Grace held the letter between her fingers, reading over the name once more before letting her head fall into her hand. If someone had asked her how she got Fred Weasley Hogwarts' letter sitting on her kitchen table she wouldn't be able to tell you, and Grace hated not having answers.
Her first thought was to send it back by owl but it was an owl who made this mistake, to begin with so it didn't seem responsible. She didn't want to walk through the long, well it was decently short, trail over to the Burrow.
"Is that your letter?"
Grace jumped, a hand across her chest as she turned to look at her younger sister who looked to be just out of bed by the state of her hair.
"These two are," Grace reached across the long dark wood table, handing both letters to Jane before looking back to the letter in her hand.
"Then what is that?"
"It's Fred Weasley Hogwarts letter," Grace mumbled to herself, she knew what she had to do but that didn't change the fact she didn't want to.
"Weasley?"
Graced gave a knowing look to her sister as she rose from the dinner table chair, which hurt her ass more than they should for the money they paid for them. She let her socked feet glide across the floor as she approached the front door.
"You haven't been to the Burrow since you were 12," Jane followed closely behind her sister, almost running into her back when she stopped to grab her shoes from the rack.
"I know, I was their Jane."
Grace good the riding shoes from when her mother insisted she try a classy sport, horse riding didn't seem to make her much happier for the matter.
"What if mother and father find out?"
Graced shrugged, ignoring the coat considering the weather outside could melt her loose black blouse from her skin.
"I'll tell them the truth, what am I going to do keep his Hogwarts letter?"
She turned to the door as she let her hand laid on the cold bronze handle, but for the Arcanimus household, it was a normal occurrence.
"Have fun," Jane mutter as Grace walked from the house onto the large wrap around porch that no one ever really sat on. The sun shone over the dark house, the grass touching the house completely dead. It reminded her of those creepy muggle films, with the crazy clowns or the psycho-killer Ruben made her watch.
She went down the three steps of her porch, the sun hitting across her pale skin in a hurry. Covering her eyes she turned to her right and headed to the patch of trees that lead right into the Weasley yard.
The nostalgia of the simple walk was enough to make Grace feel like the same little girl again, having fun with the twins from past the trees. The trail was slightly outgrown but still walkable, which Grace knew couldn't be possible with how much her parents hated it but thought best to ignore it.
The trail was wide enough for two people to walk side by side but the height was made for kids, luckily Grace didn't get much taller since the second year so the walk wouldn't be uncomfortable.
The walk was like something out of a fairytale, the trees were skyscrapers tall and the gorgeous flowers covered the forest grounds. The sound of the stream itself was refreshing compare to the classical jazz that her father played since no one else was allowed to touch the player.
Grace wished the grass around her house was this green and soft but her parents were firm believers that watering grass would be a waste of their precious time, the rain was the only time the poor grass got anything. That didn't include the grass that sat against their house, their roof covering it from sunlight and rain.
The light from the end of the trail came into view, Grace picked up a quick jog before stopping at the entrance. The Burrow didn't sit that far away it all its chaotic glory, glory that Grace didn't know she missed so much. She would never tell a soul on this planet but at the worst of time, Grace wished she could run back to the Weasley for a cup of tea and a good cry.
She finally pulled herself from the entrance of the trial and continued to the front door of the home in questioning. The small brown and orange painted the house, not as vivid as when she was a kid but after living in a practically all-black house you start to lose the sense of color.
The familiar door was just in reach, her knuckles quick rapped against it before leaning on the frame. The sound of yelling echoed from the house, followed by the sound of something, most likely someone, falling.
"I got i-"
She nodded at Ron, giving the small bit of a smile she could produce while Ron jaw fell slack. He looked at her with those wide brown eyes that seemed to in the family.
"Arcanimus?"
The sound of her surname caused the chaos of the house to freeze, every sound of people's life itself just vanished.
"Morning Ron," Grace used everything in her to stop calling him Ronnikins like she did when he was little kid that she would help pull a prank on.
"Morning."
His Adam apple jumped as he took a gulp, his eye trial to look over his shoulder. She knew deep down that the twins probably didn't have a clue she was there and she also knew deep down that everyone wanted to keep it that way.
"There was a mistake, I got your brothers Hogwarts letter."
She pulled her arm that laid at her side for Ron to see the yellow tinted letter that she was referring to.
"Oh, well thank-"
"Grace?"
Ron and she both cringed at the cracked voice that spoke, Grace couldn't even dare look up. She decided that parents taught her manners for a reason, looking up to see her old friends standing behind Ron.
Fred looked light-headed, the way his eyes couldn't focus on one part of her made her heartbreak more. George on the other hand looked like he could murder Grace without hesitation, he would take Azkaban over her at this point.
"Hello," Grace shoved the letter closer to Ron, praying he would realize the situation and take it. She wanted, no needed, to get out of their yard as soon as possible.
"What do you have for us?"
George's stone-cold face could rival her own, his brown eyes not warm like they were when they were kids.
"Fred letter was delivered to my house on accident, I'm here to return it rightfully," Grace hated how posh she sounded like she was speaking to her mother or a Headmaster instead of two old friends.
"Thank You Arcanimus," George reached around Ron and finally took the letter, her first reaction was to take a small step back from the door.
"I'll get going, I hope sixth year and fourth year treat you all well."
Grace turned, praying to every magical possible that George didn't hex her while she wasn't looking, even if cowardly fighting was the Weasley thing she wouldn't blame them.
"You c-could stay for dinner."
Grace felt herself bite her lip, closing her eyes as Fred's words floated around everyone.
"I should get back to Jane, my parents are out and she doesn't like being home alone," Grace pulled the first lie she thought of.
Well no complete lie, her parents weren't home and Jane did prefer her sister to be home but she knew Jane wouldn't throw a fit or anything if she didn't come back till later.
"Oh, I understand."
She nodded and continued walked back to the trail back to her house. She hated she couldn't turn back and stay for a lovely dinner, the first dinner she would had have all summer that wasn't silent or full yelling.
She wanted it, but she wasn't the same girl as before. She didn't play in the dirt and pull pranks on others. She did her studies and she followed her etiquette that her mother taught her, making sure never to take back and to stand straighter.
Grace wasn't happy anymore, but it just wasn't in the cards for her to be. So she simply went back past the trees, ready to face the weight of her own world again.
[𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺
𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘵]