goodbye

July 12nd, 1995

"FRED— GEORGE— WAIT a moment."

Harry pulled open his trunk and drew out his Triwizard winnings. All one thousand galleons of it.

"Take it," he said, thrusting the sack into George's hands.

"What?" said Fred, looking flabbergasted.

"Take it," Harry repeated firmly, "I don't want it."

"You're mental," said George, trying to push it back at Harry.

"No, I'm not. You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke shop."

"He is mental," Fred said in an awed voice.

"Listen," said Harry firmly. "If you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."

The twins stared at him.

"Just don't tell your mum where you got it... although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it..."

"Harry," Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.

"Look," he said flatly, "take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you."

Too soon, the group bid their goodbyes and went with their own families. Just before Harry turned around to follow his Muggle uncle, George winked at him, muttering, "Harry— thanks."

He turned to look at his twin, expecting him to nod along with him, but Fred looked distracted. He was staring at nothing, like he was continuously thinking, lost in his own world.

"What?" George elbowed him, "Are you already thinking on how to spend and invest the money?"

"Huh?" Fred said, breaking out of his trance.

"What are you thinking about?"

Daisy, he thought. She's not here. I have something to tell her.

"Hey, Earth to Frederick!"

"Huh?"

George rolled his eyes, "Never mind."

Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley were very quiet as everybody pooled into an unfamiliar car. The former only replied curtly when Ron asked whose car it was, saying that someone had kindly lent it to them, and there were no words exchanged until they were probably halfway towards Devon.

Mrs. Weasley was giving signals to Mr. Weasley with the wiggles of her eyebrows.

"Listen, children," Mr. Weasley broke the silence by clearing his throat, "Your mother and I have something very, very important to tell you."

Ron, George, and Ginny's whispers immediately died down. Fred had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole ride.

"When we get home..."

The four kids' heads turned to look at their father expectantly.

"When we get home, I want you to quickly gather your things, only the important ones. We're going to stay somewhere else this Summer, then straight to Hogwarts next September."

"What?"

"Why?"

"Where?"

"What about Daisy?" Fred asked, leaning closer to the front seats.

"We will explain after you're done packing," Mrs. Weasley said with a tone of finality, "We'll speak to Daisy, too. So no more questions. Please."

When the car stopped in front of the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley immediately ushered her children in, yelling, "Fifteen minutes!"

Fred and George glanced at each other in hesitance.

But then their mother yelled once more, and they sprinted up the stairs despite their confusion. Hurriedly, they threw in their brand new Weasley Wizard Wheezes' order form, unfinished inventions, all of their written ideas, and Harry's winning money into their trunks, then dumped their clothes on top to obscure them from view.

It didn't take them ten minutes to pack, especially since their trunk from Hogwarts were still in tact.

When they got back downstairs, Ron was already there, and he was sitting on the sofa, munching on cookies with Bill... Bill?

"Hey, bro, why aren't you back in Egypt?" George called out.

"Hey!" Bill raised his hand, "Get down here, you two!"

Fred threw his trunk onto the floor and sunk into the couch beside Bill. "So, do you know what this is all about?"

"Yeah," George butted in. He sat beside Ron, dipped his hand into the cookie jar and stole one. "D'you know where we're going to stay?"

Bill's face immediately turned grim and he said, "We'll talk about it soon. Just waiting for Ginny."

"Is Daisy here?" Fred said, peeking around. "I need to talk to her."

"She is, in the kitchen."

Fred moved to stand up, but Bill caught his arm and shook his head. "Mum's talking to her. You'll get your turn."

"GINNY!" Mr. Weasley shouted as he entered the living room, followed by none other than Remus Lupin. The kids doubled back when they realized who the man is, chorusing "Professor Lupin!" in different pitches at once.

"There's no need to call me Professor anymore," Lupin said. "Good to see how well you all are."

A commotion echoed was heard from upstairs, followed by a series of heavy thumping, then something crashing.

"Gin?" Ron called out in a louder voice, "Do you need help?"

"No!"

Five minutes later, Ginny was also seated next to her brothers, her face flushed after all the stairs and the heavy lifting.

And Mr. Weasley began.

He started off with the story of his previous involvement with a secret, underground organization formed by Professor Dumbledore during the First Wizarding War, called the Order of the Phoenix. He and Molly's late twin brothers Fabian and Gideon Prewett, were members, along with Harry's parents, Lupin, Sirius Black, and several other Hogwarts' professors the children had known.

Then, with the help of Ron and Lupin, he briefed them about last year's incident at the Shell Cottage.

In the light of recent events, being You-Know-Who's bodily return, the Order was once more established, and safety purposes compelled them to move into a safehouse a.k.a. headquarter, which Sirius Black had been kind enough to provide: his previous home, number 12 Grimmauld Place.

To help gain intel, Bill had changed his Gringotts post to here, in Britain. Mr. Weasley and several colleagues would be the moles inside the Ministry.

"Why must we move?" Ron asked.

"It will be easier for me and your mother if all of you come with us to the headquarter," Mr. Weasley explained. "And also for protection, because all of us are quite close with Harry."

"Well, what about Harry? Doesn't he need protection, too?" Ginny asked.

"Dumbledore figures he will be safe there, surrounded by Muggles. There will also be a member of the Order keeping an eye on him, around the clock."

"But, Dad, what about Daisy? What if—"

Lupin and Mr. Weasley exchanged glances.

"What if her Father beat her up again? What if she needs our help?"

Lupin shifted in his seat and crossed his fingers together in a very serious manner. "I am very sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your relationship with your Muggle best friend can be a liability for your safety—"

Everyone had their mouth agape, ready to argue, until he continued.

"—and hers. Did you realize that Wormtail, someone very close to You-Know-Who, knows very well about her existence?"

Fred's eyes widened. Scabbers. He had been living as Scabbers in the Burrow for twelve years, and there were countless occasions when Daisy had him in her hands!

"If he decides to relay that information and use it, he just needs to revisit your house and get her. She comes here all the time, doesn't she?"

Mr. Weasley didn't seem happy with the decision either. He wiped his face with his hand and sighed, "Children, it is true that staying in contact with Daisy may jeopardize the Order. But to me, what's worse is that she might be used as a... hostage or a bargaining object. I do not want that."

"Dad," George quipped, raising his hand, "Promise me, we'd never Obliviate Dee."

Mr. Weasley blinked, "Oh. Of course. We weren't planning on doing that."

"You may change your plan later, but whatever it is, promise me you won't," George repeated, "I promised her. She have to remember."

"Okay, okay," Mr. Weasley agreed, "Now, in a minute, Daisy and your mother will walk out of that kitchen. Say your goodbye, tell her we'll see her soon if the situation allows us to. Don't make this harder for her, understand?"

The boys chorused in a low voice, "Yes," while Ginny stayed silent. Treacherous tears fell down her cheeks and, snorting, she wiped them with the back of her hand aggressively.

"Also, don't mention Percy," Bill added hollowly.

"Why?" Fred asked, "Did he do something?"

"I'll tell you all about it later," the eldest Weasley son sighed, "Merlin knows our Mum's been crying days on straight, losing two of her kids at once."

✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿

July 12nd, 1995

DAISY LOOKED UP to the ceiling, hoping for her tears to stop, but they couldn't.

She always dreaded this day. The day when a rift was created, forcefully separating her from this magical family she had called home. But she never thought that it would come so soon.

"Sorry," she choked, wiping her tears, "Sorry. Can I get a minute, please—"

Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder, engulfing her into her arms, and the two ladies just cried into each other's shoulders. The former kept on rubbing her back, whispering things like, "Stay safe, would you? Have great time with your friends... I will pray everyday so your wicked father will be away all year long. Take care of yourself, honey. You're a big girl now. Sixteen... Big, big girl... You used to fit in my arms like a little baby. Oh, honey... I am so sorry... So sorry if we've ever hurt you in any way... How mature, brave, and smart, my girl... You may not be my daughter by blood, but oh..."

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, and how long she needed to get a grip on herself once more.

But when she entered the living room and saw the look on the other kids' faces, the dam broke again.

"Ginny..." she croaked, opening her arms, and the youngest immediately leapt into it, crying herself.

Even Ron teared up.

George pulled her into his chest and patted her head soothingly, whispering the same words as his mother, then kissed her temple.

Finally, it was Fred's turn, and everything that he had planned to say to her disappeared into thin air. He couldn't string a sentence together. They just hugged, then stood in front of each other, quiet.

Daisy shifted on her feet and said, "About— About that thing, I wanted to talk to you about..."

"Y— Yeah?"

She drew a long breath. "It's nothing, really. I just— You know, well— I won a prize, did you hear?"

"Yeah!" Fred stuttered, scratching his head. This was so not what he had in mind. "Congrats!"

"What about you? What do you want to say to me?"

Don't make this harder, Dad said.

"It's— it's also nothing."

"Oh, okay," Daisy said. She went quiet and she looked down, playing with the dirt by her feet.

"Look," Fred began, sighing, "I promise, I'll come and get you someday. Okay? George and I are still working on the joke shop, and I will personally escort you to see the store once we have it. We will be fine on our side, so you have to promise me that you're going to be fine, too."

Daisy nodded.

"Daisy."

She hummed.

"I love you."

She looked up at him, drinking in his stern yet desperate sight.

Oh, these three words. They had said it so many times before, but this time, there was an unspoken difference, so heavy, so ladened with unsolved emotion. And neither realized how heartbroken the other was.

"I love you, too."

"Bye, Dee."

"Bye-bye, Fred."

"For now... right?"

She nodded in agreement, "For now."