The beginning of the end. (Open!)

[Alexandra Olivia Samuels]

It was the beginning of the end of her years her, and she was absolutely in shock. She wasn't ready for it, yet she was at the same time. She was absolutely confused. Alexandra leaned forward against the railing of the bridge and looked down over it at the grounds below her. A small sigh rippled through her lips as the stagnant summer breeze moved through her hair only slightly. What in the heck was she supposed to do? Obviously take classes and begin thinking of what she wanted to do as soon as she was out of here and graduated. Gosh, seventh year was so stressful already, and really she hadn't even started yet.

Alexandra looked around her, the beautiful summer day presenting itself proudly. The grass was much greener than it had been when she'd left Hogwarts only a month ago, the sun was brighter yes, but it shimmered on the lake beautifully. Every part of the grounds was much more beautiful than it had ever been before this day, actually. She was finding a whole new appreciation for many things around her, and even nature at the place she'd been calling home for the last several years was something she newly appreciated.

Then again, her mind traveled back to what she was supposed to do. Her sister had graduated and it was going to be weird without her by her side all the time. The girls had grown up close to each other and close in age, but now that they were older.. it was different. Harmony had Jeraud .. rumors were flying that Harm was pregnant, and Alex knew nothing yet. Harmony was a professor. Alexandra was alone, for the moment. What had happened to James, she had no clue. HE left for work one day and didn't return, only sending an owl saying not to worry, he would be home when the time was right. Was he leaving her or was he really in some sort of trouble and it was just a cover up? She would know, actually. Alexandra wasn't quite so adventurous as she probably should be.

At the end of the many thoughts rushing through her head, Alexandra came to a conclusion. One, she was hungry. Two, it would be beneficial to start thinking now about her plans after Hogwarts. Three, she needed to figure out what had happened to James. Gosh, she missed him.

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[Harmony Amelia Deveraux]

Harmony definitely had her work cut out for her this term.

Not only was she the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor (which she was excited about, because DADA was her favorite subject and she loved kids), but she was also put in charge of those lovely, rambunctious Gryffindor folk. This was also good for Harmony, because she had just graduated a month or two ago from the Home of the Lions, and she honestly missed it. Who wouldn't? In her last year, Harm and her best friend, Averie Black (Averie Cathers before getting married to Jorden Black) tried to be as fun as possible. They threw a few parties of course, and they just did some pretty crazy stuff. But it wasn't like this surprised very many people, Ave and Harm were notorious for their zany behavior and fierce attitudes.

But one of the things Harmony missed the most was being with her baby sister, Alexandra. They were very close growing up because of the one year age difference and the fact that they were both sorted into the same house. They had been there for each other through the hardest times: girl trauma, Harmony's rivalry with Valerie Hewitt, and anything that was troubling Alex. Harm loved her sister unconditionally; always have, always would. The thing that bothered Harmony the most was that her sister didn't know that she was going to be an aunt in about five months. That's right, Harmony was four months along. With twins! When she learned this, she almost fainted. The thought of becoming a mother scared Harmony to death, mainly because she didn't know what to expect.

Harmony walked back from the Three Broomsticks with a slight smile on her face. She wondered how long her good mood would last, since she had been going through frequent mood changes since finding out that she would soon be having children. It was actually something she had gotten used to. As she glanced down the bridge, Harmony noticed her baby sister was just down the way. "ALEX!" Harmony inadvertently yelled, walking as fast as she could to try and reach her sister. She didn't want to hurt her kiddos! The woman embraced her sister in a rather large hug, trying her best to hide her baby bump. She wanted to do the talking, not her stomach. "I've missed you!" Harmony assured her sister happily as she realeased her. "How have you been?"

[Alexandra Olivia Samuels]

Leaning over this rail was really starting to become stressful on Alexandra. Not only was it just boring as all get out, and her mind had been racing from one place to another while she was doing it, but it was now starting to hurt her abdomen and her arms as well. So, she moved away from the rail, just standing and looking out at the grounds still. She loved that even though it was the summer months, she wasn't the only students who had chosen to return so soon. She was back with all of the other students who had chosen to take the early train back to Hogwarts. Yup, she'd spent the summer with her parents, separating herself for one of the first times in her life (except when Harm was a first year and she was still just a year short of attending Hogwarts) from her older, and only, sister Harmony. Alexandra had actually learned just recently by seeing a bulletin in the common room that their new Head of House would be her one and only wonderful sister, Harmony. She was super excited because this would keep them together for at least a little big longer. Alexandra wasn't ready yet for them to be two different people. They were still viewed to the older professors as the 'Samuels girls' and she liked that. Harm wasn't even a Samuels anymore, she was a Deveraux now. Oh how quickly things were changing.

Alexandra's attention was quickly caught when she heard her name shouted loudly off in the distance. Her eyes immediately moved to where the sound, that familiar voice, had come from and gave her sister a smile. Alexandra, who was so preoccupied by looking into those familiar eyes and other familiar features of her sister's face, hadn't even noticed at all the small bump that was beginning to form on her thin figure. Alex, who had felt the same her whole life, felt as if she was looking into a mirror image of herself. Somehow, the Samuels girls had come out looking almost exactly alike. They'd been mistaken many times over the years for twins, even though Alex was a bit shorter than Harmony.

Alexandra accepted her sister's hug gratefully, returning it with the same gentle embrace she'd been using their whole lives. Which was probably good, didn't want to squish her little nieces, or little nephews, or little niece and nephew. Even though she didn't know about them. "I've been excellent, sis, how have you been?" Alexandra gave herself a chance to look her sister up and down as she always did when it had been a while since seeing her. Alexandra, always being the less observant of the two, still did not notice the baby bump.

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[Harmony Amelia Deveraux]

Harmony couldn't believe it! She thought that she was going to have to owl her baby sister to be able to find her. In fact, she was going to do that as soon as she got home. Never did she think that she would actually run into (well, notice and then try not to tackleglomp) Alexandra on her way back to the castle! That made things much easier for Harm, and when you're pregnant with twins, easier only makes things better. Hopefully her huge stomach was birth control for some of the kids around Hogwarts though. Oh yes, believe it or not, Harmony was once a Gryffindor student. She knows exactly what goes on when professors aren't watching, which is almost always. But not Harm! She's going to keep her eyes peeled, because she has no life.

"I'm glad you've been okay!" Harmony told her sister, smiling more and more. She loved her sister unconditionally, and it was nice to be able to see her again. It was like they were conjoined at the hip! And then Averie on the other side, because Ave was like the third sister the Samuels sisters never had! But Averie was still their cousin, which was pretty cool. "I've been getting along." She told Alex of how she's been, with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. Harmony wasn't sure if she wanted to tell her baby sister just yet, even though she was pretty far along with her pregnancy. Alex's reaction was what worried her the most, because she didn't want her to react like their parents. They didn't seem to happy that Harmony was rushing into the adult life so soon, but she didn't care. Alex was a lot like her though, so hopefully her reaction would be good. With a sigh of hope, Harmony decided that it was now, or much, much later and a higher risk of Alex getting mad.

Harmony crossed her arms nervously and felt her eyes drift up to the sky, trying to seem nonchalant. "I found out that I'm, uh, pregnant." She said, glancing from one white cloud puff to another. "With twins." Her eyes wandered back to meet Alex's, biting her lip nervously. "I guess I'm having a boy and a girl, which is nice for variety, I suppose... Jeraud's completely stoked, but Mom and Dad weren't as happy when they found out. But they'll get over it, right?" Harm asked, worry overcoming her quickly. "I hope they will! I don't want my babies to grow up without grandparents!!!" Oh silly, worrisome Harmony.

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[Alexandra Olivia Samuels]

"It really is good to run into you Harm! I've been looking high and low for you, cause I figured you'd be around the grounds sometime, right?" Alexandra bit her lip, looking out among the grounds again, her beautifully colored eyes taking the time to scan each little bit. Although Alexandra tried to keep her focus away from it, she noticed that her sister's stomach was quite a bit larger than it normally was on her thin figure. Both girls looked about the same, even in height and weight. Until.. now? She bit her lip, not wanting to ask Harmony about it, so she tried to erase the thoughts from her head.

Alexandra's attention turned immediately to her sister's pale features, looking almost identical to her own, with a small smile. At the thought of the news she told her, her eyes lit up and she almost jumped on her sister, stopping herself remembering that a pregnant belly faced her. "Harm! No way! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to be an aunt! AHHH!" Alexandra carefully reached forward and hugged her sister rather firmly. "This is awesome!" She laughed a little bit, "Do you care if I like .. touch?" She wanted to touch her stomach. Man, her little niece and nephew were in there, of course she wanted to touch it! "Have you guys thought of any names yet?"

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