Gavin knew that things at Thomson Manor would no longer be the same once he returned for the summer.

For one thing, he didn't even meet his parents at King's Cross like he usually did, nor did Greer show up as well. Of course, that was something he expected to happen, given the circumstances that were established just weeks prior. However, the tension was overpowering the moment he stepped foot inside his home, to the point where it was almost suffocating, almost hard to breathe within the walls.

Needless to say, everything had changed, and Gavin absolutely hated it.

On a warm day in mid-July when Gavin noticed while taking his daily afternoon stroll along the grounds of Thomson Manor was the weather. For the most part, the sun would be out shining right on his mother's garden or the bench Greer liked to sit at sometimes with a book in hand (it was always one she snatched from her father's study, but Gavin swore he'd never tell as long as she put it back before he noticed it was missing). She'd look up from the book and flash him that familiar smirk he was so used to getting from her, to which he'd simply shake his head and chuckle back at her.

Except today, the sun was nowhere in sight, with the flowers not holding their lively appearance, and Greer's bench remaining empty. In fact, Gavin hardly saw his twin sister around the manor, with the exceptions being family meals throughout the day. Even when he did see her, no words were ever exchanged, even though Gavin really wanted to say something. Not even his parents said much to him, though he was sure they were preparing to have a much bigger conversation for later, one that he knew was coming eventually.

All Gavin wanted was for things to go back to normal, but just like the rest of the Wizarding world, things with the Thomson family were far from going back to how things were.

By the time Gavin made it back to the manor, he headed straight to his room, waiting until someone came to fetch him for dinner. In the meantime, he sat at his desk and began going through the opened letters he received from Adam in the last few weeks, most of which were written about his family. But in the most recent letter, there was a new topic of conversation that they hadn't talked about much in a while: Rosie.

Gavin felt guilty with how they left things off after what happened at the Ministry of Magic. He wished that he had reached out to her before leaving Hogwarts for the summer, though all he could think of to say to her was how sorry he was for what happened not only at the Department of Mysteries, but for being dragged into their lives that were more complicated than she even realized, something he should've warned her before everything came crashing down on them.

Before he knew it, Gavin laid down a piece of parchment in front of him while grabbing his quill in the corner and getting a fair amount of ink on it, then finally began to write.

Rosie,

It's been a while since we've talked, hasn't it? Of course, given what went down the last few weeks of school, I completely understand. Things haven't been the same since...you know...

Anyway, I hope you're doing well. I'm always here for you if you need anything.

Your friend,

Gavin

He read over the letter once, coming up with the conclusion that it was better to keep things short and sweet for now, hoping that Rosie would write back to him. Even if she didn't, at least he gave it a shot. He wondered if Adam made any effort to reach out to Rosie, as he didn't dare to ask about her, just like Adam never once brought up Greer in his letters. It seemed as if they both had an understanding that it was better if neither one of the girls were talked about, especially in writing. But still, there was a part of Gavin that wanted to ask Adam about Rosie, and he was certain that deep down Adam was curious to know what Greer was up to these days. But really, Gavin didn't know, and he was sure Adam had no idea what Rosie was doing for her summer other than possibly spending most of it at St. Mungo's, assuming her father was still in a coma.

Maybe I'll find out soon enough, he thought while folding the letter and placing it in an envelope, sealing it with the Thomson family crest, then writing out Rosie's address on the front before standing up and walking out of his room.

Gavin headed for the Owlery just down the hall, where the owls the family owned all resided in the manor. He went to Grady, his pet owl, stroking his feathers before letting the bird take the letter in his beak and watching him fly out of the window and into the cloudy evening. When he turned around to leave, he was met with his twin sister leaning against the frame, causing Gavin to jump back a little in surprise.

"Merlin's beard," he muttered.

Greer glanced around the room, then back at Gavin, where she simply stated, "Dinner's ready."

Gavin stared back at her and merely nodded his head as he walked past her to leave the Owlery, quickly going towards the stairs without looking back. He could hear the footsteps behind him as he made his way to the dining room, where his parents were already sitting at opposite ends of the long table, looking impatient as ever.

"Ah, children," Mr. Thomson announced, motioning at the two empty chairs adjacent to him and his wife. "Come sit down and eat before the food gets cold."

While Greer obliged right away, Gavin held some reluctance in his steps, picking the seat that faced the door. He looked down at the full plate in front of him and slowly picked up his fork before he could get nauseated and not want to eat it. The suspense began to loom over the table the moment he got to work on the potatoes, waiting for his parents to break the silence again.

However, the only sounds that could be heard were silverware clinking against the plates and Fipley, the family house-elf, stumbling in the dining room with wine in his trembling hands, pouring a glass for Mrs. Thomson, then walking past Gavin to get to the other side of the table for Mr. Thomson's drink.

"That's enough, Fipley," the man stated, to which the house-elf stopped pouring the wine.

"Yes, Master," the house-elf said, turning away and scurrying to the corner of the dining room.

"The food's lovely, isn't it, Alastair?" Mrs. Thomson exclaimed, forcing a smile from across the table.

"Yes, very nice," he stated before taking a sip of his wine.

Gavin couldn't help but sense the awkwardness from a conversation that was once so casual in the household. Nowadays, any conversations that occurred in the manor were uncomfortable between parties. But of course, it was the same way when the family didn't speak to one another, so things would remain delicate for quite some time, which meant Gavin would have to walk on eggshells during the rest of his stay at the manor before going back to Hogwarts.

All of a sudden, Mr. Thomson cleared his throat after finishing the rest of his wine, setting the glass down on the table and looking up at his family. "Children," he started, keeping his hands on either side of his plate. "I'd like to discuss something important with you."

Bloody hell, here we go, Gavin thought, preparing himself for what his father wanted to talk about.

"It's about the upcoming term at Hogwarts."

Oh.

"As we all know, this is your final year, and it's imperative that you two study hard for your N.E.W.T.s. They are very difficult exams and I don't want to see either one of you fail them."

"Yes, Father," Gavin and Greer stated in unison, locking eyes with each other as they did so.

Mr. Thomson inhaled sharply as he snapped his fingers at Fipley to come and refill his glass, to which the house-elf obliged. "Which means I don't want any distractions. We cannot have a repeat of what happened a few weeks ago."

There it is.

"Of course, Father," Greer spoke, her posture a bit straighter than before. "I won't let you down."

Gavin resisted the urge to scoff at the way his twin sister was kissing up to him.

"Good," he said, nodding her way, then turning to look at his son. "Gavin?"

The boy glanced at his father, already feeling his heart beating fast as the attention was now on him. He wanted to snap back at him, ask his father what exactly he meant by distractions and defend his actions at the Department of Mysteries. Gavin felt the anger that was bubbling up inside of him ready to burst out, get it out of the way so that his father finally knew how he felt.

Only he swallowed the anger back down to his stomach and nodded instead.

"I understand, Father," he said.

Mr. Thomson motioned his head, then altered his eyes between the twins. "I'm glad we're all in agreement. Now, how about some dessert?"

The rest of family dinner was uneventful, as Gavin did his best not to say anything else as long as he was sitting at the table. However, his twin sister had no problem joining in their parents' conversation, even if the topics didn't concern her whatsoever. But really, he wasn't listening to what they were saying, because he didn't care. Maybe he did a year ago, when the Thomson family were on better terms and family dinners weren't so awkward. But now, he didn't care anymore, and he figured it was time to go ahead and get out while he still had the chance.

When dessert was over, Gavin didn't hesitate to stand up from his chair and leave the dining room, going at a decent pace so that he didn't come across as suspicious. Except that wasn't a problem as he spotted Greer exiting the room with her parents, to which the three of them didn't pay any attention to Gavin. He had a fleeting moment where he wondered why they wanted to talk to Greer before focusing back on hurrying up the stairs and back to his bedroom, grabbing two trunks from the closet and setting it on the bed. Gavin knew it would take longer to pack this time around, as he had no intentions of coming back to the manor.

Packing his clothes wasn't too difficult, knowing he was planning to leave behind the fancy attires he was forced to wear at major events and parties in order to show how united the Thomson family was, to which now the entire family was crumbling. It was when he was going through his personal belongings that he was stuck on, figuring out what was worth taking with him and what would be no use anymore. Though it was a process, he was starting to get through everything, almost ready to shut his trunks and walk out for good.

"Going somewhere?"

Gavin spun around and let out a gasp as he saw his twin sister at the door, arms crossed and expression blank. He exhaled, though his heart was beating fast from how nervous he was starting to get. "You've got to stop sneaking up on me like that," he said.

"Why, so you can go on with your escape?" she retorted, stepping inside the bedroom and making her way to her brother. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He shot her a hard look before going back to packing. "I'm leaving, Greer," he replied in a firm tone.

She let out a short laugh in response. "You're mad."

"I'm serious. I'm getting out of here and I'm not coming back."

It was as if the smile across Greer's lips had been slapped off by Gavin himself, to which she shook her head in disbelief. "No. No, you can't. After all Mum and Dad have done for you--"

"Oh, you mean, train us so that we live up to their expectations? Become a part of society and do what our parents tell us to do? What they want us to do?" He scoffed, looking down at his trunks full of things. "I don't want to become them."

"Who says about becoming them?" Greer inquired. "They're just trying to prepare us for what's to come."

"Yeah, they're preparing us for a war," he pointed out. "A war that none of us should be involved in the first place." He paused, huffing out a sigh. "We're just kids, Greer."

"Yet you were ready to join that stupid organization run by Potter," she snapped. "It's no different than what Mum and Dad are asking me to do."

"And what's that exactly?" Gavin questioned, then the realization hit him as he looked into his sister's eyes and knew she was thinking the same thing. "You...you didn't..."

"Not yet," she clarified. "But we talked about it after dinner. They want me to wait a bit longer." The blonde pursed her lips, as if she was attempting to hide any anxious feelings.

"And did they say anything about me?"

"They're debating on it." She paused, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "I guess they're unsure about you after...well, you know."

Gavin nodded and merely stared at his sister with mixed emotions. For a brief moment, he felt sorry for his sister that she was chosen to go through this, with some relief that maybe he wouldn't have to go through with it as well, which meant that he was bound to be disowned by the family eventually. But at the same time, he was angry with her, angry that she had picked this path to go down, to become one of them. In a way, it was almost comical that the one person who had a mind of her own was joining the side that didn't let anyone speak for themselves.

"I can't believe you're actually going through with it," he told her.

Greer's eyes went soft, almost glistening as they started to water up. "And I thought we were going to do this together. I thought we were together until the end."

"That was before everything around us started to fall apart," he retorted. "And by that point, you had already made your choice at which side of history you were going to be on."

"Oh, and you didn't?" she raved. "I know you better than anyone else, Gavin. It was obvious that you wanted to join Potter's club. You thought you could become someone else by being a part of that? You wanted to be so different from what Mum and Dad want you to be? You can't run away from the path that's set before you, Gavin. That's not how it works."

"So what, you just want me to fight alongside people with beliefs I don't agree with? You want me to be miserable?"

"It doesn't have to be."

"Except it is!" Gavin started to feel his hands shaking and a lump slowly forming in his throat. However, he took a deep breath and quickly tore his eyes away from Greer so that he could finish up his packing. "We can choose what paths to take. Either way, the journey will never be easy, but at least I know that I'm making the right choice."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I feel it," he answered, closing the one truck full of his clothes. "I feel it and I know it's the right one." Gavin swallowed hard and closed the last trunk with his other belongings, locking it tight.

"You do realize once you step out of this house that you can never come back," Greer stated, her voice a mixture of shaky and rage.

"I know." Gavin grabbed both trunks off the bed and turned around to look at his twin sister in the eye one last time.

Greer's nostrils flared up the longer she stared at her twin brother. "They'll never forgive you for this, and neither will I."

The words hit him hard, almost like a hex that couldn't be undone. "Goodbye, Greer."

With that, Gavin moved past his sister and out of his bedroom, going down the hall and down the stairs, hoping that he wouldn't run into his parents on the way out the door. Thankfully, he didn't see either one of them in sight, though he thought he spotted Fipley out of the corner of his eye when he made it to the foyer. He didn't think too much of his choice when he first stepped out of the house, promising himself that he wouldn't look back once he did. But as his pace slowed down and finally came to a halt, he turned back around for one final glimpse of the one home he grew up in. He shifted his eyes from left to right, though he found himself looking at his bedroom window, where Greer was standing in his view, her expression now filled with betrayal from what he could see. Gavin took one last glance at her before turning around and heading out past the gates and down the path ahead of him.

And while he was hoping to feel the weight lift off his chest, all that he could think about was the target that was now on his back.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Annnnd here we are with part ii! What did y'all think? We hardly got any of just Gavin and Greer, so hopefully you all liked it.

Comment, vote, welcome to part ii!

-A