Thalia opened her eyes with a start. She still wasn't quite used to this new room after about a week of being there. She had, however, gotten used to the constant questioning, the not-so-stealthy whispering, and the shameless pointing. She couldn't understand why the Potters thought she was so special. Sure, Mr. Potter had the same scar, but he surely hadn't gotten it from the same thing! He'd be dead if he had.

With this grim thought in her head, Lia started her day. She stood and adjusted her dress to cover her right arm, wanting to minimize the number of stares, confused looks, and questions about whether or not it hurt. She hated being such an outsider. Of course, she had always been an outsider at jobs, but this was different. Then, she had been working as a servant, not being acknowledged at all, except for when her "services" were needed. But at least then, she knew there was no hope of any social interaction. Here was different.

Lia knew that the Potters wanted to accept her, but just couldn't bring themselves to do so. It was this that filled Lia with a sense of desolation and loneliness. Her only comfort came in the form of Daniel's letters, which she received daily.

In fact, just at that moment, Lia heard Mr. Potter call from downstairs that she had mail. She smiled widely and rushed to get it. Mr. Potter handed her the letter that was undoubtedly from Daniel, and laughed at her enthusiasm. He asked her if she wanted to eat breakfast before she opened her mail, and as politely as she could she declined. She then walked rather hurriedly to her and Lily's room. When she was sure she was quite alone, she tore into the letter ravenously. It read,

Lia,

I miss you so much! I thought of you this morning when I saw the dancers walking to their training. I realized how ugly all of them are compared to you! Just kidding, they are all very pretty, but you are prettier than all of them, so you have no reason to be jealous.

Thalia paused her reading for a moment to laugh at the fact that Daniel thought that she might be jealous. Dearest Dan, she thought, would he ever learn? Still smiling, she looked back down.

I must say that I'm slightly bored here. Sure there is training and all that for me to deal with, but I really miss having you here to beat me at foot races and cheer me up after I've lost a fight.

This morning, I woke up and the sky was that colour that you love. You know the light yellow colour that you always wake up early for? That's what colour the sky was this morning. It's raining now, of course. You know how I hate the rain.

How are the new people treating you? I hope they aren't still goggling at your scar, though it is curious how that man has the same one on his head. He can't have gotten it from the same thing can he? He'd be dead!

On a brighter note, your replacement is terrible! It'll mean nicer treatment for you when you get back! I can't wait for you to come back. I miss you so much.

I love you,

Dan

Lia frowned at this. She knew that he loved her, but she hated that he would always love her more than she could love him. It was the one thing that he could always beat her at. Except for fighting and the occasional strength test, but otherwise, Lia was better than him at everything.

She felt a tear slide down her cheek. She missed Dan.

**********

Harry beamed as the little family loaded into their car. He hadn't seen his best friends in a private setting in over a month. He was so excited that he paid no mind to his children bickering in the background. Harry had had to warn Ron and Hermione that there was something shocking about Thalia that they'd have to pretend not to notice, but he hadn't told them what it was. Now, he was glad, as Thalia was wearing her dress to cover her arm. She watched peacefully out the window as she did on the way to the Potter's home, but this time, Harry was glad she did. It seemed to have a calming effect on his other children. Not quite enough though, to keep them from snapping at each other whenever elbows might brush together or hair was caught on something. Thalia just sat there calmly, watching the trees go by.

**********

The car ride was short and they were soon out of the cramped car. Lia was glad too, because Albus had pressed against her the entire time and he hadn't stopped fighting with his siblings at all. Lia had to admit, though, that she was nervous to meet the Weasleys. From what Thalia had gathered throughout her stay, the two parents names were Ron and Hermione, and they had two kids, one named Rose, who was the same age as Albus. She couldn't help but be excited to meet the family, they had sounded quite odd, but she was sure they'd be entertaining to watch.

She soon found that she was right too. An extremely excited family came out to meet them in the front garden. Thalia was just barely out the car before the two families began to break up into groups. Albus and the girl who Lia assumed to be Rose ran off into the house, Lily chattered excitedly with a young boy that looked her age, and all the adults expressed repeatedly how long it had been since they had met. All the while, Lia leaned back against the car and enjoyed the scene while James just stood looking like the odd one out. Lia watched curiously as she waited to see what he would do. This boy, who was so often boiling over with energy and confidence was so obviously out of his element here.

Eventually, he joined the adult's group, or rather, stood next to the adults group. Thalia decided to reciprocate. She walked slowly toward the parents.

"Ah! Thalia! Everyone, this is Thalia. She's from Scotland." Mr. Potter said upon catching sight of Lia.

"Oh really? Where in Scotland? One of the best in my department is from Scotland." Mrs. Weasley said.

"The southern end I suppose." Was all Lia said.

"You don't sound Scottish." Mr. Weasley said, raising his eyebrows at her. Lia resisted the urge to laugh as Mrs. Weasley elbowed him.

"Yeah, I move around I guess." Lia said, trying to keep from causing trouble.

"Well Ronald, Anything interesting happen at work lately?" Mrs. Potter hastily asked, while walking with the rest of the group into the house.

"Yeah, actually, they just sent an underage wizard to Azkaban for using the killing curse as self-defense. The git thought he'd get away with it too!" Mr. Weasley nearly shouted.

"Who'd he kill?" Mrs. Potter asked sounding worried. "Anyone we might know?"

"No, he was a distant relative of Malfoy though. I guess he had it coming, but the killing curse? Honestly?"

"I think that it depends on the situation," Mr. Potter said, cutting into the conversation. "Of course it's wrong, but does it constitute going to Azkaban?"

"Yes it most certainly does!" Mrs. Weasley said giving Mr. Potter a stern look. "Killing is never justified, no matter what the circumstances are!" She said, looking as if she completely believed every word she was saying.

"But wouldn't you kill someone that was trying to kill you?" Mr. Potter said, reaching up to touch his forehead.

"Only if they were trying to kill me and those I loved, but if it is something that can be avoided, than it should be the job of the ministry."

"But what if it was left up to you?" Thalia spoke up, flinching when everyone turned to face her. "I mean, hypothetically speaking," Thalia continued, when she thought it was safe to go on. "What if one of you had to kill the other, because not both of you could live, but you knew that the world would be better off with you and not them, plus you knew that both of you would die in the end." Lia explained what she hoped they would believe to be a hypothetical situation.

All the adults gaped at her with somewhat frightened looks on their faces. James cut in, apparently oblivious to the terrified expressions on his parents faces. "It's still wrong. No person is worth killing just so you can keep on living. Killing is wrong, end of story."

"I never said it wasn't wrong. I just said that it might be better for the world if one person went on living, and the other didn't." Lia said, trying not to be distracted by the adults, now whispering to each other and taking turns glancing at her with worried eyes.

"All people are equally qualified to live." James said in an irritatingly calm voice, sounding very much like her menslaedo trainer.

"But what if you know that person had tried to kill you before, but they didn't succeed, so then you have to let them kill you again, and in doing that, they've just killed themselves, and then you finish them off, but in order for all of this to have happened in the first place, they would have had to try to kill you!" Thalia argued, trying her hardest to make sense, barely paying any mind to the fact that Mrs. Potter had just passed out.

"When the hell would that ever happen?" James shouted just before his father grabbed Thalia by her wrist and dragged her into the nearest lockable room.

I know this chapter's shorter, but I just wanna rush through all the boring stuff so I can get to the good part! ;)

Reviews make the chapters come faster!