The Grey | Hermione Granger

|05| Chapter Five

F I V E 

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Maya deciding to spend a whole month of her second Summer of Hogwarts on an island off the coast of Scotland with her friends was not only the first true crack in the seemingly unwavering bond of the Mitchell siblings but the definitive one. 

The four children had lived their whole lives with three constants in their lives. They were dependant on each other to the extent where you wouldn't even say that they trusted each other, as their bond went beyond that. It was a reliance. Saffron, Rachel and Rowan relied on Maya coming back as soon as her second year at school came to an end. It was not even a consideration that she would not come. Yet she did and to put it plainly, Saffron felt completely and utterly betrayed. She and the twins had spent a year slaving away at Squires with the light at the end of their tunnel being Maya arriving back from school to tell them about all of her adventures. Yet she did not come.

At first, they assumed there had been some sort of mistake. Perhaps the school year had been extended? That was their only logical explanation. Days went by and their levels of confusion heightened. Ms Squire ignored their constant questioning and pleas for clarity. The children couldn't think of any possible logical explanation in which Maya had chosen to not come back and be with them for the Summer.

Needless to say, the three of them were shocked when they received a letter after a week of Maya's absence, explaining the situation. Upon finding out that Maya was spending the next few weeks with her friend, Bethany MacFusty, on an island off Scotland, infuriated the remaining Mitchells. The fury was to differing degrees but was present in all three.

"I don't want to speak to her when she's back," Saffron wanted to cry but kept her teeth pressed down on her lip in order to stop it from trembling. Her mind was racing with the dominating thought questioning why Maya would do this to her? How could she hate her so much that she could be so selfish as to not come back to them? "I don't want to even see her anymore,"

The three children sat outside on the beach two miles away from Squires in their native Holyhead. They were attempting to enjoy what little of the sun they had left and were still processing their shock of the revelation they had received from their oldest sister. The atmosphere was tense with the air filled with a mixture of hurt, anger and confusion.

"It's making me feel like we don't even matter to her anymore," Rowan was sat down next to Saffron, his jaw clenched and using his finger to draw in the sand on which they sat. "Like she has forgotten about us, Hogwarts is all that matters to her now, stupid Hogwarts,"

"Maybe she just needed a longer break," Rachel respond carefully. "It isn't exactly the nicest place to be here, I do get that

Saffron looked across at her throwing her a dirty look. She could always trust her younger sister to be partial to Maya. 

"But we're here!" Rowan argued. "And she's had a break from all of this since January, we're the ones who've been here. Not her,"

"And we're her family, Rach!" Saffron's eyes were blazing but she did not look at her sister as she did not want her to think her anger was directed at her. She was directing it squarely at Maya. "We should be the ones she wants to be with, not some friends from school she's only known a couple years. She's been with them all year, she's only seen us three times since she left for Hogwarts in the first place,"

"I understand, don't think I am not upset either," Rachel murmured in agreement. "I just don't think I could have done what she has done all these years," She looked over at Rowan. "I mean she raised us in a lot of ways, she's all I remember as a baby. Maya looking after us---"