Hogsmeade weekend. Emily remembered getting dragged along to plenty. Not that she didn't inevitably enjoy herself at each and everyone of them, blowing through whatever bit of a allowance and savings her parents allotted them at Honeydukes or Scrivenshaft's. Hogsmeade weekend meant she didn't have a chance to hem or haw or push off meeting with Sophie because she was busy with her seventh year and Emily really shouldn't be bothering her. The guilty part of her took that as a sign that she had some making up to do. After Ramona's death, they'd all clung to one another, but Emily had hopped out of the country no sooner as graduation. Aside from the occasional letter and the tour stop over the Summer, she hadn't seen or spoken with Sophie much since. It pained her and the other side of her guilt, the dark part, whispered Sophie didn't really want to see her anyway.

Here she was though, taking up space a table at The Three Broomsticks and sipping on a butterbeer and reading the same paragraph over and over again while she waited for Sophie.

Sophie was laughing as she parted ways with the gaggle of friends she'd come into the village with. She had a Sister-Date to get to and didn't want to keep Emmy waiting long. It was strange, it'd been well over a year since they'd had one of these days. It had been tradition when the girls were all at Hogwarts that they'd grab a butterbeer before rushing off with their friends. It was a little gathering to reconnected because being in different years and houses sometimes it felt like they were planets orbiting one another distantly.

After their mother died it got worse, they felt further away than they ever had before... and then America and Greece separated them physically. With an ocean between them and all the hurt Sophie had felt being abandoned. It wasn't fair, she couldn't blame Ruby and Emmy for leaving, especially not Emmy. It had been a chance to study the Oracles, to source pieces of their history dating back thousands of years. She knew why it had happened, she knew she shouldn't have been angry or hurt... but she had been.

Then they had had the tour stop in Greece and seeing her there, healthy glow and surrounded by all the things she loved most in teh world? Sophie couldn't be mad anymore. She was finally honest with herself and admitted she would have run away too if she'd had the option. Besides Emmy wasn't the only one who left, the same way Sophie wasn't the only one who had lost a mother. Now that she was back in London... well Sophie wanted things to be better, to be different.

Slipping into the crowded tavern, she scanned the room for a familiar dark head. When she saw her, Soph couldn't help but smile. Nose buried in a book as always, no matter what else had changed there were some things that never could. Creeping up behind her she placed her hands over Emily's eyes "Guess whoooooo"!

Was it the fourth or the fifth time she'd read this page? The printed words might as well be in some ancient alien language for all the luck she was having in absorbing any of it. Just stamped letters on cream paper bound together in leather meant for someone to understand and, more importantly, enjoy to some extent, but the joy escaped Emily. This had been a terrible idea, it was one thing to see Sophie on tour and quite another to attempt to inject herself back into her life. The visit had gone so fast that the wee little family unit had barely had a moment to share a hug and meal. Emmy had dragged Sophie around on the quickest round of Greece imaginable. They'd exchanged promises to write and of course, try to see each other more often.

A pair of hands covered her eyes, saving her from another attempt. Emily pressed a hand over those and hummed as if she were really thinking about it. "Could it be Ruby?"She pulled the hands away and abandoned her book so she could squeeze both of Sophie's with her own. "I've missed you."

"Psh," Sophie made a mock offended noise, "No, it's your actual favorite sister, not the one you pretend to like. Goofy girl," it was obviously she was teasing and not the least bit offended. Actually, the name Ruby sort of made the seventeen year old miss their other sister, a hopeful hammer in her chest like maybe the third Flickwick daughter would pop out of a corner somewhere yelling surprise.

Of course she didn't, because Ruby was in America connecting with their mother's family and trying to out run whatever her own demons were these days. It was hard to tell from her letters because she talked about everything but herself and her feelings. Sophie pushed the thought away, determined to enjoy the sister sitting in front of her. She'd spend her whole life missing them if she waited for all her siblings to be in one place together.

Squeezing Emily's fingers, she wrapped her arms around the other girl's neck, pressing a kiss to her temple. It was a sisterly gesture they'd made a million times, but it wasn't until she could smell the familiar scent of Emmy's hair that the fact she was home felt really real. Sophie didn't want to let it go, so she didn't. They probably looked ridiculous, tiny Flickwick standing behind sitting Flickwick, arms wrapped around her neck and temples pressed together.

Sophie didn't care, "Promise if I let go you won't run off again"? She was joking, but the second the words left her lips she regretted them, unsure of how touchy a subject it might be between them. Kissing Em's cheek she finally came around and sat across from the other witch, features bright, "Alright tell me exactly what you've been up to since you got back. Leave out no details, who have you seen, who are you avoiding, all of it"!

Emily squeezed her eyes shut to combat the sudden harsh stinging Sophie's words evoked. "I promise." She laughed with as much mirth as she could manage. Sophie let her go and finally sat down. The younger witch wanted to know everything she'd been up to and a much more sincere laugh escaped her. "You, goose. I've seen you. I've been back for less than a second, honestly. Do you think I've whipped up a whole life to tell you about in a week? What about you? School going alright?"

"One never can tell with we Flickwicks. I mean Ruby had only been back a night and she was shacked up with Kale Ferris! We can be very quick when we want to be," she grinned at her sister, nose wrinkling just a little. Sitting there with just the two of them she found herself missing Ruby a teensy bit more. It still felt like pieces of them were missing.

"School's good. Indica has decided it needs to be the best year ever and is subsequently working on a million misadventures for us to have," Sophie rolled her eyes a little. The Bucket List was a nice distraction but she wasn't about to tell Em she'd gone skinny dipping in September. She still felt slightly awkward every time she looked at Eli, trying not to picture him in that ridiculous speedo.

Twisting the ring on her finger she chewed the corner of her lip thoughtfully, "Fig's being weird. I mean probably no weirder than usual but it feels weird, like he thinks I'm still going to be mad he got a girlfriend before I got a boyfriend last year? I couldn't really be fussed to care honestly. I mean I spent my summer running around the globe making strangers fall in love with me. He spent it in the family shop working with Zel".

"Now that working with Zel is bad, I was really glad to see him when I got back. We've talked a bit about getting a place after graduation, I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. I used to think I'd have all this figured out by now. You and Ruby always seemed to know what you wanted to do," her voice trailed off as she realized what a silly thought that actually was. Ruby had lost the plot and ran off to America twice. Emily seemed to have fared better, but it was maybe still soon to tell.