Thirty minutes later, I was home and happier than any human being could be. I was never the sort of girl who liked being home, preferring to be with my friends or at least the other relatives, but being away from your life for seven years changes you, I guess. At that moment in time, I wanted nothing more than to see my parents and possibly the flock of cats. I know you probably call a large group of felines something totally different, but there had been six the last I remembered, and who knew how many there were now. The irony of this, of course, is that my mum hated cats and my dad loved them, and me and my siblings could never take a side. Oh, the deliciousness of life!

"Victoire!" A blur came dashing out of the house - my mum, yelling for what might have been the first time in her life. She just didn't yell at people - didn't have to yell, I guess. She had always been too stunning to ignore, and just a tone of annoyance in her voice and every person who heard her would shut up and listen.

"Mum!" I slipped out of the car and ran towards her. "I don't know who's happier, you or me."

"It's a miracle - you're alright! I didn't think this could happen, but..." she started crying tears of happiness - another thing she never did. People really HAD changed!

Next out of the house were my dad and a tall, pretty girl who had to be my little sister, Dominique. She sure didn't look like the awkward eight-year-old I remembered her as - she had more of Mum's beauty than I did, and that was saying something. Even more frighteningly, she was only 15. This was going to be odd.

To make up for the fact that Dad didn't seem capable of speaking, Dominique wouldn't shut up. "Vickie! This is fantastic! Aunt Verity passed the word on to us, and we're having a huge party this evening - family mainly, but other people we think you'd like to see too. What do you think of Aunt Verity? I think she's amazing, but some of the other rellies aren't too keen on her and Roxie outright DESPISES the woman for no good reason at all."

"Domi, calm down," I said, not sure there was anything else I COULD say. "I'm not sure what to think of Aunt Verity yet, but I have a feeling I know why Roxie doesn't like her. And a party? Couldn't you give me a day or two of peace? I mean, I just woke up from seven years stuck in my head, and you're making me deal with lots of people."

"The party wasn't MY idea," Domi replied innocently, batting her eyelashes in a way I was pretty sure she usually used on boys. "Aunt Ginny thought it up; I'm just carrying out the logistics of it and warning you in advance. Odds are there'll be seventy people - does that sound fun or what?"

I was about ready to pass out at that part. Seventy people? I wasn't sure I KNEW seventy people! The relatives were probably half of that, and I could think of ten or so people who might as well have been relatives, so that left twenty-five people I didn't really now. "You haven't changed a bit, Domi," I said - she'd always been more of a social, people-oriented girl than me.

"Thank you," she laughed, mistakenly hearing that comment as a compliment. "It'll be lots of fun - everyone's dying to see you, and a few in particular..."

I knew what she meant, of course. There were a few relatives I was dying to see, Aunt Audrey and Roxie, mainly - Aunt Audrey because she was the only adult that got me, and Roxie because, even as I remembered her as a nine-year-old, she'd always had a biting sarcasm that somehow lifted my spirits every time she went at it. There was someone else, too - a boy.

Before I really get into this, let me first say that Teddy Lupin had always treated me like something between a little sister and a friend - standing up for me when he had to and being nice otherwise. Since he was two years older than me, this worked perfectly. Thing is, my last memory relating to him (other than the fact that his bad aim caused my accident) was that I was really starting to like him in the more-then-friends way. Maybe the feelings were returned a bit, but I wasn't sure about that part. He'd never said or done anything to make me see things either way, but Mum's main theory about boys was that they were weird like that. Lucky me - I was about to test that one.

"Does he have a girlfriend?" I asked Domi, returning from my thoughts. She knew who I was talking about, of course.

"Yes," she sighed, "a pretty solid one called Holly Snow. People - not me, of course - think he's going to propose at Christmas."

"And what day is today?" I had to think fast - find out how long I had to deal with this problem.

"August 15. You have four months. If it makes you feel better, Mum and Dad and nearly all the other relatives dislike Holly. If his grandmother was still living, she'd probably hate the girl as well."

"Wait - Andromeda died?" My head was spinning with all the stuff I now had to remember - never a good thing, let me tell you.

"Yeah, last March. One heck of a funeral."

"And our grandparents?" I had to ask - they were around Andromeda's age, and there are questions that must be handled so you don't look like a moron in front of the whole clan.

"Both the Weasley ones died three years ago, and the Delacour set is still living."

"I can remember that."

"Good luck."

Great - when even your own sister thinks you can't do something, you really ARE sunk!

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A/N: Please review!