Blair nearly had a stroke when she saw that it was approaching the end of April. A stall in the street had a wooden calendar made out of blocks that had to be manually changed in order to show the correct date, and Blair had questioned the seller if he had changed it today. The man looked at her oddly before nodding very slowly, saying it was the 30th of April. It was lucky she and Fred had picked up some of the language during their recent ingredient hunting otherwise she might have brushed off the date as it simply being wrongly put. But when the stall owner confirmed it was nearly May, she hurried back to the hotel where she and Fred had been staying at for longer than they had thought.

"May is tomorrow!" she cried as she burst through the door. Fred jumped and dropped the pillow he was mindlessly levitating with his wand. He sat up and pinched his ginger eyebrows together in confusion.

"What?"

"It's nearly May, Fred!" she repeated, collapsing on to the freshly made bed closest to her. "We haven't been home in four months!"

"Wow, that is a long time," he hummed and swung his legs around the side to plant them on the floor. "Mum's gonna be so furious when we get back."

"And George."

The trip to Israel had seemed like only yesterday, but they had travelled to five other different countries up until today. After their trip to Russia which lasted a few weeks because of one stubborn goblin, they went to Poland, South Africa, Australia and to their current location, Peru. They had been able to collect all the ingredients they needed except for one. In her father's potions book, Peru was encircled in a thick, black line with the words 'Occamy beak' and 'Flytrap tongue'. These two ingredients were of course rare, expensive and native to Peru.

"Did you get what you needed?" Fred asked as he eyed the package Blair had put on the duvet beside her.

"Yeah," she unwrapped the brown wrapping and pulled out the small vial. Inside sat a pale yellow powder that shifted around when Blair shook the glass gently. "I could only get it already crushed up. Apparently unprocessed Occamy beaks are worth over two hundred galleons."

"Merlin, why is potion stuff so expensive?! No wonder Snape wears the same black robes and has greasy hair all the time. Probably can't afford a bottle of shampoo, the poor sod."

Blair sniggered and wrapped the bottle back in its wrapping for safe keeping. The silver ring on her finger caught her attention and she fell into her thoughts once more. So much time has passed since she had seen George and The Burrow and she felt guilty for only thinking of it now. Their time in foreign countries had been certainly exciting and thrilling while going into dodgy shops and exploring alleyways of unknown cities. There had been an uneasy feeling to these places but they had been cautious and safe about their actions. There had been unpleasant times of stingy men and attempts to rip them off completely, but for a majority of the time, they had walked away with the rare ingredient they had needed.

But Blair missed George. She missed him terribly. It was the first time they had been away from each other for so long since the summer holidays of her last year at Hogwarts. The last time she had seen him was on Christmas Eve, where he was near shaking from having to watch her and Fred leave The Burrow into the cold, dangerous world for rare potion ingredients. All three of them had thought that the ordeal would take less than a month, maybe even a week or two. But she and Fred had been gone for four months! The New Year had passed and they had celebrated it on their first day in Poland. And Blair remembered sparing barely a thought for George waiting for her back at The Burrow.

"I want to go home..." her voice was small and her soft tone made Fred halt levitating the fallen pillow back onto his mattress. He turned to see her staring down at her hands; more specifically at the diamond ring that belonged to his mother. He bit his lip at her downcast gaze and was nervous for what was to come.

He wasn't known for being comforting and a good adviser unless it was for business and how to annoy Ron the most. Sensitivity wasn't something he was good at and tended to lean towards making others laugh in order to cheer them up. If that didn't work, he'd hope he wasn't around for when they'd burst into tears. George has always been the better one with emotions and when Blair would be sad about the orphanage, her family history or whatever she chose to be sad about, Fred was sure to be hiding away somewhere else.

But this time was different. He could tell Blair was upset and was beginning to grow wary of travelling to exotic places to find expensive eyes, brains, herbs and toads for a potion she hadn't tested to work. He could see the desperation to finish the mission and prove that she could be useful and that her father might have actually been onto something.

"The last thing you need is the Flytrap tongue, right?" he decided to say and she nodded, turning the ring back and forth mindlessly. "Is there anything in your book that says where to get it?"

"There is an 'Azucena's' written somewhere in it. But it doesn't say anywhere about it being found there. It might not even be here," Blair sighed. "This could all be a waste. Did we do all of this just because some bald Death Eater told us to? Merlin Fred, what are we doing-"

"Why are you thinking about this now?" he cut her off. "You were so keen on it before, even when Georgie was telling you this was insane."

"I-I-," Blair hadn't expected Fred to question her, but then she felt foolish for forgetting who Fred Weasley was. "I don't know. I'm just... exhausted, I think. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he shook his head and gave her a small smile. "I want to go home too. I'm sure Georgie's missing me more than you, anyway."

---

George sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea sitting in front of him; full to the rim and still steaming hot. It was a cold, cloudy day despite the spring season keeping the flowers blooming in Molly's garden outside. As if his mood wasn't foul already, The Burrow somehow felt wrong on this particular day. Actually, it had felt like this for months. His parents were home and were discussing something he didn't care to listen to out on the front porch. For one of the first times in his life, he felt uncomfortable and miserable in his childhood home.

It had been roughly five months since Blair and Fred's departure on Christmas Eve from The Burrow. He felt like he was five years old again and was separated from his best friend over the summer holidays. This classic story usually ended with him reuniting and embracing his friend on the first day of school, barely remembering how miserable he had felt for nine long weeks. But no matter how immature it seemed, he missed his twin and fiancé. The Burrow wasn't The Burrow without his family. Sure, most of his siblings were taking care of dragons, living with their wife, serving the corrupted Ministry, on the run with Harry Potter and being trapped in the walls of Hogwarts, so it wasn't that different with having Fred and Blair out looking for potion ingredients. But he couldn't help but want them home again. He was lonely and he could only talk to his mum about it so many times.

"Now Georgie, this is getting a little bit silly," Molly came back into the kitchen with Arthur behind her. "They'll be back soon and you'll feel like a right mope. You know what Freddie will say."

"You miss them too, Mum," George rolled his eyes and hid his frown with his cup.

"Of course I do! A simple letter would be appreciated," she shook her head with a sigh but refrained from ranting for the hundredth time this week. "But I know Blair's sensible. And they'll be back soon. They will."

Arthur and George watched Molly head out of the room back on to the porch. The door swung shut behind her, leaving the father and son to look to each other. They knew that Molly was as worried as she could be. Why shouldn't she be? But they could see she was trying to hold herself together. George thought it was for his sake and he wanted to tell her that she shouldn't force herself for him. But he supposed that it was for her sanity as well. They had put her through a lot in their lives. Maybe some of them were light-hearted like the Hogwarts letters she received about them putting soil in Alicia Spinnet's hair in their first year, but they had definitely made up for a lifetime of stress. Showing up with one ear and using their entire savings on betting slips were just to name a few instances.

"Everything will be fine once they're back, George," Arthur spoke up and gave his son a small smile. "It's been a while but they'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

---

'Lightning has struck at Hogwarts. I repeat, Lightning has struck at Hogwarts.'

George had half a mind to stay put at The Burrow. What if they came back while they were gone and were worried that they had finally been taken captive by Death Eaters? What if Kingsley's Patronus hadn't reached whatever country they were in? But he knew it would be wrong to stay when he was needed more at Hogwarts. Harry had finally turned up at the castle with the word that Voldemort had the Elder wand and was coming for him and anyone who had once been his friend. George couldn't possibly sit behind the barrier around The Burrow because of the assumption of Blair and Fred happening to come back on this particular day.

"Come on, dear, let's head off! Remus will be waiting for us," Arthur glanced continuously at his magical watch and was trying to hurry Molly out the door.

"Oh Helga, this timing is ridiculous," she shook her head while putting the lasagna she had pulled out the oven onto the counter. "Do you think Harry will be hungry? Ron will definitely be. I should bring some-"

"Let's just go, Mum! They'll be fine!"

Molly grumbled at George's tone but headed out with them regardless. They headed for the field outside and threaded through the grass, leaving the lights on in the house in case Blair and Fred happened to come looking for them while they're gone. They reached the picket fence that separated the border from the rest of the world and looked back at the house, seeing it stand over the field with all its extensions and warmth.

"They'll come to Hogwarts. The Patronus can reach anywhere," Arthur mentioned, knowing what George is thinking. He gulped and nodded to satisfy his father.

"Right..." George mumbled before they popped out of sight.

With what followed the pop was another quieter pop and two more figures appearing at the picket fence. Fred and Blair stumbled while looking dishevelled before heading into the field, running to The Burrow and eyeing the lights that shown through the many windows. They had seen the Patronus in an incredibly inconvenient place, forcing them to obliviate five Muggles that stood with their jaws to the floor at the mystical, silvery sphinx cat. It had taken up time that they didn't have and they had been heading back from another potions shop to pack their bags when Kingsley's voice told them that lightning had struck at Hogwarts.

"Mum? Georgie?!" Fred called as they burst through the front door. He received no reply and their suspicions were confirmed.

"They're not here. They must have left already," Blair spotted the hot platter of lasagna that made her stomach rumble. She and Fred had been living off take away food and cafe breakfasts. They were craving for some homemade meals that Molly was never short of.

"I need to get started," she mumbled before heading for the staircase, taking them two at a time.

"Do you want me to head off to tell them we're okay?" Fred yelled up the stairs, unsure whether to follow her.

"No!" she called back. "I need another pair of hands! This is going to get real messy!"

Fred ran up the stairs and headed to his and George's childhood where the door was ajar. He found Blair pulling the cauldron that had been gathering dust in the corner into the middle of the room and sat down in front of it. Pulling her wand out, she swished it in a figure eight form causing a large package to appear in the air. It lowered into Blair's hands before she put it down beside her, taking the lid off the cauldron and looking into it with apprehension.

"It's ready for everything," she announced and glanced towards Fred in the doorway. "I need you to help me hold the toad while I skin it. Yep, it's going to be a bad experience for the both of us, Freddie."