Author's Note: Hello again! I just wanted to sincerely thank everyone for the encouragement to write a sequel. I hope that it has a similar feeling to that of Just A Distraction. It is a bit different though, since it doesn't take place at school. But I'm hoping that it's fairly well done. This first chapter is really, really short and there's a reason for it. I know it seems really slow at the very beginning, but it picks up a lot towards the end. I hope it doesn't move too fast...or too slow. I dunno, I just want the pacing to be good. Also, it is definitely AU once again. Like it has absolutely no similarities to Deathly Hallows whatsoever. I'm just doing my own thing without any real book related structure. I hope it makes sense and everything. Anything that seems confusing or isn't explained at first will be explained eventually. Oh and just putting it out there that I will be posting another chapter later today/tonight. Okay...I think that's everything. So, I hope you enjoy! Please, please leave a review! I love to have feedback. Thanks!!! :)

Raynea shifted in her bed violently as her eyes shot open. She breathed unevenly as she sat up, feeling cold sweat roll down her tan, narrow face. After a second or two had passed, she tossed the covers off of her tense body, and treaded to the mirror on the wall opposite from her bed. Raynea stared into it deeply as her breathing remained erratic. The layers of sweat were visible on her forehead and dark circles had formed beneath her mahogany eyes. She sighed deeply, which allowed her body to calm down a bit, but not by much. A few more minutes went by before Raynea had finally gotten a hold of herself. She continued to gaze upon her weary reflection with a clenching feeling in her stomach. Her dreams had definitely been causing her a lot of grief as of late.

It wasn't the first unpleasant dream she had had over the past few weeks, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Raynea shook her head rapidly in order to expel the negative thoughts from her mind before turning her back to the mirror and taking a seat on her bed. She looked about the room pensively, recalling how different it had looked only a few weeks earlier.

Before Raynea occupied the room, it had belonged to Percy Weasley, who was known for being more than a little uptight. When she had first moved into Percy's old room, it was unnaturally tidy. The bed appeared as though it had never been slept in, and the dresser had nothing on top of it but a few books, which were organized into an alphabetized stack. Besides those two key pieces of furniture, the room contained only a couple of miscellaneous necessities and the mirror that Raynea had just been staring into. However, once she became the owner of the space, her trunk, books and broomstick were added to the previously spotless room. It wasn't messy now by any means, but it looked like someone actually lived there now.

Once Raynea had exhausted her desire to sit there uselessly, she rose from her bed yet again and crossed over to the dresser. She opened the top drawer and slid out her black, silk robe that fell just above the knee. She put it on and synched it tightly then decided to head downstairs for breakfast. Normally, Raynea would have dressed before making her way down to the kitchen, but she was in a particularly rotten mood, and didn't feel like making herself look presentable at the moment.

As Raynea descended the narrow staircase of the Burrow, she tried to figure out why her mood was so awful. There were probably several contributing factors, one of them being her inability to get decent sleep. Ever since term had ended, Raynea couldn't sleep soundly—sometimes, she couldn't even sleep at all. She had spent many nights either staring at the ceiling, or running up to Ron's room to see if he was still awake…which he usually wasn't. Raynea assumed that the trouble she had sleeping resulted from the extremely unsettling dreams she had been having lately. The message of all of them was dark and foreboding…and they all happened to contain people she wouldn't even allow herself to think about. However, the most dominant, probable cause of Raynea's depression was the fact that it was her seventeenth birthday.

Raynea was quite aware that it was odd that she looked upon hr birthday with such a feeling of dread, but she had her reasons for doing so. She loved celebrating other people's birthdays; however she found her own to be nothing but an annoyance, especially considering that they had far more important things to worry about. Though, Raynea was quite sure that Hermione and the Weasleys would make a tremendous effort to ensure that she would have a wonderful day, and she was touched by that. Because of their kindness, she would put on a happy face. It would be very difficult, mostly because she had more contempt for this particular birthday than any other. With some of the events of the past few months, Raynea wasn't keen on living this particular day—or any other, for that matter. She was resolute to seem excited, though.

Once she reached the kitchen, Raynea saw that she was the last one to get up. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins were already seated around the table, while Mrs. Weasley was busy fixing breakfast. Mr. Weasley was probably out. He was usually absent a few times throughout the day to confer with other Order members and the like. Raynea approached the table with caution, hoping that everyone had somehow forgotten about her 'special day.' She slid into the chair beside Ron and smiled when no one initially addressed her. However, it wasn't long before her presence was noticed.

"Happy Birthday, Rayne!" Fred and George exclaimed in unison as they grinned broadly.

"Yeah, happy birthday," Ron added warmly. Hermione and Ginny offered her similar statements and Raynea forced her smile to grow.

"Thank you, everyone," she stated with genuine appreciation, "Really, thank you, but we don't have to make a big deal out of it. I'd be more than happy to just hang around like we normally do."

"Oh, come on, Raynea," Fred stated amusedly, "Do you really think we're not going to do anything for your birthday?"

"Honestly, it's a landmark birthday. You can legally do magic outside of school now," George reminded her with a mischievous grin.

Raynea pondered this for a moment before smiling at him brightly.

"You have a point there, my friend," she said, her excited tone reflecting a slight change in her mood.

"That's the spirit, dear," Mrs. Weasley responded kindly as she placed breakfast on the table, "We're all going to go to Diagon Alley to pick up a few things for your party once breakfast is over."

Raynea's face immediately fell at the mention of a party. A party was so…celebratory, and she wasn't interested in celebrating in such an extravagant way. She knew that the guest list wouldn't consist of anyone outside the room, but she still didn't want to make a big deal out of things. The day would be perfect as long as it was absent of presents and cake.

"You'll have to stay here, of course," George informed her, "You don't wanna go ruining the surprise."

"This is such a nice idea, everyone," Raynea began in a strained voice, "but it's really unnecessary. I'm fine with…not celebrating."

"Nonsense, we're going to celebrate," Mrs. Weasley told her thoughtfully, "You just relax today, while we get everything ready."

"Really, you don't have—"

"You're getting a party no matter what," Ron said with a chuckle, "Mum's been planning on it for days."

Raynea bit her lip uneasily, then feigned a smile.

"All right, then…if you're sure…"

"Believe me, we're sure," Hermione chimed in as she laughed.

"Speaking of which, you all better start eating. Remember, we still have to go to Diagon Alley," Mrs. Weasley reasoned.

The children all nodded as they picked up their forks and started picking at their plates. Raynea tried to look as though she was excited, though in her heart she truly wasn't. She felt horrible about being so resistant to a celebration, but was truly grateful for everyone's kindness. However, she wished that they had forgotten about her birthday all together. The only aspect of the day that Raynea cherished was the fact that she could perform magic whenever she wanted. Besides that, she just wanted it to be over.

***

Once breakfast was finished, everyone, excluding Raynea, headed off to Diagon Alley as planned. They would probably be gone for a few hours, meaning Raynea had some time to herself. She figured she should get dressed, but ended up lazing about the couch instead. She was simply exhausted, and didn't have the energy to do anything except lay there and read a book. After about half an hour of sitting around, Raynea forced herself to get up and clean the kitchen a bit. She definitely owed the Weasleys for letting her live with them, so she wanted to help out in order to show her appreciation. Raynea strolled to the sink and found herself distracted by the scenery outside.

It was an exceptionally beautiful summer day. The sun was out, covered by only a few clouds, and it appeared as though there was quite a breeze blowing. Raynea merely gazed out the window tiredly, letting the landscape put her in a sort of trance. She allowed herself to just stand there and lose alertness. Suddenly, she saw a figure in the corner of her eye, which immediately broke her out of her previously mesmerized state. Raynea craned her neck so that she could see further out the window, but found that there was nothing there. She furrowed her brow before redirecting her attention towards the kitchen sink.

However, she wasn't completely at ease. Raynea snapped her head up and peered out the window once again. There was still nothing in sight but grass, trees and sky. Raynea shook her head to make herself focus as she turned her back to the outside and let her eyes travel about the kitchen. She prepared to go clear off the table, when she heard a faint noise coming from the door. Raynea's eyes darted nervously as she slowly moved from her spot in the kitchen and went towards the source of the sound. As she inched closer to the door, Raynea heard something else. It sounded like a soft knocking. She sighed in relief, figuring that it was probably a member of the Order as she walked straight up to the door and opened it swiftly. Raynea's stomach jolted fiercely as she looked over the threshold. She hoped that she was hallucinating…in fact, she was almost certain that she was dreaming. She had to be, it was the only explanation.

There, standing just outside of the door, was Draco Malfoy.

Raynea couldn't even speak, for her mind had gone completely blank. Her entire body was numbed, so she just stood there and stared. Draco looked at her with a somewhat surprised, yet extremely fatigued expression. The staring match lasted for about a minute, before Draco took a step closer towards the door. Immediately following his action, Raynea whipped her wand out her robe pocket and pointed it at him with piercing eyes. He simply smirked, which honestly didn't shock her. He glanced down at her wand, seeming both amused and slightly afraid before returning his eyes to her face.

"So…I guess you're still bitter cause I dumped you, eh?" Draco questioned arrogantly.

Raynea's expression grew more livid as she lowered her wand, pushed him back over the threshold, and slammed the door in his face.

(Another) Author's Note: Seriously, lemme know what you think. I'm very curious. Remember, there will be another update tonight. Okay, I'm done being OCD. Thanks! :)