"Ha," Gem hadn't thought of it that way. "I guess you're right. Probably won't have any of my own, so that'll have to do." She probably had never expressed as much to anyone, but Gem didn't see herself settling down or having kids so she could most certainly be the fun aunt. "My youngest half-sister goes next year." It was wild to think baby Edith, that Gem had held as a newborn, was nearly ten and Hogwarts was not too long after that. It made her feel incredibly old.

Theo's question about missing people when gone was a tricky one. There was what she would consider a "right" answer, but it wasn't what she felt deep down. "Yes and no," the unvarnished truth of it would be appreciated here, she supposed. "I do miss people, but I don't miss them more than thriving in my independence." Theo knew what it was like growing up in a blended sort of family. Gem had always looked up to her father, but never had been particularly close to him. They'd suffered so many losses in their family that Gem knew she should be around more to enjoy the people that were still here, but she selfishly needed the escape. Hogsmeade was stifling and she felt like she was slowly being suffocated the longer she was here.

"I get the itch to come home every now and then, it's good to keep me grounded, but I can't stay too long." That she'd learned over the years; she could do short stints at home, but not too long. If she stayed too long she'd wind up never leaving and then she'd probably wither away to nothing (metaphorically of course).