A/N Okay I have to admit, this chapter isn't as great the others, but I wanted to get one up sometime today and was in a hurry. The reason I wrote such a weird chapter was to kind of give you a glimpse of Alex's personality and a small dose of back story. Will do much better on chapter five and I hope to put that one up sometime tomorrow.
The next morning Alex found herself awake and staring at a very recently decorated wall in her new room at the Burrow.
She had been told that this particular room had been Ginny's and when asked about it Ginny had said that the room was all hers, she could rearrange and redecorate it any way she wanted (but Alex could not tack any posters or show any merchandise for a rival team of the Hollyhead Harpies. American teams were okay and an exception could be made for the Chudley Cannons.)
Alex had the whole room to herself, but after she counted the number of people who stayed the night and the number of rooms in the house, she realized that she didn't know where everyone else was sleeping, unless all the couples were sleeping with each other and at least one person was sleeping on the couch.
Alex listened to the quiet that enveloped the house. Everyone must have been still asleep and Alex took her chance to explore the house.
She had been given a tour of course, but Alex wanted to really explore. As in get good looks at the occupants of moving pictures, look in drawers, and hopefully snoop in closets. The best things were always found in closets.
Alex crept down the stairs, and a quick look found the kitchen and living room empty. The kitchen showed no sign of Mrs. Weasely, and the pots and pans and knitting needles were all still and dormant. No magic was being used on them.
Since the coast was clear, Alex went over to a drawer she had in mind was a junk drawer. Opening it slowly, she began to dig through it picking up the things she couldn't identify and things she could identify but that had writing on them.
Why she was doing this was a bit complicated. She had been in many foster homes and had lived in many houses, and ever since she was little she had always had a fascination with getting into things.
As she got older Alex decided that the best way to know the people taking care of her now was to get a better look at the small spaces of their lives. And she didn't steal anything so it wasn't wrong or anything. Maybe.
As she dug through the drawer she picked up a strange object and held it in her hand. It was a small glass battle of a bright blue liquid labeled For Neighbours.
As she studied it she wondered why it was Americans had long since done away the British spellings of certain words.
As she thought about this, a mostly empty bottle of ink picked itself off the counter and slammed itself back down making Alex jump nearly two feet. The blue liquid and its bottle were dropped back in the open drawer.
It was George.
"Snooping are we?" He said playfully.
Alex's heart was pumping out of her chest but she could feel it slowly going back to normal as she saw George.
"Yes we are." Alex said matter of factly and then resumed her exploring of the junk drawer.
George watched the ten year old standing in his parent's kitchen while rummaging through the junk drawer, not knowing what to think.
He noticed her forearm. It held the mark of Slytherin House on Hogwarts Shield and remembered what his parents had said. It couldn't be seen by Muggles and wouldn't come off with any type of magic.
As no further jokes, snide remarks, or sarcastic comments came to him he walked over and joined her. He started to pick through the few select items that Alex was placing on the counter instead of putting back in the drawer.
"Nice snake." George said, aiming to learn how just how much Alex knew about the world she had entered.
Alex gave a quick glance at the snake. She had it for as long as she could remember, and therefore seemed to forget it even existed most of the time. "It was painted on me with magic ink when I was a baby."
That wasn't the answer George had wanted. So he tried another question.
"Do you know what it is by any chance?"
Alex looked up from the drawer and at George who had dropped his comedic demeanor and was acting generally curious.
"Salazar Slytherin's snake. The emblem of Slytherin House. One of the four houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
George didn't know what to say so he went with, "My alma mater."
Alex seemed done with her snooping. She picked up the stuff on the counter and placed it all back in the drawer. Carefully she closed it and turned to look at George.
"Your parents try to avoid talking about Hogwarts when they're around me." Alex said this as if she really didn't see what Mr. and Mrs. Weasely were trying to avoid or why.
George knew at once why they were trying to avoid but he didn't say anything. Instead he backed out of the conversation he was responsible for starting and changed the subject.
"You Americans play good Quidditch. You handled the Quaffle like a pro."
Alex seemed to be oblivious to the change of subject. "But I didn't score very much. I usually just passed to the other Chasers when I played that position. I was always good at intercepting from the other team, which is why I was moved to Chaser when the Pioneers played certain teams. Otherwise I was the Seeker."
George listened interested. He had never seen a team have a Chaser who wasn't good at scoring. He was about to say this when a shrieking voice filled the room making them both jump.
"What ARE you two doing down here at six o'clock in the morning!?"
George and Alex stared at Mrs. Weasely like a deer in headlights. Molly stood with her hands on her hips. She was expecting an answer.
"Well?"
Alex was suddenly ashamed of the answer. She looked down afraid to look Mrs. Weasely in the eye. George noticed this and answered.
"Geez mum, all we're doing is talking about Quidditch."
Molly eyed her son. "Oh what a fine time it is for talking about Quidditch. Back to bed, both of you. It's much too early for this nonsense."
Alex smiled a Thank You! to George and they both scurried off back to their bedrooms. Before she closed her/Ginny's door George said "Meet me in the shed outside after breakfast."
Wanting to repent for her snooping Alex did try to go to bed. But she couldn't. So she pulled out her small box of coloring utensils and started to draw a dragon that she planned on giving John Iro before he left for the States this morning.
After thirty minutes she heard talking and after hearing her name mentioned twice Alex could not help but get closer so she could hear well. A nagging voice in her head was telling her it was wrong and that she shouldn't be doing this especially since she was snooping earlier but Alex felt like she needed to hear.
