Chapter 1

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"I'm Homesick for places I haven't yet been,

My eyes crave the beauty of sights I've not yet seen,

Places unpronounceable are calling my name,

A fire I can't see warms me with it's flame,

My feet walk the same path when I leave and come back,

Where once there was nothing I've now worn a track,

And my ears they get tired of the same boring tune,

Where streetlights are so bright I can't see the moon,

I'm homesick for places away from my own,

Where the people are friendly and my name is not known,

You can tell my I'm crazy but I'll never forget,

I'm homesick for places I haven't been yet."

-Erin Hanson

Because we're all homesick for Hogwarts.

----

Eden brought her fingertips to the straps of her tote bag, gripping them tightly, trying to focus all her senses into the one point. Beside her, Levi persisted in his complaints, but Eden wasn't listening. She was far too focused on the door ahead, on the ground below her feet, and how desperately she wanted to just fall into it's rough embrace. She wasn't ready for this.

For the eighth time since starting up the driveway, Eden tugged her dress down, adjusted the sleeves and took a deep breath. "Eden." Levi's voice broke through her thoughts, and she looked up to see he had stopped a foot or two behind. "Oh." She bit her lip. "Sorry."

"It's going to be fine, I promise." He smiled weakly, and Eden tasted the lie before she'd heard it. "If I wake up drugged halfway across the continent, I will personally walk back and slit your throat." She said simply, smoothing her dress out. "I don't want to be here anymore than you do." He sighed, and they both glanced at the house ahead.

"You're the reason I'm here, so I can blame you all I like. Why can't you want a normal birthday present? Like a new wand or a Quidditch broom?" Eden frowned. "Because if I have to spend one night alone in my brother's presence, I won't have the opportunity to use either of those things ever again."

"You won't be alone, he invited guests." Eden began walking again, and though she didn't turn around to check if Levi was following, she heard the crunch of gravel beneath his shoes. "That's even worse." Levi caught up to her. "He won't have invited anyone I know, even if it is my 'birthday dinner.'"

Levi began to say something more, but had already Eden zoned out again, her mind set on the house ahead. Three storeys of red bricks stretched across the property, surrounded by tall, perfectly pruned hedges. White shutters clung to it's walls, revealing nothing of the horrors within.

On top of it's roof, sat two chimneys, neither of which puffed out any smoke. To anyone walking by, they might think this house was completely uninhabited if it weren't for the immaculate state of the hedges and grass. No one ever went in, and no one ever came out.

Except for Levi and Eden, of course. This was only because they were underaged, and couldn't apparate inside, because yes, Vincent didn't have anti apparition wards set up around the property. Eden's guess was that if some psycho wizard decided to break in through apparation, he'd simply receive a bottle of wine and an invitation to join the party. 

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