Summer 1999
I don’t remember falling asleep on the bench in the garden outside of the Burrow. I stirred when I felt someone lift me up to carry me into the house. I didn’t fight the boy carrying me, I simply put my arms around his neck. I opened my eyes to see who it was and locked eyes with Charlie. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. It was getting cold and while you looked rather peaceful, I didn’t want you starting this summer with a head cold.” I smiled at him and closed my eyes and rested my head on his chest. He carried me through the house and to the room I shared with Fred and George. Molly argued with us for years and tried to get me to stay with Ginny, but at some point, she decided that giving in was easier than fighting with us. I kicked my shoes to the ground as he placed me on my bed.
“Thanks, Charlie,” I whispered as he gently closed the door behind him. I sat up and looked around the room to look for the boys. I had no idea what time it was, but seeing that they weren’t in the room with me, I figured it couldn’t be that late. I decided to take advantage of their absence and get changed into my pajamas. I slipped out of my clothes from the day and got into a pair of plaid pajama shirts and a tank top. I looked around the room for my sweater to put on top. The boys often complained, but Molly’s sweaters were incredibly comfy and I wore them whenever I had the opportunity to. I looked all through my trunk and my dresser, but I couldn’t find my sweater anywhere. I walked over to the boys’ side of the room and picked up an inside-out sweater from the floor of their closet. I knew they wouldn’t mind if I borrowed it. I pulled the sweater over my head and immediately smiled at the warmth it brought me. I looked down to see whose sweater I’d stolen for the evening and saw the white “F” on the front. The boys were so much taller than me that the sweater covered my shorts but I didn’t mind, I was too comfy to care. Finally feeling my hunger from not eating all day, I decided to head down to the kitchen for a snack.
Not knowing what time it was, I quietly made my way downstairs. Our bedroom was on the second floor, right above Ginny’s room. She was still very young, so I thought that maybe she would already be asleep. When I made my way down the last set of stairs, I heard whispers coming from the living room. I instantly knew they belonged to Fred and George.
“Who do you think this is?” I heard Fred whisper.
“It’s Lily Potter. Cass told me the Potters were close with Remus,” I heard George reply. I realized they had my pictures from Remus. I wanted to walk over and grab them out of their hands, but I stood where I was, curious to see what else they had to say.
“Merlin, our Cass was close with the Potters? Why did she never say anything?” Fred questioned, grabbing another picture, “George, look! It’s from their first Christmas with us, remember when she almost cried because of the sweater mum gave her?”
“Hey, it was sweet. She’s always been sentimental, our Cass,” George said. I began walking towards the two of them. They must’ve heard me coming because I saw them scrambling to hide the pictures they were just looking at.
“Now you guys are stealing from me?” I questioned, holding my hand out to get my belongings back. Fred reached behind the pillow next to him and handed the envelope back to me.
“You’re one to talk,” he chuckled, pointing to the sweater I was wearing.
“Sorry, Cass. Charlie gave them to us and told us to give them back to you. We can’t help that we are incredibly nosy,” George said, looking guilty.
“I know I can’t hide anything from you, boys. It’s truly fine,” I said, taking a seat in between them on the couch. “Did you read the letter, too?” They looked at each other with worried looks. “I won’t be mad. It’s actually good. Now I don’t have to talk about it,” I said flatly. George put his hand on my knee.
“If you want to talk about it, you are more than welcome to,” he said sweetly.
“But if you don’t want to, we can pretend it never happened,” said Fred. I smiled and pulled the photos out of the envelope. The one of Lily and I was on top.
“I already told George, but Lily was like a mum to me, while she was alive,” I told Fred, “I was young, but I remember how happy she made me. Our abnormal family always felt normal to me,” I said, looking at the photo again and putting it back in the envelope. “Anyway, I am starving,” I said, starting to stand to head to the kitchen.
“Stay put, I’ll get you something,” George said, pushing me back down on the couch and jumping up to run to the kitchen. I didn’t argue with the boy, I simply laughed at him. Fred and I sat comfortably in silence until he spoke up.
“So, why’d you pick my sweater? Is it cause I’m clearly the superior twin?” He said smirking.
“I heard that!” George yelled from the kitchen, and we laughed.
“It was dark in the room and it was the first sweater I picked up. No thoughts were involved, Freddie. I was simply trying to keep warm after spending my evening on a bench outside,” I said through the laughter. His laughter faded and he looked almost, disappointed? Maybe I was making things up, I thought. George returned moments later with toast with jam and a cup of tea. He handed me the plate and put the tea on the small table in front of us.
“We have big plans for you tomorrow, Cass,” he said, taking his place next to me on the couch. I looked between the two of them.
“We weren’t kidding, we are going to make this the perfect summer. You deserve it, Cass,” Fred said. I rolled my eyes and continued eating my toast.
They were not kidding. This summer was full of fun and laughter. Every day, Fred and George would wake me up and tell me to hurry and eat breakfast so we could get our day started. Most days were full of pranks and laughter. Some days, they would try to get me on a broom and play quidditch with them. I told them I hated flying, but they never listened, “Ginny’s too little and the teams are uneven, we need you!” they would yell at me. My favorite days, however, were when they made elaborate plans to surprise me. The first surprise was a treehouse they made in a tree in the backyard. They used a spell so that only the three of us could climb the ladder. On the front of the house was a sign that read “Fred, George, and Cass’ Treemendous Hideaway.” They were so proud of the name they came up with. Inside the treehouse was a small bookcase with my favorite books, three bean bag chairs, and all of their pranking materials. We spent most of our summer up there, laughing until our sides hurt.
The morning of the next surprise, they told me to quickly eat breakfast and then meet them in the back garden. From there, they put a blindfold on me, despite my pleas to promise to keep my eyes closed, and guided me to a clearing in the forest behind the burrow. When they took my blindfold off, my eyes welled up. They had set up an Ireland-themed picnic. The blanket on the ground was green, white and orange. They had hung four-leaf clover decorations from the trees and used a spell to put a rainbow above our heads. They asked Molly to help them make “Irish food,” that’s what they kept calling it, and she helped them make potato cakes and bread pudding. We sat out there for hours, eating and laughing. They made me feel like the most special girl in the world.
Before I knew it, we were beginning to pack up to head back to Hogwarts in a few days. I grew more anxious as the time came closer, knowing that Remus would be home soon. I was no longer upset with him, I just wanted to spend time with him before I had to go back to Hogwarts. George and Fred gave me such an incredible summer, and I just couldn’t wait to tell him all about it. I was laying in bed reading when I heard Molly calling my name from downstairs. I jumped up and ran, knowing what she wanted me for. I turned the corner to run into the living room and immediately jumped into my brother's arms. I couldn’t control the tears streaming down my face. “Hi, pumpkin,” he said softly in my ear.
“I missed you so much,” I said, stifling my tears. He put me down and took my face in his hands.
“I hope you didn’t stay too mad with me,” he said.
“I could never,” I replied, going in for another hug.
When I pulled away, Molly called us into the kitchen for lunch. I took my normal spot between Fred and George and Remus sat directly across from me. It was so good to see his face again. We all ate lunch and listened to the stories Bill and Remus told us. When we were finished, Remus told me to come to the back garden with him. We sat on the bench and I told him all about my summer with Fred and George. When I was finally finished, which took a while, he took a small wrapped box out of his pocket and handed it to me.
“What’s this?” I asked as I began taking the paper off of the box. When I opened it, I saw a silver locket with a crescent moon and two stars on the front of it.
“Open it,” Remus told me. I picked up the locket and opened it. On the right side was a photo of me as a tiny infant swaddled in blankets. Remus was holding me, and behind him was Lily, James, and Sirius. On the left was an engraving that said We are always with you. “I felt terrible having to leave you this summer, pumpkin. So many people have left you in your life, and it’s not fair. I wanted to give you this so you always know, even when I am not here, and even though they are no longer here, we will always be with you. We are so proud of you, pumpkin,” he said as he kissed me on the head. I ran my fingers over the locket and examined all the details.
“What if I just don’t go back to Hogwarts this year? I’ll just stay home and learn from you,” I said. I missed him so much, how was I supposed to leave him in a few days? He laughed and pulled me into his side.
“I don’t think so, pumpkin. You are already an amazing witch, but you have so much left to learn. We have the rest of our lives to be together,” he said. Oh, how I hoped that was true.