Sasha groaned as her alarm rang shrilly through the silence of the room, waking her from her sleep. Sitting up groggily she pushes off her covers and pads across the corridor to the bathroom, sighing as she surveys the mess around her. It had been like this for three years now. Ever since her father had been killed in an accident on his way home from work. Her mother just wasn't coping very well at all, she barely functioned anymore and the house was a mess, it made Sasha's gut clench uncomfortably as she thought about how she was glad she spent most of the year away at school. Guilt filled her as she realised that she was happy that she was leaving for the Burrow only two weeks into the summer holidays and tears welled in her eyes as she saw her mothers dishevelled form shuffle past her and down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Mum…" she starts stepping out of the bathroom, her toothbrush in her hand and her mother stops and turns to her, a small smile on her face as she tries to cover her pain.

"I'm fine Sash, dad would want you to go and have fun… he loved that you were so special… he would be so… so proud of you," she stutters and Sasha feels the tears that have been gathering in her eyes begin to fall as her mother rushes forwards to embrace her.

It is a couple of hours later as she packs her bags and prepare to travel through the Floo network to the Burrow that she begins to think about the last time she was there, the last time she saw the family that had become like an extended version of my own. The last time she saw Charlie, even the thought of his name still sent a flush to her cheeks and set butterflies to work in her stomach. She had long ago dismissed the feelings towards her best friends' older brother, he would never be interested in her, she was a prankster and a tomboy, best friends with the infamous Weasley twins, one of the only ones that could tell them apart. She had been thirteen when she last saw him, it was the year after he had graduated and she had been in the middle of telling him how much she had missed him that year at Hogwarts and about to ask him to join a game of Quidditch when the news had arrived. Molly Weasley had come rushing over the garden towards them, her face pale and grim and a letter gripped tightly in her hand.

"What is it mum what's wrong?" Charlie had asked but she had merely shaken her head and looked down at Sasha and the girls heart had sunk, her small hand had automatically reached for Charlie's and he had taken it in his own calloused one without hesitation and normally where she would have felt tingles and excitement at this little act of kindness, that day she could feel nothing but the growing numbness in her. A numbness, she mused that hadn't entirely disappeared yet and it had been three years.

Sighing again she stand up and examines herself in the mirror. Same as always, nothing special, long, straight, white blonde hair, not unlike Malfoy's she thinks for the millionth time with a shudder, bright green eyes, her favourite feature, Harry always says it makes him feel like they're related, like she's a big sister. They always used to shine but in the last few years they have been dull and empty she realises. Not that anyone ever noticed, she hid it very well.

"Shasha, are you ready, they'll be expecting you and the last thing I need is Fred and George bursting in here again," her mothers calls and so taking one last look around, she grabs her trunk and her owl, makes sure her wand is in her pocket, despite the fact that she couldn't use outside of school for another year and headed for the living room.

"Goodbye mum, I'll… I'll owl to let you know I'm okay," she says hugging her mother again, guilt and relief fighting for dominance within her and making her feel queasy.

"You do that sweetie and have fun… remember life's… life's short," she breaks off again as her voice became choked with emotion and Sasha tried to smile or respond but found herself unable to do anything other than move herself backwards into the fireplace and shouting for the Burrow, the image of her broken mother haunting her as it always did when she left.

"Sash, at last," Fred exclaims as she steps out of the flames and brushes the soot from her jeans.

"We thought you'd never get here," George adds as he scoops her up in a bear hug.

"Hi Guys," she mutters in response smiling widely as they begin bickering over who will take her bags upstairs and then running off together and leaving her standing in the kitchen. For a second she is silent, gazing around at the empty room, enjoying the seconds of silence that were rare here. She was pleased to be back, she had missed it terribly, missed the family terribly. Of course she had seen the twins and Ron and Ginny along with Harry and Hermione at school and they all kept her up to date on what Bill, Percy and Charlie were up to. But there was the sadness too, the fact that it was here where she had received the news, the fact that the guilt she felt everyday nearly overwhelmed her at moments. Guilt that came from knowing that a thirteen year old version of her was so concentrated on Charlie Weasley, that she had rushed straight off that summer to be at the Burrow, barely even saying goodbye to her parents and she had been busy flirting, or trying to flirt with Charlie when her father was dying. It was this guilt that had kept her away for three years, that had stopped her replying to Bill and especially Charlie's owls, despite knowing how worried they were about her, she was family to them after all. That was a thought that still managed to make her gut clench again, Charlie would never see her as anything other than a kid, a little sister, oh why did life have to be so complicated.

"Oh sweetheart, we've missed you so much," Mrs Weasley's voice breaks her from her self pitying musings and she plasters her, by now well practised, smile across her face as she is enveloped in a hug by the Weasley matriarch.

"I've missed you too," I say quietly, and for a moment she just examines me and I feel more seen than I had in along time before the twins come hurtling back into the room, this time accompanied by Ron, Hermione and Harry who also throw themselves at the sixteen year old. It was funny how she had worried so much about fitting in at Hogwarts when she had first got her letter and here she was surrounded by people who considered her family, how she considered family too. Hermione looked up to her she knew that, they were the same she supposed, Hermione and her. Both only children, both muggleborns, both smart and more interested in books and learning than looks. Both friends with two impossible trouble makers and both pining after a Weasley boy, she knew Hermione harboured a secret crush on Ron. Harry on the other hand saw her as a big sister, she never really understood why, other than their shared eye colour, but she was more than happy to fill the role and was fiercely protective over him, over all of them.

"There's my little troublemaker," a voice chuckles from behind her and she spins to see Bill standing in the doorway leaning casually against the frame as he watches the reunion, although she can see the concern in his eyes as well as the amusement. He had always been able to read her the best, he and Charlie, better even than the twins. She could hide things from everyone in her life except those two, they always knew.

"Bill," she whispers, tears already shinning in her eyes as she launches herself at him, it wasn't until this moment that she realised just how much she had missed them and she is barely able to keep her emotions in check.

"Come on trouble lets go have a chat at our tree," he smiles still holding her tightly and motioning to the others who are relieved to see her showing some kind of emotion. The twins had of course noticed that she had changed and had become increasingly worried about her lack of grieving, her complete lack of any kind of emotion over the last three years, they all had.

"Is that my little Dragon tamer, what did you do to her Bill?" the voice is loud and cheerful, deep and impossibly masculine and yet caring and gentle too and the second she hears the first syllable her heart stops and she freezes completely. Staring up in complete shock she is unable to believe for a second that he is real. Charlie Weasley, standing under their tree, looking more handsome than ever the concern for her evident in his every feature as he took her in.

"Is it… are you… Charlie," she is unable to say anything else as three years worth of locking everything away is stripped from her and the tears finally come unbidden, her legs giving way beneath her and her entire body shaking with the force of her sobs. Charlie is quick to leap forward and gather her to him. Holding her tightly against his chest and stroking her hair as he whispers words of comfort to her. Bill sitting close beside them a knowing look on his face as he sees the way Charlie takes in the changes to their friend. He had of course known for years how Sasha felt for his younger brother and how oblivious Charlie was despite how obviously perfect he knew they would eventually be for one another. Now that she was sixteen though she was becoming a woman and soon Charlie would begin questioning his own feelings. Bill had no doubt in his mind that the two of them belonged together but he was worried because they were both so good at denying themselves what was best for them.

"It's going to be okay Sash, I promise it will," Charlie is whispering to her now and she is burrowing even further into his chest, looking smaller and more frail than they had ever seen her and it broke both the men's hearts.

They sit for hours in the warm sunlight, not speaking just being there for her. They hadn't seen her for three years and both felt guilty that they hadn't tried harder to see her. The truth was they knew she wasn't okay, knew that if she was she would have written to them, the twins of course had told them of their concerns and they knew then it was serious but their own lives stopped them from doing anything. Bill had been busy in Egypt and Charlie in Romania, they hadn't come home to see her when she had needed them and it was something that ate away at them, they claimed she was family and yet… if it had been Ginny would they have left her. No! Never! Why then? Because she had always been so strong. She had never needed help because she was the one giving it, they had fallen at the first hurdle when it came to being friends, family with her and it weighed heavily on both of their shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she mumbles eventually, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she looks up at them through puffy, tear swollen eyes.

"You have nothing to apologise for titch," Bill smiles sadly, reaching over to ruffle her hair slightly and she smiles in return.

"So you ready for your first Quidditch World cup?" Charlie asks sensing that she needed a change in subject and she smiles as he feels the tension leave her body slightly.

"I can't wait," she says quietly and for the first time in a long time she felt like she meant it and the sincerity in her voice must have shown as they both smiled a little more easily too.

"Well we should probably get some rest then, you've got to be up early to get there and it's getting late," Bill says and she grimaces slightly making them laugh slightly.

"Hang on a minute why do you two not have to be up?" she asks with a little pout that does strange things to Charlie's insides, which he disguises quickly by jumping up and pulling her to her feet too, leaving Bill to trail behind the pair.

"Because my little friend we can apparate there and you can't," he smirks and she sighs heavily, mumbling about stupid Wizarding laws.