If Phineas was honest, summer was the worst time of year. Everyone was home, and the house felt more crowded than it did the rest of the year. Not that things were great the rest of the time--because they definitely weren't--but Phin had learned to associate less family with things being better. This feeling was only seeming to get more pronounced now that this was officially his last summer before he'd be going to school. He imagined next summer would be a chore, too, but for different reasons. He hadn't even left for Hogwarts yet, and was already wondering if anyone would care if he decided to stay at school over Christmas.
At any rate, Phineas was grumpy that morning when came down for breakfast, despite the pointlessness of it. Really, knowing it was pointless to be in a sour mood about something inevitable and normal, something that happened like clockwork every year, was in itself something to be grumpy about. So, when he arrived at breakfast and found Sirius already there, he only managed a grunt that might have been a "Good Morning," but in fact came out as "Rng."