The Mudblood

Chapter 54 : Summer

Over the next month, the four functioning Fitzroys spent so much time working and selling the house that we barely had time to think about the overbearing loss that we'd suffered. Garren decided to drop out of his university and get a low-paying full-time job, which he began almost immediately. Olivia—that bitch—then dumped him because she claimed it was a "poor life choice." Her name is now taboo in the Fitzroy household. Evan, only at the age of fifteen, had also acquired a very low-paying job, therefore Lyle and I were left to try to sell the house by ourselves. Though we'd inherited a small amount of money from our father, it was not nearly enough to support a house, so we decided to sell it and move into an apartment. Luckily, Lupin was very helpful in the house-selling process, and within a month we were able to sell our small home and move into an even smaller apartment downtown, right near where Garren and Evan were working.

Of course good old Uncle Remus helped us move our belongings into the apartment, and, without even asking, the Weasley twins had also shown up to assist us on moving day.

"Whoa, Fitz," was Fred's reaction when he and his twin stepped through the open front door. I was currently stomping down the stairs with a large cardboard box in my arms, which I then haphazardly dropped on the floor once I was standing in front of the twins.

"What?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows impatiently at them.

"What is this, a wig?" Fred questioned as he pulled on my hair. What had once been a mixture of gold, blonde, and brown was now a solid tone of ebony.

I flinched back, yanking my hair from his grasp. "No—it's real. I dyed it...to reflect my mood..."

George snorted a laugh as he tilted his head to the side. "Going goth, are you Lainey?"

"No... I'm just mourning," I replied flatly. "Is that a problem?"

"When you decide to dye your hair black, yes," Fred replied, his lips twitching in a slight grin. "Did your girly friend Greengrass do that for you?"

"No...she doesn't know about it," I replied, a wry smirk spreading on my lips. "I don't think she'll like it very mu—"

"Lay, can you come help me with this box?" Lyle called from the top of the staircase. His eyes spotted the twins and a hint of a smile appeared on his face. "Oh, hey guys, thanks for coming."

"You asked them to come?" I asked my brother.

"Yeah, of course. They can do magic and stuff," Lyle replied simply. "Can one of you come help me with this box? It's pretty big—"

"I'll help," George said briskly as he walked past me.

"Wait—you guys don't have to be here—you should be spending time with your family—"

"Oh hush up, Lainey," George interrupted as he ascended the stairs. "What do you think we're going to do—go back to the Burrow and snuggle with Ronniekins?"

"Yeah, Mum's been a wreck lately anyway," Fred agreed. "Worried sick about you and Harry. And frantic about You-Know-Who's return, of course."

"Harry's not at the Burrow?" I inquired as George disappeared into one of the upstairs bedrooms.

"Dumbledore wanted him to go back with his Muggle family," Fred explained bitterly. "Though, we won't be at the Burrow too much longer either. Mum says we're relocating in a few days."

"To where?"

He shrugged. "Dunno, only heard her through our Extendable Ears."

My eyebrows shot up with intrigue. "Your what?"