Disclaimer: Not mine

Toby Donato knew things weren't right anymore. She more than knew it. She felt it. Felt in the way people looked at her. She felt it when she'd walk past someone in the hallway at school and she heard the whispers or one of the younger students practically dived to get out of her way. Everybody was scared of her now, and she hated it.

It was all his fault. His fault for kidnapping her. His fault for holding her against her will for two months. His fault for killing her parents and then threatening to kill everybody else she cared about. She had woken up in the hospital three days after that with both sets of grandparents and the cops to welcome her back and no recollection of what had happened after Joe threatened her. That's when it started. All four of her grandparents had looked at her with a mixture of concern and fear. That's what got her. She knew she must have done something bad for them to look at her like that. The authorities tried to be sensitive and kind, but she saw their fear too. She heard it in their "Don't worry, Ms. Donato, you haven't killed anybody, but all six people who were in the room with you are brain dead". She wanted to throw up when she heard that. She'd done that? Really? The cops told her they weren't going to charge her for this reason and that reason, but she knew it was a crock. They were scared that if they tried to haul her off to jail, she'd do the same thing to them that she did to Joe and his crew. She could sense it. That was one of her abilities after all: sensing electrical signals in other people. They told her they were just going to take everyone off life support because none of them had any family anyway and the hospital really needed the organs and bones and tissue and whatever else doctors and healers needed. That's when she did throw up. Her grandfather had rushed to hold her and comfort her, and Toby wished with everything that she was that it was her father holding her instead, but knew that was never going to happen.

Temporary custody was given to her paternal grandparents. She was grateful for that. While both sets of grandparents were muggles, her dad's parents had been much more accepting of it than her mom's parents had been. Even still, they didn't know what she was going through. Her grandma had urged her to talk to a "professional", but Toby had refused. Talking about what happened just made it more real, and she didn't want to think about it. She couldn't deal with it. The only thing she was able to do for the first few days was sit in her grandparents' guest room and listen to depressing music on her laptop.

After about a week of that, her grandpa had dragged her out of her room and demanded that she at least deal with her father's shops. He said he wanted to look after them while Toby was at school, split the profits with her, and then if she wanted she could take them over when she came of age. Not thinking of a better idea, Toby readily agreed. Her grandfather was certainly qualified. He had been a pharmacist most of his life, and had read her father's potions books when Anthony was home on holiday as a kid, so he had a good idea of what he was doing.

The next day, Toby was still moping around. Out of exasperation Grandma Donato had said "Toby, sweetheart, your grandpa and I hate seeing you like this. Is there anything we could do to bring at least a hint of a smile on your face?"

Toby had thought it over for a minute and then said "Could I get a dog?"

They had been on their way to the Oshkosh Animal Shelter within the hour. Toby wondered if they were so quick to agree because they were afraid she would retaliate if they didn't. But she had pushed the thought out of her mind. She was glad her grandparents had agreed at all. Toby had been ecstatic when she found the little stabyhoun puppy. When the little female looked at Toby with its big eyes, she knew immediately that was the dog for her.

"What are you going to name her?" her grandfather had asked.

Toby looked at the little dog in her arms, thought and then answered "I think I'm going to name her Io."

"Eye-oh? What kind of name is that?"

"It's from Greek mythology. Io was a priestess for Hera and Zeus fell in love with her. When Hera became suspicious, Zeus turned Io into a cow".

Grandpa Donato laughed at that. "Well, her markings do look a bit like a cow's".

The last few weeks of Toby's summer break had actually been quite good. She and Io had been inseparable, and Io was a great companion for her. Her grandfather had surprised her with a hollow body guitar and some instructional videos on how to play. Toby picked up on it quickly, learning the basics in a snap. She even started sketching again. The day she left to start school again, she was almost back to her old self again. She still hadn't talked about what happened, but was healing in her own way.

When Toby actually left for school, she was optimistic that things would be ok there too. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out how she wanted. As soon as she got to the Iowa campus of the Salem Academy of Magic, people were giving her strange looks, which she had expected. She hadn't expected the whispers and people giving her a wide berth wherever she went. It was awful. It had taken her a long time to be accepted as an Electromancer. She worked hard at her classes and tried to be nice to everyone, and had eventually won over most of the school. Now it seemed she was back at square one.

Toby was truly at a loss. Things were different now and it appeared they weren't going to get better anytime soon. As much as she tried to deny it, Toby knew in her heart she didn't belong anymore.

Toby's birthday rolled around on the twenty-fifth of November and she had to spend it alone, except for Io of course. She was playing around on her laptop, researching other magic schools that she could possibly transfer to. The computer started beeping at her, indicating that her grandparents wanted to start a web cam chat with her. It was their way of staying in touch. When their faces came on the screen, she knew immediately that something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"Well, nothing's wrong, per say, it's just that, we were going over your parents' legal documents, and we found something…interesting," her grandma answered with uncertainty.

" 'Interesting'? That doesn't sound good. Just tell me what's going on".

Her grandpa sighed before continuing, "Toby, we found a legal document attached to your parents' will, and it appears that we're not going to be able to be your legal guardians".

Toby visibly blanched at that, "What? Then who is? Not Grandma and Grandpa Saugstead? I don't wanna deal with their Christian 'Oh we love you, but since you practice magic, you're going to Hell' crap that they always dish out. It's no wonder Mom moved out as soon as possible".

"No, no. It's not your other grandparents," he quickly told her, much to her relief.

"Then who is it?" she asked for the second time.

"Molly and Arthur Weasley. Do you know them?"

"Barely". She knew that her mom had met them years ago when she went on a trip to London to research Gringotts security in hopes they could improve it at the bank she worked at. Elaine and Molly had randomly met in Diagon Alley and they had become friends. Toby vaguely remembered visiting them once when she was about 4. She hadn't got a complete handle on her eltromancing abilities at that point and things hadn't gone so well. After that, Toby was left in the care of her grandparents whenever her parents visited them, or she was at school when it didn't matter anyway. Why did her parents appoint them as her guardians?

Her grandma must have been able to read her mind, "It seems your parents wanted a wizarding family to look after you in case anything happened to them, and they felt Molly and Arthur were the best candidates for that."

"Is the document legal?" Toby wasn't exactly sure how to take this. Sure, she felt like an outcast and craved a fresh start, but she didn't know if she wanted to go all the way to England to do it.

"Signed by all parties, witnessed by second parties, and notarized," Grandpa Donato answered.

Toby just stared at the screen with a furrowed brow.

"You're taking this a lot better than we thought you would," her grandma noticed.

"I'm not sure how to take it. I don't feel like I belong here anymore, but I wasn't exactly expecting to be shipped of to England to get a fresh start. How do you two feel about all this?"

Her grandparents looked at each other feeling a bit ashamed at what they were about to say. Her grandpa started first, "Toby, we love you. We always will, but we don't feel like we can be the support you need. You need to be around people who understand what you are and the things you're able to do. You need this. You need to start over."

"Molly and I have been exchanging letters back and forth, and she and Arthur are really excited to have you move in with them. I guess the whole family is excited".

"So you really think I should go, huh?"

"Not that you have much of a choice, but yes, we think you should go".

Toby nodded. Perhaps this was what she needed.

"I think I'm gonna go. I need some time to process all of this".

"We understand. By the way, Happy Birthday. We'll send you all the documents and Molly's letters. She should be sending you one herself soon. Your birthday present is in the mail too".

Toby smiled at her grandparents, "Thanks, guys! Bye!" and she clicked the End Conversation button.

She sat back on her bed trying to process what she just heard. Her parents wanted her to stay with a family she barely knew all the way in a foreign country. The U.K. It seemed so far away. She had read some books on the magic school there, Hogwarts, she believed they called it. It was supposed to be one of the best Wizarding schools in the world, better than the one she was at now. She knew Molly and Arthur had a few kids that were her age, having played with them during her one and only visit, so she would at least know a few people when she went. And they were all excited and willing to accept her into the family. Her heart warmed a bit at that. There was still that nagging fear of change that was eating away at her. She decided to get an outside opinion on the matter, and she knew just who to ask.

Author's Note: If you want to know what a stabyhoun is, it kinda looks like a small, long haired labrador with white and brown markings. It's the most precious looking thing ever.