▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Feast full of delicious foods and constant chatter managed to distract Saffron from her disappointment at her brothers sorting. She would have plenty of opportunities to check up on him. Besides, it was probably a good thing that he was sorted in Ravenclaw because for as inconsistent as Maya could be in showing how much she cared about her siblings, she had done a better job as of late. Saffron knew deep down that her sister would look after him considering they were indeed in the same house. She just had to ignore her somewhat envious feelings and focus on what matter: Rowan and Rachel were in Hogwarts.

Rachel, Saffron felt a sharp twinge of pain when she realised she had barely spared a second thought for her younger sister. She had been sorted into Hufflepuff, just as their father had and moreover just like their father had wanted for them. Oscar Mitchell had stated that he wished for all of his children to end up in Hufflepuff because of how accepting and loyal the group were as a whole. Only one of his four children got in, not that he would ever know.

With Maya and Rowan following a different path in joining Ravenclaw, Rachel in Hufflepuff like their father, that left Saffron where her mother had been. For a few moments, Saffron mulled over the possibility of what that could mean. When she thought about where her mother ended up, and how specifically she had passed, Saffron couldn't help but wonder if she was destined to a similar fate.

She wore her mother's red ribbon in her hair every day. She looked like her double, even more so than Maya and Rachel. She ended up in Gryffindor . . . There was a lot of correlation about how they lived up until the age of twelve, and for a moment, Saffron thought about taking the ribbon out of her hair. Simply because she didn't want to be destined to any fate remotely like that of her mothers, but before her hand could twist it out of her hair, she stopped her self.

As similar as they might have been, she was not her mother. Saffron felt like she didn't have to distance herself from what little she remembered about the woman in order to not become her. Her feelings towards it fluctuated all the time, but the red ribbon had served her well so far. Or at the very least hadn't hurt her. Why change it now?

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

The feast ended, leaving the entirety of the hall with full stomachs and sleepy heads after the long day of travel most of them had undergone. The hitch was that not everybody who was supposed to be in the hall was there, as Harry and Ron were still noticeable absentees. In true Hogwarts fashion, rumours started to circulate as to their whereabouts.

As Saffron made her way over to congratulate Rowan at the Ravenclaw table, Saffron was aghast at what people were saying. Theories about them being abducted, expelled and arrested on charges of threatening the exposure of the wizarding world. Shaking her head as she passed the hisses of gossip, she smiled widely at Rowan, who looked pleased with himself.

"Congratulations, you raven," Saffron said to her brother, who had been talking to Maya who was seemingly fascinated in what he was saying.

"Eagle!" countered Rowan, mock-defensively, followed by a small laugh from the boy who's school tie had altered its colour from a plain grey to a blue and silver combination.

"Yeah, whatever," Saffron laughed back at him. "You happy?"

Rowan nodded hesitantly. "I--I think so, are you?"

"Of course I am," lied Saffron with confidence, not reflecting the internal conflict she had been having mere minutes beforehand. "You'll get to take after Maya, how good will that be?"

"Ha-ha," said Maya stiffly, arching her eyebrow at Saffron. "Anyway, Rowan, you best go, they won't wait for you and the last thing you want is to be stuck at the door without somebody who's good at getting the passwords,"

"Okay," sighed Rowan, more out of anticipation than anything. Saffron smiled at that. She remembered the first day fluttering she had in her stomach vividly. "Okay, okay, I'm ready,"

"You are," Saffron assured him firmly, looking her younger brother directly in the eye. Again, she understood his apprehension. He was going to sleep in a room without Rachel for the first time ever. It undoubtedly felt eerie and nerve-wracking to be thrust into a completely new environment with people who you sort of know, but that you don't trust yet quite simply because you don't know them. "You'll be fine, trust me,"

Rowan nodded to himself over and over again. "Yeah,"

"And I'll be up there soon," Maya reminded him soothingly. "If you need anything tonight, I'll be there,"

"Yeah," Rowan repeated himself, looking over his shoulder to see his fellow Ravenclaw first years being led out of the hall by the fifth year Prefects. He pulled his hands under the sleeves of his robes and looked nervously back at his sisters.

"Good luck, if anyone can do this you----" Saffron was cut off mid-sentence as she felt her brother's hands go around her waist to take her into the hug. She was caught off guard but quickly tried to return it. She barely had the time to do so, however, as Rowan quickly let go and looked up at her again, taking another deep breath.

"Okay, now I'm ready,"

Spinning on his heel, Rowan rushed off to follow his fellow Ravenclaws out of the hall. Saffron and Maya watched him meet the tail of the group at the doors of the hall, and both girls were relieved that he, at the very least had gotten that far.

Saffron turned to Maya. "Rachel?"

"Already gone," Maya told her, turning to face her too. "The Hufflepuffs usually leave right after the hall, Bethany told me they like to give the first years a tour of the common room and explain the easiest routes to get to classes,"

"What?" said Saffron, feeling slightly envious that she hadn't gotten the same treatment last year. If not for Hermione, she surely would have been late to every class for the first few weeks.

Maya nodded. "I know, I never got it either, but at least Rachel will. Rather her than me, I suppose, I want them both to have it as easy as possible,"

"I do too," said Saffron in agreement. "But, I don't think we can get in their way too much. They'll get through it, somehow, they're much stronger than we think, I think,"

"Which must mean they're blooming strong since they're probably the strongest people I know," Maya paused. "Except for maybe you,"

Saffron snorted at that. "Not true,"

"You might not think so yet, but I think you'll see it eventually," Maya raised her eyebrows. She went on to change the subject, clearly presuming that Saffron had insight on the glaring absence of the feast. "Anyway, have you heard about Harry and Ron? Or from Harry or Ron?"

"Yes and no," Saffron answered, and when she caught Maya's eye, she rolled her own. "Honest, Maya, I have no idea where they are. I haven't talked to either of them since we went to London, your guess is as good as mine,"

"Alright, alright," said Maya, trying to convey that she trusted Saffron's words. "It's just . . what, with last year and everything you didn't tell me . . . I had to check,"

"You said no secrets, didn't you?" Saffron asked Maya rhetorically, but she received an answer anyway.

"Yes, and you went on to continue to keep secrets," pointed out Maya, gazing at Saffron with sincerity.

Saffron waved her hand to try and bat that sentence away.

"Fine, then start now. I'll keep no secrets, and I'm not keeping one about Harry and Ron, sound good?"

"Sounds like Saffron when she goes on to do exactly what she said she wouldn't do," remarked Maya warily. After a small pause, she decided to agree. "Okay, yeah, sounds good. But this time you have to keep your end of the bargain, Saff,"

Saffron offered her hand to Maya to shake. "I'll do a handshake, so I must be serious,"

With a look that echoed that she didn't believe what her younger sister was saying, Maya shook her hand.

A deal. A pact. An agreement. But who were either of them kidding? They both knew that neither of the eldest siblings would stay true to their word. In spite of this clear fact, at the very least making the agreement was another step along the road of strengthening their bond that was still being fixed from when Maya chose not to come back from school a year ago.