SPLITAPARTS: lessons in love ✔️

Prince's Hill

Sammy stood in the darkened doorway to Sirius' study as he watched his sister faun over his twin. Sirius sat at his piano, chin in his hand as he leaned on the huge instrument watched too. Cassie placed their mother's afghan over him and served the evening's dessert of chocolate mousse laced with the seventy-five year old brandy that had once belonged to her mother. She used to help her mother create, steam and bake the Christmas pudding every year. She mourned the last drop of brandy as she measured out the last tablespoon of alcohol from the old bottle and was glad that her entire family was there to partake of the final dessert the bottle would yield.

Theo and Ryan walked into the room with an old projector and screen and began to set them up in front of the window. "This is why we're here," Theo said. "I found this in the attic when I was looking for some stuff. I wanted to show it to your family. Your entire family." He looked to Harry and winked his eye, causing Harry's face to light up.

"What is it?" She was able to glean that the Bothers knew what it was.

"You'll see," Theo said grinning as he threaded the old film through the projector's mechanisms.

"Sirius, would you kindly go sit on the sofa with your wife please?"

Sirius grinned and rose from the bench and shuffled the few feet to the sofa, where the twins scooted closer together to made room for their father. Cassie could feel the twin's annoyance and she tapped the inside of her thigh and Andromeda moved to sit on the floor at her mother's feet. Theo turned to see his granddaughter sitting on the floor and he looked into his daughter's eyes and winked, smiling warmly. Cassie returned his smile with one of her own and shrugged her shoulders...she often sat at her mother's feet, whether there was room to sit next to her or not.

"Honey, you'll probably recognize this immediately," Theo said, then turned his attention to his grandchildren. "This was made when your mother was maybe a year or so younger than you."

"OH! Is this the summer movie from the country house?"

Andromeda looked up at her mother to see that tears welled up in her eyes almost immediately. "Mummy, what is it?"

Cassie smiled. "You'll see," she said as she wiped the tears that had spilled from her eyes.

Sammy dimmed the lights and sat on the edge of the sofa, swinging his leg and gently and playfully kicking his brother's calf. "You better knock it off, or I'm tellin'," Joey said jokingly. "I may be doped up, but that still hurt."

Cassie eyed her brothers laughing. "Do we have to separate you two?"

"No Sissy," they said in unison.

"Well, you'se two better knock it off, or I'm tellin' on both of you'se," she teased.

Sirius and Remus chuckled as the twins eyed each other: they felt as if the adults were speaking a code that they were not privy to.

"Are we finished now children," Theo asked with mock-annoyance.

Joey shook his head. "Not even remotely, Dad."

"Glad to see that you're feeling better, Joseph," Theo said as he rolled his eyes and turned the machine on and pressed play. The machine skipped a few frames but caught up to itself quickly. The film opened up with Cassie's voice saying that the field of vision was dark. A woman with an English accent spoke up:

"Is the lens cover still on, Missy?"

"Oh. Yeah," she said from the backseat, then whispered, "shee-it." She removed the lens cover and the picture shook a bit before becoming steady.

Sirius barked a loud laugh, as did Remus and the children smiled...they finally realized who they were hearing.

"I love looking at that hill during this time of day," Cassie said. "It almost glows, you know?"