𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲

twenty-seven.

27. SUMMER AT ST. CATCHPOLE

TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of self-harm

THE SUMMER CAME AND left quickly for everyone else, but for Thea, it seemed like time moved slow. June and July were spent packing up the de Oro-Barreno house in New York and moving to the Credenceton house. The family was all unpacked in the house where they had lived in over a decade ago, but since then Alejandra's parents had taken it upon themselves to expand it, so now it was much bigger. The quads each had their own rooms like they did in the New York house, and there were multiple guest rooms since the family always had company. Remus had been more present since the family moved back to England, since it was much easier to apparate when they were a town or two away.

While she loved living in Credenceton, Thea wished the days would move faster so she could go back to Hogwarts. The girl couldn't help but feel so alone, now that her friends weren't around her constantly making sure that her progress was going well.

And now it wasn't.

All of a sudden, it seemed like the girl had all the time in the world to just sit in her thoughts and stare at herself in the mirror. And she hated what she saw. Maybe Dominic was right-- Who else was going to love her like this?

She was a mess, and her mind spiraled constantly. Thea would lay in her bed in the late nights and just stare at the ceiling. Eventually, she would get so sick of herself and her own thoughts that she would open the window and look down at the ground from the second story of the house. One jump and it would all be over. But the girl did not want to put her family through that, but she just wanted to feel something else besides hatred for herself. And she knew it wasn't okay, hurting herself—But it worked. She wasn't numb and there was something else besides disgust for herself— There was pain.

So, Thea had a summer of sweaters, long sleeves, and doing whatever she could to avoid swimming. Now, it was the last week of August, and Thea and her brothers were staying at the Burrow with the Weasleys.

"Harry still hasn't responded to a single letter, Mum!" Ron complained to Mrs. Weasley while the family and the de Oros were at the table for dinner.

"Who knows what he's up to, Ron? His family could be on vacation like the Diggorys." Molly suggested and Thea stared down at her plate at the mention of Cedric. He and his parents spent the whole summer traveling all over South America, and it was difficult to keep in touch with the boy. So Thea had barely spoken to him since they left Hogwarts.

"I'm worried." Tommy admitted, letting out a sigh. "Who knows how those Muggles are treating him?"

"Probably terribly, he complained about them constantly." Tobi shrugged. "We'll see him tomorrow, right?"

"I don't know if he'll be able to get to Diagon Alley." Teo replied. "Not sure if his uncle will let him."

"How are you, Sunny?" Fred asked Thea, not paying attention to the current conversation.