The morning of September first came as regular as any other morning within the Lupin household as the sounds of nature filled the air along with the clock that was fixed upon the wall of the living room, the bird that was screwed to it lunging forward and backward as it's sound echoed across the nearly empty house.

"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

The annoying sound was enough to have anyone awake, if only to try and smash the clock to pieces in a drunken manner. Footsteps creaked against the floorboards, the sound of sleepy and heavy breathing making itself known until a light thud was heard-loud enough to alert the small black and white kitten that Finley had insisted on Blue getting.

A groan followed suit as hands pushed themselves up and the child was upright once more, rubbing his bruised arm. Green eyes trailed along the hallway, scouring to see if anyone else had awoken before standing to their feet as the boy swiveled his head to and fro.

It was then that running footsteps could be heard as Finley seemed to bounce down the stairs at a rapid pace, knocking himself straight into the boy who had just gotten up and landing them both in a heap on the floor. Blue let out a shriek of pain, arms sprawled out in front of him as Finley dumped all of his weight on his back. Grunting, the reddish black haired child kicked his legs up and down, effectively hitting Finley in the arm each time.

"Ow! Ok, ok, I'm getting- Ow! Blue, Stop!"

Finley winced, rolling off of the irritated, curly haired boy and dusting off the lint that was stuck to his pajamas. The boy sniffed slightly before curling his palms into fists as he started to bounce up and down on the heels of his toes, laughter already leaving his pale lips.

"Hogwarts! Hogwarts, Hogwarts! Do we even have everything we need? Is Remus awake? Can I call auntie and cousin? Are the others going to be nice? How does it feel to finally meet your brother? You must be really excited, right? I know I am! I wonder how the houses are like, Cousin said he'll be in Slytherin? I wonder if that means he'll be really praised since everyone else in his family was in Slytherin, I want to get into a house too but will Auntie hate me for it? I haven't really thought about it, but she's nice to us So, she can't be mean about a simple choice right? I mean, is it even our choice to which house we get into? Hey, are you hungry? I'm hungry, I want some pancakes with blackberries! Did you know that Mistletoe berries are really poisonous? The whole plant is! That puts a real twist on Christmas doesn't it? I mean, I wonder if you can mix them into a drink to poison your enemy, I'm sure you can, you just have to make sure to mask the scent right? But what if you want your enemy to die instantly? Did you know that there's a berry that can do that! Or well, the seeds of a yew berry can. That reminds me, did you know that the Jerusalem cherry can cause vomiting and and gastric problems for children like us or even younger? Berries are so cool and yummy but they're also deadly and-"

Blue slapped his hands against the male's mouth to stop the flow of words that were simply pouring from his lips. The boy's face was calm yet by the twitching of his eyebrow, anyone could notice that he was irritated beyond belief. Breathing in through his nose as he gritted his teeth together, Blue managed a small smile.

"Are you going to keep talking when I remove my hands?"

Finley shook his head Back and forth to answer, cheeks turning pink as the taller boy slowly pulled his hands away. He slumped his shoulders slightly, smiling sheepishly as he did so while twiddling his thumbs together.

"Sorry Blue, I got carried away again."

Blue could only blink, wondering how and why one of his best friends had this information yet the more he thought about Finley being related to Draco, the more that he didn't want to know why the blue eyed boy even had this information to begin with.

The door to the kitchen swung open as Remus peeked his head into the hallway that led from the kitchen to the living room with raised eyebrows. He couldn't help but let out a few chuckles at the two from how Blue's irritated face and posture reminded him of someone eerily similar to Finley, who was blushing pink and smiling sheepishly.

"What's this about Berries?"

"Oh For the love of Merlin, Please don't get him started!"

Blue exclaimed loudly, pleading almost as he stared up at his care taker with wide green eyes, lower lip puckering out as he shook his head Back and forth. Remus could only raise his eyebrows once more in amusement as he watched the two enter the kitchen to eat their breakfast. He watched as Blue scrambled into a seat, snatching up his fork and taking a chunk of the stacked up raisin pancakes he had on his blue flowered plate. Biting into the fluffy food, Blue's teeth sunk into the concoction of milk, eggs, and whatever else you used to make a pancake with a glorified squeal of approval. Tearing off the chunk from his fork- he started chewing just as Finley opened his mouth.

"Did you know that the word Raisin dates back into Middle English and is a loanword from old French or modern french that means grape?"

Blue almost choked upon his breakfast as he swallowed the remains that were in his mouth just as Remus clapped in approval, a smile lighting up his scarred face.

"You've really been reading all those books in the study office haven't you?"

At that, Blue could only groan, tearing off another chunk of raisin pancakes with his fork and pausing to speak before putting it in his mouth. Finley pressed his lips into a thin line, scrunching up his nose as he pointed a accusing finger at the green eyed boy.

"You read them too!"

"Oh shut up, I don't spout information all day long like some sort of walking, talking, dictionary!"

Remus waved his arms over the table, silencing the two children with a simple glare. He breathed in deeply before picking up his fork to eat again just as Blue leaped from his seat, plate empty and cheeks covered in pancake crumbs as he licked his lips happily.

Remus took all the empty dishes to the sink, using magic to clean them as he turned around to face his young charge and the Lestrange boy who eagerly waited at the kitchen doorway.

"Ready for Hogwarts?"

Blue and Finley paused, eyebrows knitting together before staring at each other with matching grins. Blue felt as if Finley might as well be his twin, at least he wasn't a liar.

"Ready!"

•••
"You mean to tell me that Jerusalem cherries make us vomit? That can be used in a potion can't it?"

Blue could only groan, not only did Finley find his cousin to talk to, he found something to talk with him about. The green eyed boy stared out at the train window as Draco and Finley conversed about all types of berries known to man.

"You should ask uncle Sev, I mean I should ask uncle Sev, I mean, we should ask him!" Finley could only squeal as he nodded his head vigorously. The boy had a lone book sitting upon his lap, hands fiddling with the cover as Draco rambled about his weekend. Blue could only sigh and lean his forehead against the cool, glass window. The meetings he had before boarding the Hogwarts express still flashed before his eyes causing his shoulders to stiffen as he pressed his lips into a thin line. It was only until something grazed against his pale cheeks that Blue suddenly came back into focus, eyes watering just a bit as he blinked.

Draco and Finley were both staring at him with eyes full of the mixture of concern and confusion of course Draco didn't bother to hide the way his own lips wobbled as he planted his feet firmly upon the ground and raised himself to stand. It only took a few steps as he let his hand take Blue's chin, tilting it upwards as his fingers grazed his cheeks in a almost gentle manner. He furrowed his eyebrows then titled his head to the side in confusion as he noticed the watery eyes that his friend held.

"Birdie, I know for a fact that staring outside at the stupid landscape full of trees and dumb creatures isn't going to make you bawl like a little baby, What were you even thinking about?"

Blue shoved the boy away slightly, eyes averting towards the glass window again as he curled his knees towards his chest. The memories were still fresh within his mind, replaying over and over like some broken record as Draco could only stare, patiently enough waiting for a answer.

The boy sniffed, nails digging into the fabric of his pants as he buried his face within his knees. The only sound being heard was the muffled cracks of his voice every time he tried to speak yet the two cousins could clearly hear what was being said.

"He isn't my brother anymore."

•••••
I would have ended this with the sorting, but I'm a very cruel person so here you go, enjoy the ending of this chapter.