I TRY NOT TO BLOW UP THE BURROW

After I crammed all of my positions into a couple trunks, I had handed them off to Bill, who had Apperated off to put my things into a room (Ginny's room apparently but I had no idea who she was). Then I had walked across to the streets to the local florist shop and grabbed a bouquet of lilies and tall stalks of golden rod. I had the women behind the counter wrap them in a gold-reflective paper before I went back to my flat for Bill to pick me up. When I came back, all of the things that I hadn't put in my trunks were strewn around the floor. And in the middle were the twins, discarded items surrounding them like a halo of unneeded stuff. I gaped at the disorder and quickly began picking everything up, unconsciously putting them away in perfect order. I was busy straightening some colored pencils obsessively when Fred tapped my shoulder and I stopped. Looking down at my hands, I realized that I didn't need to organize everything precisely because my mom couldn't yell at me for not color-coding my shirts. I just shook my head and put down my task. He leaned down (about one foot because I was so short) and whispered in my ear, his voice husky and deep.

"I saw you pause when we mentioned your father. Will tell me what happened?"

I cursed myself. Of course he had noticed "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"Don't lie to me Melody. And don't lie to yourself."

This made me pause. Was I lying to myself? But I knew I couldn't destroy my friendship with Fred and George. And telling them about my Father was a sure-fire way to do that. "I'm not Fred. But I hardly even remember my father," I lied.

George had come up behind me and heard our whole exchange "Really?"

"Yes!" I huffed.

"Really?"

"YES!" I howled at him.

"Like really really really?"

"Oi Georgie, leave her alone." Fred came to my defense. His twin gaped at him, looking very much like a fish. I burst out laughing.

"Okay y'all! When'll Bill be back?"

Just then there was a loud crack and Bill in all of his amazing and awesome glory, reappeared. He offered his arm and I grasped it. Then he grabbed the twins and spun around. Next thing I knew, I was twirling through space, disoriented and scenery zipped past me. I didn't like the sensation but when we landed the twins cheered in happiness. My feet hit the ground forcefully and I stumbled. Bill caught and steadied me. I looked around I what I saw made my breath catch. A house, balanced precariously and there seemed to be at least 7 more floors than what would be considered safe. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

The Weasley's noticed my reaction and together they chorused "It's not much but it's home." I turned my gaze to them.

"Are you kidding? This-Is-Awesome!" I said. The twins nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. It is pretty cool." They said modestly. I looked at them in amazement again.

"How do you do that? The thing where you say the same thing at the same time. You can't have planned it out."

"Right you are. We're just on the same brain waves. It comes in handy sometimes."

"But aren't you ever annoyed that people can't tell you apart? People must think that you guys are the same."

"Sometimes it's a bit annoying. Our own mother can't tell us apart at times. But we each have our own specialties. George is good at Potions, Charms, and Herbology. I'm good at Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts. But together we should have the skill to open our joke shop!" Fred exclaimed

"Again with the joke shop," Bill sighed "Mum will never let it happen. Just give it up. Settle into a Ministry job or something."

"No can do Bill. We have our heart set on this and we are rather stubborn." George patted his brother on the back "Now enough chitter-chatter. Time to show Melody the Burrow!"

If anything, the inside of the Burrow was even more remarkable than the outside. Everything was messily tidy (if that makes any sense) and covered in rugs. The house looked tired but still energized, like a 40-year-old man drinking an entire bottle of energy drink. It was beautifully chaotic. A warm hug invited me into the house. Corkscrew curls tickled my face and arms wrapped around my midsection as Molly Weasley crushed my lungs in the friendliest way possible. After she let go of me, I held out the flowers that I had gotten. They were only slightly crushed and luckily no petals had fallen off. Mrs. Weasley hugged me again when she saw the flowers and I held the bundle out to the side to make sure that they didn't get smashed. She untangled herself and took the bouquet from me.

"I'll put this into water now. Thank you so much deary." She bustled around the kitchen, clicking her tongue as she tried to find an appropriate vase. She kept on discarding them until I when over and chose a tall milky vase. She nodded her head in approval and patted me on the back. "Go on sweetie. Get the twins to show you around. Bill's already taken your things upstairs."

I turned back to the twins, who were grinning mischievously. The held out their arms and the tour commenced. They led me through the Burrow, random heads of various family members poked out to say hello. The twins also offered history on each room. After each room they said "And of course Dumbledore slept here." I snorted in laughter every time but we howled when we got to Mrs. And Mr. Weasley's room.

Finally, we reached the third floor and the twins knocked on a pale green door that sported a sign which read "FRED AND GEORGE (AND RON TOO) KEEP YOUR BEHINDS OUT OF THIS ROOM- Love Ginny J" I liked this girl already.

The door slammed open and another red-head appeared. Her mouth was set in a scowl but when she saw me it turned into a smile. I returned the grin and she herded me into her room but not before she shut the door in the twins faces. I heard the pounding on the door but the girl ignored them. She offered a hand. "Ginny. 3rd year at Hogwarts. Nice to meet you."

"Hi! I'm Melody. Nice to meet you." I gripped her hand and pumped it up and down

"Likewise. Make yourself at home," She gestured at a small bed with an overhead shelf. "We had to do an emergency rearranging for you to fit but it's okay." I surveyed the room but not critically. I was just observing. My trunk was perched on top of the self and a few blankets and pillows were laid upon the bed. I sat down and looked at Ginny.

"So… you live here." It was lame but it was the only thing I could think of.

"Yes I do." Ginny cracked a smile.

"It's very pretty."

"You don't have to lie. I know it's horrible."

I shook my head franticly. "No! I mean it really is beautiful and very homey."

"I suppose." Ginny looked at me again "You're right. It is very pretty. I do like it here. Really."

I felt guilty. I must have seemed spoiled somehow. How, I wasn't sure but I was certain I offended her. As though she was reading my mind Ginny said:

"You haven't offended me."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding "Good."

"Good." Ginny stared at me "I've always wanted a big sister."

I spread my arms and shrugged "Well here I am. I have a little sister too. She's only 12." I turned my gaze to Ginny's long hair "May I…?"

"Yes of course." Ginny grabbed a brush and I raked it through her silky locks. Two hours and much wresting of hair later I had manipulated Ginny's hair into a crowned Dutch braid that led into a French. I had grasped a couple flowers on Ginny's windowsill and weaved them into her hair. We only emerged when Mrs. Weasley called our names. We trotted down the stairs and everybody opened their eyes wider as Ginny padded down. I didn't understand their reaction. Ginny was always beautiful so I had a good palette to start on. Harry Potter's eyes were opened the largest and he surveyed her appreciatively. Ginny blushed when she saw his eyes upon her. I felt like cackling and rubbing my hands together like an evil genius.

We sat down outside for a lovely meal. Mrs. Weasley had charmed the dishes to come out after 2o minute intervals but we ate to slowly so we had plates bouncing against our heads for a portion of the meal. Mrs. Weasley had apologized profusely before removing the charm and sending the children in shifts to receive food. Fred, George, and I were in charge of the main dish. We walked inside, my stomach was already stuffed but I was determined to eat the meal because it was really quite good. As we grabbed the dishes, I asked questions about the twins joke shop but my heart and head weren't in it. They were far away in America, cooking a meal for Bethany. The twins only noticed when I mixed up their names. Fred snapped his fingers beneath my nose and I started.

"S-sorry."

"It's fine. I just wondered where your mind was."

"In America." I answered truthfully.

"America?" George asked politely.

"Yeah, America. My little sister, Beth is still there. As you heard, my mother is fairly neglectful and my older brother is in college so she was worried about feeding herself…" I cut off my rant. "It's nothing. Let's just get this food outside so we can talk with the rest of your family." The twins acknowledged me and we drifted into a peaceful silence. That is until I stubbed my toe on the door step and tumbled down. I flailed wildly and used a Levitation spell of the food before I hit the ground. The food floated inches above me as I moaned.

"Ow."

I made to get up but stopped as a throbbing pain in my finger flared. I looked down and winced. My finger was not supposed to bend that way.

"Are you okay?" The twins saw my broken finger "Uh… never mind."

"You know what?" I asked

"What" The twins enquired

"This bloody hurts!" I announced. The twins looked at each other before linking my arms through theirs and hulling me into an upright position.

"I'll grab Mum." George said, before darting off. Fred put his plate down and slid against the wall until he was next to me. Fred then turned around and faced me.

"Mel. Tell me honestly please."

"Uh… okay?" I phrased it as a question

"Who is your father?" I looked at Fred.

"Fred I want to answer that but you would hate me. You would never talk to me ever again. So I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

"Mel I can't hate you. Unless your father is Voldemort. He isn't is he? I mean you have a nose."

I laughed as the tension disappeared. The I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Sirius Black. My father is Sirius Black."

Fred looked at me incomprehensively. I was beginning to worry that I had shocked him silent when he spoke "Oh Mel is that really what you were worried about? America hasn't found out then? Well of course. The Minister refuses to believe it but…"

"Fred you're scaring me. What is it?"

"Melody. Sirius Black is innocent. We don't know where he is but Harry tried to clear his name last year but the Minister wouldn't listen."

"Oh." I could only manage that small word. Before I could interrogate him further George reappeared with Mrs. Weasley trailing after him. Our conversation ended but the words were fresh in my mind.