Chapter 1: Reassuring Ideas

The first month of the summer holidays seemed to fly right by. Luna came over for lunch most days and usually wound up spending the night. Ginny and Willow had in turn visited her home, but they preferred the Burrow because Mr Lovegood was always working.

Willow's first encounter with him was strange to say the least. Due to her change in appearance, she now only vaguely looked like a mini Diana. When she introduced herself, Xenophilius almost fainted. He hugged her tightly and the whole episode was rather awkward. If he ever had time, he would tell them all stories of him and Connor. To most he seemed a bit mental, but he was family to Willow, just like Luna, the Weasleys, and Remus.

Late in afternoon of the tenth found Willow with her trunk and Otter in front of the Weasleys' fireplace. Remus was due to arrive in ten minutes.

She and Ginny sat on the couch; making promises to write over the two weeks Willow would be away. At almost the exact same time, they heard a scream from the kitchen and the fire burned green, producing Willow's godfather.

Mrs Weasley rushed into the living room, unaware of Remus's presence. She had a letter clutched tightly in her hand and a huge grin on her face. "Your father's just won seven-hundred Galleons from the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw! He'll be home in a jiff to celebrate!"

Ginny and Willow both gave Mrs Weasley a hug, knowing full well how fantastic this was for her. Remus stood to the side, awkwardly waiting for him to be noticed.

"Oh, right," Willow said as she remembered he was there. Giving him a quick hug she continued, "Mrs Weasley, Ginny this is my godfather, Remus."

Ginny waved to him in greeting. Mrs Weasley extended her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Molly." Remus smiled and shook her hand, since she already knew his name. A loud, echoing crack signaled Mr Weasley's arrival.

He too walked into the living room. However, he, unlike his wife, immediately noticed Remus. "Oh hello," he said. "Nice to finally meet you, I'm Arthur Weasley."

"Good to meet you too. I'm Remus Lupin. And congratulations."

"Oh thank you," Mrs Weasley answered. "You must stay for dinner, Remus."

"Yeah come on Uncle Moony, you can't pass up on Mrs Weasley's cooking," Willow said. Remus smiled and nodded his acceptance.

Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Willow, and Remus sat cramped at the dinner table. Mr Weasley and Remus sat talking about something going on at the Ministry. The twins had their heads together, bent over a sheet of parchment. There was no doubt in Willow's mind that they were working on new inventions. Percy was trying to listen in on the conversation between his dad and Remus, but they were carrying on in hushed tones. Ron was talking to his mom about replacing his wand with some of the money they had won. Ginny and Willow were talking, not the way they usually did, but quieter and more dejectedly. After their horror of a first year, the two girls had been inseparable. These two weeks would be the first time they had been apart.

Just as Mrs Weasley served dessert, Errol crashed into the window, causing everyone to jump. After letting him in, Mrs Weasley detached the letter and read it quickly. Catching Mr Weasley's eye, she nodded her head.

"Well, your mother and I have an announcement. If no one objects, we have decided to use our winnings to take a holiday to Egypt and visit Bill. Charlie will be there too and we'll spend time as a family. We'll leave a couple days after Willow gets back," Mr Weasley explained.

Willow was the first to speak, "No." Everyone looked at her strangely. "You should go while I'm away. The Weasleys are a family and every family needs time together. I know you include me in that family, and I'm very proud of that, but I think it'd be nice for you lot to have a holiday for just the family. I'll stay an extra week with Remus. You can leave tomorrow and then we'll all be back on the 31st. That gives you three weeks for your holiday, right? Does that work?"

Mr Weasley looked conflicted, "If you truly are all right with that, than I suppose it sounds good. Is the extra week okay for you, Remus?"

"Yeah, as long as she's back before the second it'll be fine," he answered. Only Willow knew that Remus was a werewolf, so thankfully no one asked why she needed to be back at the Burrow by then.

"You're sure you don't want to come?" Mrs Weasley asked quietly. Willow nodded with a smile. She always felt like a burden to the Weasleys, so she'd rest easier knowing she didn't interfere with something like a summer holiday.

"Well then, I suppose we all should be ready tomorrow morning," Mr Weasley concluded. Everyone nodded, Ginny more slowly than the others.

After helping Mrs Weasley clear the table, Willow sat on her bed with Ginny. Neither of them had said much. "I'm still your best friend, right?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Of course," Willow answered immediately. "Why would you ask that?" she asked confusedly.

"Well, it's just that last year I was never around to be the best friend you needed. So, you got closer to the twins. I just feel like they deserve you and I don't. It seems like they should be your best friends."

"You're a silly person, Ginny," Willow said with a soft smile. "I know I was mad at first, but I don't blame you for what happened. Our friendship had a rough beginning, but now I think we're closer because of that. Fred is a big lovable teddy bear more than a friend or a brother, though I consider Fred to be those things as well. George is my object of infatuation, but he's also a good friend. You, however, are my best friend, my sister, and my confidence all in one. No one will ever replace you Ginny, no matter how hard they try." Ginny had tears in her eyes as she hugged her best friend. "Don't cry, Gin. What I just said was a good thing, remember?"

"Thanks Willow, you're pretty gosh darn fantastic," Ginny told her.

"There's something I've been keeping from you," Willow blurted out quickly. "The person who killed my parents is Malfoy's mom."

Ginny stared at Willow, her eyes wide in shock. "You saw her in the nightmare?"

"Not clearly, but when I saw her on the platform, I was sure."

"Don't tell anyone," Ginny advised. "Before you go running to the aurors, you have to face her. Make her explain herself." Willow nodded in agreement. Ginny was really the brilliant one of the pair.

"Now come one, I've got to go." Willow stood and grabbed Ginny's hand. "It's only three weeks, we'll see each other in no time." Ginny nodded with a sad smile but followed Willow down the stairs anyway.

"Oh, there you two are," Mrs Weasley greeted them. "I suppose it's about time you two headed out. Remus it was a pleasure having you, do stop by again."

"Thanks for having me Molly. It was good to meet you all. I've only had the privilege of meeting the twins up until now," he answered her. "Well, we best be off Willow." She nodded in response.

Mrs Weasley gave Willow a bone-crushing hug, "We'll see you soon," she said. Then Mr Weasley gave her a hug and Percy awkwardly shook her hand.

"Now that just won't due, Perce," Willow scolded "Weasleys are the hugging type of people." She hugged him while he awkwardly patted her back. "We'll work on it," she promised with mock disappointment.

"We're going to miss you, Willy," the twins chorused. She grinned up at them. They each hugged her.

"I'll miss you guys too," she told them. Then she gave them each a kiss on the cheek. Fred grinned at her while George sort of stared her with a blank look. One glance at his twin and Fred smacked himself on the forehead. Ginny and I sure do have our work cut out for us, he thought.

Lastly Willow turned to Ginny, they hugged each other tightly as both started to cry. There moment was interrupted by Fred's call of, "Sheesh it's only three weeks."

"Shut it," Willow and Ginny yelled at him. They both started laughing at how much they sounded like the twins.

"Come on then, Willow," Remus said to her. "We're going to use the Floo. Just say 'Meer Cottage', okay?"

Willow nodded in understanding. She grabbed a hand full of floo powder, and before dropping it into the flames, she turned and said to everyone, "Bye. Say hi to Bill and Charlie for me. And have lots of fun, okay?" Everyone grinned at her just before she disappeared in a whirl of green flames.

Willow stepped or, more accurately, fell into a small sitting room. It was warm and cozy. The décor was almost an exact replica of the Gryffindor common room. As she gazed at the room in amusement, Remus stepped gracefully from the fireplace. She turned to him with raised eyebrows, "Does every room in this house show Gryffindor pride?"

"N-no," he stammered, blushing slightly. "Just this room and my room." Willow giggled at her godfather's discomfort.

"So why 'Meer' Cottage?" she asked him.

"It means lake in Dutch," he answered with a proud glint in his eye. "The house isn't very large, but I have my own lake."

"That sounds brilliant," Willow said excitedly. There was a small lake near the Burrow, but Mrs Weasley didn't like them going there due to a particularly hostile grindlylow.

"So, shall I show you your room?" he asked her. Willow nodded enthusiastically as Remus levitated her trunk and carried Otter's cage. They went up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway. Willow spotted a bathroom, a library, and two bedrooms, one decorated in scarlet and gold.

"Here we are," Remus declared as they reached the very last door. Willow walked into a spacious, brightly lit room. Willow immediately noticed that all the light came through the wall directly across from the door, which was made entirely of glass, like an enormous window. A quaint lake could be seen some twenty feet away from the house. The walls were a very light blue and the furniture was all crisp white. A comfortably sized bed and a writing desk faced the window on the same wall as the door.

There were two doors on the right wall and one on the left. "The first door on the right side is your bathroom and the other is a closet. The door on the left side leads to the library. Is this okay?"

Willow looked at him as if he were mental. This room was amazing! "It's brilliant," she said. "And I have no idea what you meant about this house being small. How'd you get a home like this?"

"Oh I was left it by my Uncle. He seemed to sympathize with my condition, the same way my parents did," Remus explained to her. They both knew that with his financial situation he couldn't have bought something like this on his own.

Suddenly remembering something, Willow asked, "So what was your big news?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. I got a job," he answered.

"Care to elaborate?" Willow asked exasperatedly.

He grinned at her, "I think I'll make you guess." She gaped at him.

"You're just evil aren't you?" she teased. "No wonder you're the twins' idol."

He laughed before relenting, "Fine, I'll tell you at breakfast, deal?" Willow shook his hand in agreement. "So is there anything you need?"

"No I'm good. I think I might go to bed," she decided.

"That's such a good idea. I'll wake you for breakfast in the morning. Good night," Remus told her before leaving the room to go to sleep himself.

An hour later, Willow was still wide-awake, finding it too difficult to sleep. Thinking about what she could do, Willow decided that her time would be best spent unpacking her things.

She quickly went to her trunk, placing her clothes in the wardrobe, her toiletries in the bathroom, her record player and her summer work on the desk, and her diary on the bed side table, Willow reached the bottom of her trunk to see an unmarked parcel.

Curiously, she picked it up and shook it. It didn't sound dangerous, so she opened it. Inside, there was a photo of her and Ginny baking cookies. They had gotten bored of playing Quidditch so they had attempted cooking. Although they weren't pretty, the cookies came out well. The picture showed Ginny were her arm slung over Willow's shoulders. They were both covered in flour. While the cookies baked, they had gotten bored so Ginny threw some flour at Willow, who retorted, until it was an all out flour war. Willow hadn't laughed so much in her entire life.

On the back of the photo, there was a note:

Dear Willow,

Have a lot of fun while you're gone, or as much as you can without me there.

Lots of love,

Ginny.

Willow smiled to herself before placing the photo on her wall with a sticking charm. She and Ginny had learned that as long as there was a wizard of age in the same house, the ministry couldn't detect underage magic.

Realizing she was now out of things to do, Willow put on some music before opening her diary to a fresh page,

July 10th, 1993

I just recently arrived at Meer Cottage, otherwise known as Remus' house. I know I've only just settled in, but it's already exciting to be here. I also miss the Weasleys after only two hours of being separated. Ginny left a picture in my trunk last night and it made me miss her more.

I finally relented and told her about Mrs Malfoy. She told me to do the same thing I had been thinking. I'm going to confront my parents' murderer. Not anytime soon, but in due course, most definitely.

Nothing else seems to have changed recently. Well, except for when I kissed George on the cheek and he went all funny like. I don't know whether that was good or bad, but it was mainly weird.

Willow woke up early the next morning, before Remus was even awake. She got dressed and decided that in the early hours of the morning, it was the best time to explore the library.

Author's Note: Okay! So here is the first chapter of the sequel to Never Forgotten, Only Misplaced. It's up earlier than I planned, but I like how it's started. Thanks for reading!

~Dino Flavored Ramen

IMPORTANT: "Meer," is pronounced like bear with an m.

See if you can guess what the title means.

Let me know if you like the diary entry idea.