Lover Boy - [G. Weasley]

prologue

"Birdy, I look like a mess!"

"You're a beautiful mess."

I was never the type to endorse the whole "hopeless romantic" image, much less advertise myself as one, but it was hard not to feel like it when a mere word could take me back to a moment I had with someone who'd never care to relive it.

"Birdy?" My little sister poked me, gesturing to her robes, newly bought and not yet marked with a house. Tomorrow was the first day of school, and my bright-eyed little sister would be starting her first year at Hogwarts.

"Olivia, you look wonderful. Now can I please do my reading in peace?"

I had neglected to do my summer homework, and my sister's incessant nagging wasn't going to help me finish by tomorrow. I was quite smart actually, I just didn't enjoy devoting my mental strength to things that didn't amuse me. For example, muggle studies.

"What does that word mean?" Olivia's head was now perched over my shoulder as she tried to read my book.

"Plumber? You know Olivia, if you would stop breathing down my neck, maybe I could find out." I usually tried to be nice to Olivia, she was quite fragile. It was also very hard to scold a girl who looked as constantly optimistic as Olivia did. She had the same light brown hair as me, it looked almost golden in the light, and she always styled it in two braids that framed her very round face. Her light green eyes perfectly accentuated the freckles that ran along the bridge of her button nose and her cheeks. She was adorable, but right now I had to lay down the law.

"But Birdy..." She drew out the last syllable of my name, "We have to visit St. Mungo's soon anyway. You won't have any time." She was right. Muggle studies was a lost cause.

I closed my book, resigned to my fate of detention as soon as I got to Hogwarts. I didn't particularly care, it's not as though I want to work at the ministry when I'm older. I looked around me and Olivia's tiny room, now spotless as we'd both packed hours ago. We were very good at packing, neither of us stayed in one place for very long. We'd been in countless homes ever since I was three. Our parents had been original members of the Order of the Pheonix, fighting in the first wizarding war. They were incredibly skilled wizards, but not many people got past Bellatrix Lestrange. They had been victims of her torture, along with the Longbottoms. None of them were in their right minds anymore, so they were permanent residents of St. Mungo's hospital, and we were tossed around from family to family. I didn't mind too much, I didn't have very many memories of my parents, and Olivia had none. My mother had been pregnant with her at the very end of the war when Bellatrix caught them, but nobody knew. From what I'd heard, my mother had been an incredibly stubborn and determined woman, a trait I had no doubt inherited. I suppose she knew about my sister, but she wouldn't let anything stand in the way of her fighting alongside the Order. I couldn't tell if I respected her decision or hated her for it.

"Olivia, go put on some regular clothes, and then we'll floo to St. Mungo's."

"Floo!? I've never done it before! Is it scary? Does it hurt? Will I get lost? Oh gosh Birdy, what if I get terribly lost and I never see you again?" My sister was quite dramatic.

"It isn't scary, it doesn't hurt, and as long as you have a basic grasp of pronunciation in the English language, you won't get lost. Now go change." I acted as though I was entirely fed up with her questions, but if I'm honest she made my days much more interesting. Our newest foster parents were the quietest people I'd ever met. They were very kind and inviting, typical Hufflepuffs, but they barely ever spoke. They worked at the ministry, in the Department of Magical Transportation.

As soon as Olivia was done changing, we waved goodbye to the foster parents and gave them quick thank-you's for their hospitality before flooing to St. Mungo's. I made Olivia go first, not wanting to leave her behind. She whined about the grimy powder, then disappeared into the green flames. I quickly followed, getting dropped into the fireplace of the pristine lobby of the hospital. I looked up to the front desk, where I saw my sister, ever the social butterfly, chatting with the receptionist.