I run my hands over the strings of my guitar, feeling the roughness, the smoothness. My fingers fall in to place, second nature to me. My thumb falls down the strings, pushing out an easy C. I close my eyes, a smile moving over my face as the note reverberates through my ears.
"This, ladies, is something I wrote a while back," I say, opening my eyes to look at the six girls sitting and lying on the grass around me. One of them sighs, looking up at me adoringly. I wink at her and strum out the chords, reveling in the attention. The sun is beating down on us, we've just finished our last exam and tomorrow we're heading home. I couldn't imagine a more perfect ending to the term.
"Oh, Lawrence, do another," Ana sighs as I finish the song, "I could listen to you all day."
"I'd love to, but I think my dear cousin wants to speak to me," I say, seeing Victoire walking across the grounds towards us. I stand and swing the guitar around on its strap so that it's on my back. I walk over to Victoire and give her an easy smile.
"How's it going, Head Girl?" I ask. She rolls her eyes at me.
"Have you heard from your mother?" she asks, her voice soft and warm, lightly accented. I shrug, grinning.
"Maybe," I say. Victoire cocks an eyebrow at me.
"Is she taking Dominique, Louis and I home tomorrow or not?" she asks, putting her hands on her hips. I pull a slip of parchment out of my pocket and open it, pretending to read it slowly. Victoire makes a sound like "tss" through her teeth.
"Uh, I think so," I say, "it just says something about soup. Actually, it might just be a recipe-"
She grabs the parchment and scans it.
"A simple 'yes' would have been adequate," she snipes, turning on her heel and walking towards the castle. I fall in to step beside her.
"Ah, but where would the fun be in that?" I ask her. She glances at me, trying not to smile.
"You are so like your father," she says. I smirk.
We reach the Entrance Hall and she looks at her watch.
"I've got to go," she says, "I'll see you later. If you see Dominique and Louis could you let them know we're going home with you?"
"Maybe."
"Merci."
"What?"
"You know what it means."
I grin as she disappears down the stairs. I hesitate, wondering if I should go back down to the girls. I shake my head and start upstairs. They can find me on the train tomorrow. I decide to go and find Fiona. I'll check the art room first. If she's not there, then I don't know where she'll be.
"Fionaaaaa Joyce!"
I swing in to the art room, startling my sister, making her splash paint on her clothes and face.
"God, Law, don't you ever go anywhere quietly?" she asks, wiping scarlet paint off her nose. I check a desk for wet paint before sitting on it, bring my guitar 'round to my front.
"Rarely," I shrug, strumming, "what ya painting?"
"I don't know yet," she says, stepping back so I can see, "it started out as birds, but-"
"It looks like a massacre," I say. She tilts her head to the right, absent-mindedly running her brush up and down her cheek, smearing it with red paint. Her eyes glaze over as she loses herself in thought. I pluck at the strings of the guitar, waiting for her to come out of her trance. She blinks, sighs and points her wand at the canvas, wiping it clean.
"Play the song about Rose," she says, swirling her brush in a jar of water. I watch the water turn red, then start playing. As I play Fiona moves in time to the music, her brush dragging across the canvas, leaving lines of colour. I can't tell what she's imagining, but I know it'll be good. We always work better when we work together, or so Mum says. Fi says my music helps her focus and I always find it relaxing watching her draw, paint, sculpt or whatever she happens to be doing.
I finish the song and Fiona pauses, cocking her head to the side.
"The song about that girl, the one with the brown hair..."
"Kayla?"
"No, the other one. Begins with T."
"Tabitha?"
"That one."
I strike up the song and she starts painting again. The picture is starting to take form, but it doesn't make sense yet. Not to me, anyway. There's a big section of yellow with half a woman's face on it. She's beautiful, with big, full lips. The other half of the canvas is a mess of squares and birds, but nothing is tying the two halves together.
"Piper," Fiona says suddenly. I switch songs and she switches brushes to a tiny, fine brush. As she moves I can see where she's going with the painting. She finishes with a flourish and I let the song die. She turns to face me, one cheek smeared in red, other colours spattered over her white shirt.
"There," she says, "do you get it?"
"Yep."
"I knew you would," she turns back to the canvas. In the bottom right corner she signs it, then moves it over to the window to dry.
"What time is it?" she asks, washing her hands in the sink.
"Around six," I say, leaning on my guitar. Fiona's eyes widen.
"No wonder I'm hungry," she says, "I've been in here since nine."
"Check your face," I say, "then we'll go down to dinner."
Fiona pats her face and one of her hands comes away red.
"I was doing it again," she sighs, grabbing a cloth and scrubbing her face.
"Yep."
I slide off the desk and put my guitar on my back. Fiona grabs her bag and slings it over her shoulder.
"Did you get a reply from Mum?" she asks as we head downstairs.
"Yeah, she said they're coming with us," I say, "staying the night too, I think."
"Do you think Teddy will come to the station?"
"Yeah, to see his girlfriend," I smirk, "I still think it's weird that he and Victoire are dating. They're cousins."
"Yeah, but not by blood," Fiona shrugs, sitting down at the Gryffindor table, "but I know what you mean, it is weird."
I see Louis walk in and beckon him over.
"You're coming home with us tomorrow," I tell him, "make sure you wait for us when we get to London, don't go through the barrier without us, got it?"
"Yep," he says, sitting down opposite me, "does Victoire know?"
"Yeah, but tell Dominique if you see him," I say. Louis rolls his eyes.
"If I see him," he says, "he's got a girlfriend. They spend all their time being all lovey-dovey."
"Give it a year or so and you'll be exactly the same," Fiona laughs. Louis makes a face.
"I don't think so," he says, "girls are weird."
"Thanks," Fiona smiles. Louis shrugs.
"You know what I mean," he says, "I mean, look at Lawrence, they follow him everywhere."
"Not everywhere," I say.
"Oh yeah?" Louis looks over my shoulder. I glance behind me and see the group of girls come in, two of them seem to be bickering, the others are listening and giggling. I turn back to face Louis.
"That's the price of being a musician," I tell him with a smirk. He rolls his eyes at me. One of the girls, Kim, comes to sit beside me.
"So, Lawrence, I was wondering if you wanted to sit together tomorrow?" she asks, battering her eyelashes at me.
"I'll probably sit with my sister," I tell her, "but I'll come and find you around lunch time, okay?"
"Sure," she shrugs, hiding her disappointment.
"What're those two arguing about?" I ask, nodding towards the two girls.
"Which one of them you like better," she responds openly, "childish, isn't it?"
I smirk, knowing she'd do the same thing.
"Completely," I say, making eye contact with Fiona who is struggling to keep a smile off her face.
* * *
"Fiona."
"What?"
"I'm bored."
"Entertain yourself."
I sling my feet up on the seat and look out the window. Fiona is sitting the same way, but with her back to the window, sketching something. I yawn and stretch. The lunch trolley has been. Kim is probably expecting me. I really don't want to get drawn in to sitting and talking with them for the next few hours, but I don't want her to feel stood up.
"See you in a bit," I sigh, swinging my legs off the seat.
"Mm."
I walk out in to the corridor and walk along the train, looking in each compartment for Kim. I pass one, then back track. Dominique is sitting there, talking to a pretty blonde girl. They're holding hands and being flirty. I smirk to myself. Dominique is only a year younger than Fiona and I, but he tries to act a lot more grown up. And he's easy to embarrass.
I slide the door open and whistle at him.
"Oi, loser," I say, "we're taking you home from London."
"Okay," he says through gritted teeth. I smirk.
"Your Mummy and Daddy couldn't make it, but don't cry again, okay?"
Dominique turns red and glares at me.
"I'll meet you at the station," he says pointedly. I nod slowly.
"Do you need a hand getting down off the train?" I ask, "or do you think you can manage?"
"I can do it just fine," he snaps, "could you-"
"Finally," I interrupt, "it's been, what? Two years since you started at Hogwarts?"
"Lawrence," he says warningly, "I will kick your ass when we get home."
I laugh openly.
"Okay, kiddo," I say, "see you in London."
I walk out, smirking to myself. I'll let him beat on me a little later. Besides, light teasing never hurt anyone.
I find Kim at the other end of the train and spend a few hours talking to her and her friends. As we're approaching London I excuse myself and return to Fiona's compartment. Her drawing has gone from a few light lines to a highly detailed dragon. I sit down and look out the window, watching London take shape.
"How come you've never drawn me anything?" I ask her.
"How come you've never written me a song?"
"You've never asked," I shrug, leaning back in the seat. Fiona nods.
"There's your answer."
"Will you draw me something, dear sister?" I ask, smirking.
"If you'll write me something," she says.
"Deal."
We pull in to the station and I grab my bags down, slinging my guitar over my back. I follow Fiona off the train and we stand to the side, waiting for Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Jessica, William and Lucy. Once we're all together we go through the barrier. I see Mum straight away. She's standing with Arianwen who looks like her miniature clone. I wave and Arianwen waves back, standing on her tip-toes.
"Hi, Mum," I say, letting her pull me in to a hug.
"Hello," she says, moving to hug Fiona, "how was the trip?"
"Long," Lucy sighs, hugging Mum.
"Boring," Jessica adds.
"What they said," William agrees. Mum laughs and turns to our cousins, hugging them too.
"Let's get you all home, then," she says, "Lawrie, you'll have to hold your guitar, we won't have enough room in the trunk for all the bags as it is."
"Is Dad at home?" Lucy asks from the back seat where she's sandwiched between Dominique and William.
"Uh, I'm not sure," Mum says, pulling out on to the road, "he wasn't when I left. He stayed late so Uncle Fred could go pick up Abigail, Amy, Becca and Rhea."
"Why couldn't Steph do it?" Jessica asks.
"Maybe Fred wanted to do it," Mum shrugs, "now, I want to hear at least two things that you've learnt this year. Lucy-Loo, you start."
By the time we reach home we're all hungry and tired. Mum hustles us into the house. Dad isn't home, much to our disappointment. Mum feeds us all, shows the cousins where they're sleeping, then tells us all to have some quiet time. I sit out on the back deck, playing around with some notes. I can feel Mum's presence before she moves to sit down next to me. She looks up at the stars as I play. She looks tired and for the first time I realise she's getting older. I stop playing and she smiles at me.
"How's my music boy?" she asks. I shrug and lean against her, feeling her arm move around my shoulders to hold me.
"How're you?" I ask her. She rests her cheek on the top of my head.
"I'm dandy," she says, "that song was lovely."
"Thanks. I'm writing it in exchange for a drawing."
"Not for one of your many girls, then?"
"Nope."
Mum chuckles.
"What's it called then?" she asks. I look up at the sky, pondering.
"I think it's just called Fiona."