Summer 1990
The summer was turning out to be a hot one. Molly had to be careful to not trip over her children on the cool stone floors of their home. Her oldest girl Rhiannon was missing. No doubt she was off visiting Luna. Recently Pandora had died in an accident from one of her experiments.
Rhiannon didn't learn until they had arrived back at Burrow for the summer holidays. Her poor girl's grey eyes got wet with tears and she was inconsolable for hours. Then an hour before dinner that day she dried her eyes, left the house and returned with little Luna, for dinner.
Molly wasn't very surprised, her oldest girl had always been a very attentive girl to all the younger children in the village. She remembered when she was first toddling around their home and trying her best to pat Ron or Ginny back to sleep. Even worse when she wasn't allowed to pick them up but would drag them around on a blanket, until her or Arthur found her.
The mother is worried about how Ginny is seemingly getting jealous over Luna monopolizing all of her big sister's time. Molly has had a talk to her about it but she didn't seem very reticent to it. She put it out of mind for now, as she nearly tripped over Fred.
“Hi mam,” he smiled up at her showing off the dimples she gave him.
“Hello Freddy, would you like some lemonade?” She asked him.
“Maaaaam, you're not forgetting about me, this is favoritism!” George called from his spot on the floor.
“Uh-oh here we go,” Charlie called.
“What's that supposed to mean!” Both of the twins yelled in unison.
“I'm trying to study and I can't if you're going to be loud and bicker!” Percy called his books and school work surrounding him from his spot. His glasses were knocked slightly askew from where his face was pressed against the floor.
Molly rolled hazel eyes fondly as her children started bickering. She'd have to make another batch of lemonade soon.
Arthur was driving, Tegan, as the older children insisted the Ford Anglia be called. His youngest boy was stretched out sleeping in the back seat. He was giving his oldest daughter a driving lesson, on their way to a chess tourney that's starting early in the day and is to last the rest of it.
He remembered fondly when his daughter first was asking questions about the muggle world.
“But Poppa, why don't we have access to public libraries too,” that had led her into of her many rants that she loved to hold him captive for. Not that Arthur is complaining; he loves talking to and hearing all that every single one of his children have to say. His Buttercup does happen to do it the most though. This rant eventually led to her demanding to see a public library. So to Devon they went. Where she then found a flyer for a chess tourney she wanted to go see. Which led them to now.
He pulled into the carpark and found a spot quickly. Ron stumbled out of the car after he was shaken awake by Rhiannon, who much more gracefully gilded out of the car.
“Come on then children, off to registration.” It was only Ron competing today, Rhiannon claimed, “Why enter a competition that I know I'll lose. Ron beats me enough at home thanks.” She had said it in a way that Arthur knew his daughter didn't mind losing to her younger brother.
Ron ended up taking home the prize money.
Fred (and his twin) have always known their older sister was a bit odd at times. It seemed she'd be staring at something they could not, smiling about a secret joke that only she knew. Or she'd wander off for hours only to return and ask them about a prank she wasn't there to witness. The fevers at the Sabbats that only started at seven.
On what must've been the hottest summer day so far she walked out of the house, in a cloak. As the good little brothers he and George were, they decided to follow her. They walked for a while. Her stride was quick and peppy, the path was overgrown but it looked like she had walked along it often. They had gotten to a clearing in the middle of the forest around their village. It was a strange clearing that was a perfect circle of different types of trees. In the center was a stone circle with a fire pit. A staff of elderwood was standing up perfectly in the middle.
The air was thick with ancient magic Fred noted. When he breathed in he could taste fires long past burnt. Dirt and greeny in the freshest spring morning overwhelmed him.
“I know you're there, Fred, George,” Rhiannon said looking over her shoulder, in a sharp jerky movement echoed by a dark flying figure. It is without much embarrassment Fred jumped in fright, but so did George.
Once they calm down, they can hear a cawing from the trees. Fred looks up and sees Briallen up in the trees for a bird she looks very smug. “Oi stop laughing at us!” It is then he hears his older sister chuckling at him. “Hey!”
“She has the humor of her witch, or maybe it's the other way around.” Rhiannon says smiling wide dimples and teeth on display. “That’s not important, though what is, however,” and then she explains. Every single thing she can in detail, about her memories from the Before™, about her seeing spirits, the druidic rituals. “Uncle Fabian and Gideon said I needed to bring someone else in. I thought there was no one better than you two.”
Fred takes a shaky breath and George makes eye contact and they nod at each other.
“How can we help?”
On the morning of September 1st Luna is hugged tightly by Rhiannon Weasley. “You need anything you holler at my mam or Cedric's they both adore you.” Her grey eyes look into Luna's with earnest conviction.
“Yes.”
“Good girl.” The hug ends far too quickly. Luna had always loved the hugs she got from the Weasleys, they felt like they would wrap her up whole in warmth. Even from the smaller members.
When the younger members of the Weasleys return, Molly goes inside and the youngest two stay outside to play. Ginny Weasley finds herself at the river and Luna joins her.
******
“Ginny, would you like to play together today?” Luna asks, trying to not look at her that reminds her of the horrible red blood it's seeping into her mother's hair. Luna's hands are sticky with it, even now.
“Why do you keep bothering me!” Ginny screeches at her Luna chances at a glance to see olive skin turning red like her hair. The blood is seeping into the floorboards. There's so much. It's everywhere. Where is her daddy?
******
“I thought we were friends?”
“No, we're not! You stole my sister! And why do you always stare off like that? Are you crazy? I hate you! Loony Lovegood that's what- who you are!” With that Ginny stormed off.
“She’s my sister too.” Luna said at her back, but Ginny was too far away. The nine year old didn't think it would matter