as they screamed the lyrics at the top of their lungs, the adults casting them looks every once in a while when their voices cracked terribly.
Hermione circled around the table barefoot, Astrid squatting to touch Harry and Ron's hands who eagerly raised them like fans would do at concerts, flushed faces and screaming to even graze their fingers against their idols shoes, making fun of the girls.
She moved to George, grazing his jawline, before pushing him backwards and standing back up to finish the song with Hermione's arm around her waist.
Harry and Ron went next, Astrid almost falling in her heels as she lept off the table
The boys began singing to wannabe by spice girls, putting everyone in fits of laughter when Ron began to move his bum up and down, trying to touch Harry with it who In fear walked backwards and almost fell off the table and onto the rocky fireplace.
Finally Harry gave up and began to dance just as reckless as Ron before they were booted off to give Charlie and Bill the mics to sing summer nights.
Out of breath and flopped onto the couches with cold drinks now in hand. Astrid stood back up on the table, everyone facing her "Here's a toast to my real friends" she held her wine glass filled with milk up to everyone below "for not believing what they're calling me lately"
"Family" Edmus smiled "and friends"
"Forever" Lorenzo screamed "till death do us apart"
"Okay Enzo" Astrid laughed lightly, making a face
"A bit much?" He flopped back next to Nick
"Just a bit" Edmus snapped his fingers and fireworks began to go off, everyone rushing outside with big smiles, the Clearwaters symbol glowing in the night sky
"Brilliant" Astrid gushed, looking at him "you're brilliant"
...
2 am
Ron came first, quietly and without waking Harry up to tell him he was leaving.
When he entered the room he saw that Hermione had beat him too it, she laid by Astrid's side, snuggled into herself. He let out a sigh and turned back, coming back to Astrid's dark bedroom five minutes later, with a blanket in hand.
He quietly walked to the side where Hermione laid, throwing his own blanket over her body gently. Watching as she eased into it, and smiled in her sleep at the newfound warmth.
He than grabbed the blanket Astrid would keep on her bedroom chair, incase Lorenzo decided to come in the night after having nightmares and didn't want to wake her up.
He laid by the foot of the bed, comfortably stretching his body without worrying about his feet hanging off.
Astrid had gotten a larger bed the first few times Ron slept over at her house, saying he was already tall and would only grow taller, something that wouldn't work if he kept ending up falling asleep in her room.
It must have been four am when Harry came, rubbing his eyes and dragging his own blanket behind him like a little kid.
He smiled when he saw all three of his friends asleep, both of his having the same idea as him. So, failing to quietly, he crawled onto the large bed as well. Glad he didn't wake anyone up, forgetting to place his glasses back on when he rolled to the side from not being able to hold down his sleep and noticed Ron was missing.
He felt around the hallway, relieved that he only had to walk a few steps as Astrid insisted her friends' guest room be in the hallway that belonged to her
He placed a pillow in between Hermione and Astrid, a little lower, his feet inches away from Ron's stomach and pulled his blanket over himself. Feeling the anxiety wash away as he also, fell into a deep slumber.