It was almost too cool with the light breeze to be lounging outside in their bikinis, but the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Large sunglasses blocked the light from her blue eyes, but otherwise the warmth seeped into her fair skin. She would likely be quite freckled later, but Mira was alright with that. Music played softly from the wireless they'd brought outside with them and the water lapping against the edge of the pool was doubly relaxing.

There were definitely benefits to living on the the grounds of Falcon Court; the Rosier lands were vast, everything over the top and just shy of ostentatious, but having every comfort at hand was quite different then how they'd grown up, all seven of them crammed into a rowhouse in Chelsea.

Stirring from her doze, Mira tipped her head to the side to see her twin on the reclining chair next to her. "Do you ever miss the rowhouse, Cass?"

Cassie sipped the bright pink drink she held as she considered the question. Their youth - back before the war and before their mother inherited the Rosier estate - was busy and happy. The Montgomery family had always been very close despite the variety of personalities. In those days they were all together. Josh was a bright-eyed, sweet little boy and all the older girls doted on him.

As she looked around their current idyllic setting, Cassie couldn't deny that she rather enjoyed the creature comforts that were available to them now. Just the same, she'd trade all the privileges at her disposal if she could get back what they'd lost.

Meeting her twin's gaze, she answered thoughtfully. "I miss our life at the rowhouse, but not much about the house itself."

"Josh," Mira said, voice soft. "And having Alex and Abs home, all of us together." Her lips lifted slightly. "Cramped, but happy, huh?"

"Yeah. Noisy and full of life." Reaching over to tug gently on a lock of Mira's chestnut hair, Cassie's eyes twinkled teasingly. "And all the football a girl could want."

Mira's smile brightened. "I used to fall asleep to the roar of the crowd. it's so much more quiet here." She shifted to her side on the lounge chair, snatching her sister's fruity drink away to take a sip. "Did you know I've a surprise for you?"

Raising a brow, the blonde looked at her sister with genuine curiosity. It wasn't unusual for one of them to pick up a treat of some kind for the other, but such things didn't require announcements. "A surprise? Is it too much to hope for a tall, dark and handsome man? Or at least a delicious tale of interoffice snogging?"

Mira stuck her tongue out, though smiled moments later. "Definitely not the latter, and I'll keep the tall, dark and handsome in mind for your birthday, sistermine." She took another long sip of the fruity, alcoholic drink before handing it back and then grinned. "Actually, if you think you can stand me, I'll be working with you in a few months. I applied for the Committee and ..." She bit her bottom lip before adding, "... and they accepted me."

A high-pitched squeal filled the air and a bit of pink liquid sloshed over the edge of Cassie's glass as she practically pounced on her sister. Charms work was a feminine tradition in their family and it seemed the Montgomery women were slowly but surely taking over the Committee for Experimental Charms. Cassie herself was still an apprentice to their mother, joining the group straight out of Hogwarts while Mira went on to university, but she couldn't begrudge Mira her acceptance as a full member. She'd worked hard on her degree, had always been more studious where Cassie was more practical. She was thrilled her twin would be joining the ranks of Charms developers.

Pressing a kiss to Mira's cheek, Cassie looked at her with a broad grin. "No, I don't think I can stand more time with you. I'm afraid you'll have to make other arrangements."

"Woe," Mira said, grinning despite her words. "After I spent the last four months working on my application." If her smile could get any bigger, it did then. "I also submitted an application for a grant to continue my research and it got approved with funds to bring on another researcher. I told them I had someone in mind." She squeaked then, not quite able to hold it all in. "What do you think? Should we team up again to charm the world?"

Cassie's own smile was a big as Mira's. All through school they'd been a team and the initial separation after Hogwarts, even if they did share the cottage for sleeping, had been a difficult adjustment. It would be good to pair up and immerse themselves in spells again. "I think it's a fantastic idea, but you get to tell Mother you're stealing me away."

"Actually, she already knows. She's on the board, you know. They didn't let her vote on me for either the Committee or grant application, but she knew all about it. I swore her to secrecy though just in case I didn't get in. And if I did?" she said, smiling again. "Then I could surprise you."

With a dramatic sigh, Cassie feigned hurt. "Always the last to know. No one includes me in the plotting. I'm just the lackey brought in later. Hired help." She sniffed, though her eyes still shined playfully.

"Well, technically, yes, you will be," Mira said, grin widening til her cheeks touched the large sunglasses still perched on her nose. "Boss Mira has a nice ring to it, no?"

"Don't press your luck, little sister." The blonde tried to look stern but couldn't hold it. She settled for bumping Mira with her shoulder and sticking her tongue out. "I'm still older than you and I'll not take any of your nonsense."

"You love my nonsense," Mira countered as she reached over her twin to grab the pink drink on the ground. A sip later and she asked, "what have you been up to Cassiopeia? I've been working late a lot and you're not always home when I get back."

Shrugging casually, Cassie's mouth turned up at the corners. "This and that," she answered evasively. Not that there were any activities she actually needed to keep from her sister, though a couple she was sure Mira would be glad to hear about only in the vaguest of detail, but Cassie could play it up a little. At least give the illusion she had something exciting going on in her life.

"A little dancing, a little shopping. The usual."

"Always the last to know, hmm?" Mira said skeptically as she pulled down her sunglasses enough to eye her sister.

Growing up, they had been inseparable, and it hadn't changed much when they had both sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts, but the years following their graduation had seen them traverse in different directions. They still lived together as they always had, but Mira didn't know every minute detail of her twin's life anymore. It went both ways, she knew, but sometimes it made her sad for a time when summers had lasted forever and their pact to one day become one person had seemed entirely plausible. "Is there a new bloke your seeing? Or two?"

"'Seeing' is always a bit of a stretch, Mira Sophia. There have been a few men I've sampled for an evening. Or two." She'd never been one for relationships, and Cassie would freely admit being a hypocrite where her twin's love life was concerned, but she did enjoy a good romp from time to time. "No one worth noting in particular, though. I did find a few interesting things in Knockturn recently. It's always an adventure shopping down there."

Mira's brows flew up behind her glasses. "You shouldn't go alone, Cass. You're gorgeous, and I know you're good with a wand, but still." She pursed her lips at her sister and her penchant towards mischief and dangerous things. It'd always been that way; Cassie was ever after a thrill and Mira had tagged along to clean up the blood and messes. She'd become a very proficient liar out of it and learned a plethora of scouring charms.

Her curiosity did get the best of her, always, though, and she pushed her glasses back into her hair so she could see her sister's eyes more clearly. "What'd you find though?"

"I'm careful, Mira. Don't worry. It's not as if Death Eaters are running around these days." Cassie thought a moment, recalling her latest finds. "Last week I happened across an old personal spellbook, all handwritten. Not exactly a grimoire, but there were some interesting notes. My lastest acquisition isn't actually related to Charms, but I was pretty excited about it. Borgin & Burkes had an antique pocket watch in their case that caught my eye. It's faded, but the crest engraved on it is the Rosier crest! I don't think it's worth much, but I had to get it, just the same."

"I bet Mum would know who it belonged to if you showed it to her," Mira said, eyes lighting in interest. She lounged back then, and slipped the glasses back down on her nose. "She still remembers everything. The family histories, all the manners. What do you think it was like to grow up like that? You know, here. With the tutors and expectations, and everything?"

Despite being a direct descendant of one of the most noble pureblood houses in the wizarding world, their family had been cut off from it all due to the falling out between their mother and grandparents. Instead of being brought up studying the family grimoires, having their manners refined for the highest of society and attending all the balls and parties, they'd spent their time in a rowhouse in London, all the children sharing rooms and helping prepare meals, and there'd been encouragement from their parents to have knowledge of the Muggle world that existed just outside their front door.

They spent time on the estate now and their mother was once again accepted into the society she'd been bred to, if only because she was the executor of the Rosier estate now. Money talked. Scarlett knew how to navigate the waters, had encouraged them to go to the balls and parties with her, but thus far Mira had been able to demur most invitations with excuses of work and school. She wasn't sure how long that would last, however. It seemed important to her that they know the other side of their blood.

It was hard to imagine growing up in their mother's world. Mother and Papa were well settled into their parenting rhythm by the time the family had moved to the Rosier estate, but how different might it have been if this had been their home from the start?

"I suppose Abby's had a bit more of it than we ever did, since she was so young still when we came to Falcon Court, but I can't really wrap my head around the whole idea. It didn't seem to bother Nate," Cassie mused aloud, just the barest hint of a waver in her voice as she spoke of their cousin, "but he didn't really know anything different." Her lips curled slightly. "I mean, I can't imagine Uncle Hunter ever took Nate to a football match or much into Muggle society at all. The argument could be made that our upbringing was more well-rounded, but I don't know that people from this level of wizarding society would see the benefit."

Cassie had spent more time in her mother's world than Mira, and there were elements that she enjoyed. Having been sorted into Slytherin, she'd already had a rudimentary understanding of the posturing and things meant but only half said that were part of pureblood society. It was an intriguing game that she was still learning, though it was likely she and her siblings would never mesh entirely with the other players. They'd been brought up with too much freedom to rein themselves in so tightly.

"I think if they knew how much Mother let Papa take us out into Muggle London, they'd be appalled," Mira replied with a soft snort. "If our housemates thought it was a little barmy to want to go to a football game, I'd guess most the rest of their families would think so too, if not worse."

Mira let her lids fall closed behind her sunglasses, thoughts drifting to their cousin. She missed Nate, but not nearly as much as Cassie; they'd always been particularly close. If things hadn't happened as they had with their mother and grandparents, if their father had been another man that was approved of, it was very likely Cassie, or any of them, really, would have been betrothed to Nate. The very thought both made her nose crinkle at the old practice of marrying cousins and tugged at her heart. Thinking of dead loved ones became less painful over time, but the pang never entirely went away.

"Mother asked me to go to that Kensington woman's garden party at the end of the month. Are you going?"

Cassie pulled a face. Mrs. Kensington was a vapid woman, but she'd married very well and loved to host parties. "Mmhmm. I try not to sit too close to Mrs. K, but once in awhile her nephew is visiting. He's a rather tasty morsel. Worth the price of admission." Giggling, she sipped her drink.

"Well, in that case..." Mira's lips curled and she stretched out on the lawn chair. "... I'll leave you to it."

Cassie just raised a brow at her twin, but Mira's eyes had closed again. Mother wouldn't let her avoid the social season entirely, but if Mira wanted to abstain from the Kensington affair, Cassie could definitely pick up the slack.

Summary: Mira has news to share, and she and Cassie have a thoughty discussion about family and expectations.