"i know life well enough to know you can't count on things staying around or standing still, no matter how much you want them to. you can't stop people from dying. you can't stop them from going away. you can't stop yourself from going away either."...
'august slipped away, into a moment in time' -august
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It was a peaceful morning at The Burrow on the 11th of August 1993. Seven Weasleys were sleeping soundly as the sun was barely peeping over the horizon. The fields surrounding the lopsided home were glowing under the lightening sky, and everything was still, apart from the occasional breeze passing through. Summers in Devon were beautiful, there was no denying that.
So everything was quiet. Everyone was peaceful. The youngest Weasley twins included, curled up unsuspectingly on Ginny's bed, both in a deep sleep.
That was until the singing started.
"Happy birthday to you," the two voices began, whispering tunefully, leaning over the sisters, "happy birthday to you, happy birthday to FifiandGiinnyyyyy...."
Ophelia's eyes fluttered open slowly, not expecting to see two faces looming over her.
"Happy birthday to-"
The girl screamed, punching George square in the nose.
"AARGH!" George cried, holding his face. Fred was already laughing.
"George! I'm sorry, you scared me!" Ophelia climbed out of bed, now concerned for her brother's nose that was already bleeding and slightly crooked. Had she punched him that hard?
Ginny was now stirring too, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before jumping at the sight of Fred, who was still leaning over the bed. He stumbled backwards slightly, worried he'd suffer the same fate as his brother.
The sudden screams had woken a very concerned Molly, who'd rushed into the girls bedroom.
"What's going on? What's wrong girls are you alri-" The mother stopped, seeing one son with a huge grin on his face, and another son with a nose streaming with blood. "Oh George, what happened to your face? Who screamed?"
Fred struggled to contain his laughter as he explained how Ophelia had injured George, and Molly's face turned stern.
"Well I suppose you deserved that then, what were you thinking?!" She lowered her voice slightly as she waved her wand, fixing George's nose. "After what happened to them last year, you ought to know better than to go around making them jump."
Molly was right. Summer had been difficult at first, it was rare to have a night without one daughter waking up crying or screaming. Their older siblings had done their best to look after them, as well as Molly and Arthur. They were only young, and they'd already experienced enough. That's why they'd ended up staying in the same bed for a while, having the other one there brought them a lot of reassurance.
One of the last incidents was night before the Weasley family travelled to Egypt. Ophelia had woken up suddenly after reliving the night in the chamber for what seemed like the hundredth time. She looked for her sister, to make sure she was safe. But she wasn't there. She'd begun to panic, running out into the hall, thinking something had happened to Ginny once again, crying in fear. Charlie had come home from Romania for the summer, and was already on the landing, on his way downstairs to get some water. He pulled his sister back into her own room as she sobbed, slightly confused. You see, Ginny was sleeping safely in her own bed the entire time. Charlie held her as she began to calm down, and eventually drifted off into a- thankfully- dreamless sleep. He stayed the rest of the night, in case she woke up again. Molly was proud of her son for handling it, and also grateful that she could have a night's sleep without worrying.
