A/N OMGOMGOMGOMG! Shout out to Sock-O-Holic and Amethyst980 for following and favoriting! To all of my regulars, I really thank you, it means a lot! Okay, I'm gonna tone it down a bit as to not freak you guys out. Here's the chapter a lot of you have been waiting for. Enjoy!

The next day...

Early the morning, I bolted upright. This was the day! I was going to put my control to the test and possibly make some new friends! Wow, don't you sound perky, I thought to myself. But why not? Today was a beautiful day, with the sun actually out from behind the clouds, and the sight of it made me eager to face the challenges of the day.

Quickly getting ready, I changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and another one of my 'famous' t-shirts; this one was bright green, and it said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself…and spiders." I don't know why I chose this one, but it just felt right; maybe it was the 'not being afraid' thing I was trying to do by going on this outing.

I was ready to go before anyone else, so I went back inside my room. I had heard of a strange thing some Muggles did called meditation that I figured might be worth a try. Sitting on my bed with my legs crossed uncomfortably, I closed my eyes and just let my thoughts drift because I wasn't really sure what all you were supposed to do while you were meditating. My thoughts kept drifting towards Mr. Myles for some reason. Maybe it was because this used to be his apartment. What did he do up here in his free time? There was no where to put anything, really, besides a television in the living room. All the other rooms were too oddly shaped to have been anything than what they were now except for this one.

What Max had said when I first met him came back to me. He had asked about a secret door, or, at least, if I had noticed anything that might be concealing a secret door. Opening my eyes, I stared at the wall over where I had felt the draft. I hadn't noticed it before, but there really wasn't anything near that spot; the area was completely clear of any permanent fixtures like wall sconces, windows, or shelves. There was something suspicious about that wall, but at that moment, I heard Mom calling for me. Since we were spending the whole day with the Weasleys, we were going to eat a big breakfast here and an early dinner with them later in the day.

About ready to burst from excitement, I hopped off of my bed and bounded into the kitchen, surprising everyone with my sudden entrance. I tried to eat as fast as I possibly could so we could go sooner, but all that ended up happening was more time for me to spend waiting while my family finished. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, I urged them silently.

Mom noticed my impatient attitude with amusement and calmly asked, "Why are you so wound up? We're only meeting the family of your Dad's coworker. They aren't the Presi-Prime Minister." That didn't have any effect; she didn't know how important of a day this was to me. If I hadn't schooled myself in maintaining control over my hair, it would have changed from its styled lime green with a black streak to a brilliant sky blue, which wouldn't have gone with my outfit at all…not that I cared, or anything. I still continued to bounce around, urging them endlessly on until, finally, we were all set to go. But…where were we going exactly? Mom didn't have her day trip purse (it's so big, you know when it's not there) and Dad had announced that we were going to go to the lobby. Not that we were taking a taxi somewhere, just that we were going to the lobby. Hmmm…

As it turns out, we were going to the Burrow, the Weasleys' house. One by one, we each through a pinch of Floo power into the fire and shouted, "The Burrow!" We reappeared in a kitchen filled with people, which only added to the crowdedness of it all. All of the others moved to make room for us, and when all of us were present, the introductions started. First, a slightly balding, portly man with ginger hair (I noticed that all of them were gingers, now that I'd looked around) stepped forward and shook hands with Dad, saying, "Glad you could make it, Dan!" This must be Arthur Weasley, or Mr. Weasley, as he would probably prefer to be called. He was a kindly looking man, and I got the feeling that he was genuinely happy that we had come to his house for the day.

He turned to the rest of his family and introduced them as well. "This is my wife, Molly. Next to the door is Percy, the oldest one in the house. Let's see, Fred and George are…oh, yes, right over there. Ron is the one sitting at the table and, next to me, is Ginny." Mrs. Weasley was rather portly, too, but in a homey way, almost comforting, if that makes any sense. Percy had rather pointed features and horn-rim glasses, and he seemed snobbish with his air of I'm-better-than-you. Ron, the one that was my age, was tall and thin with freckles all over his face and he seemed like an interesting person. Ginny was very small, with the characteristic ginger hair and freckles, but she looked like she could either be bold or shy, depending on the circumstance. She was openly gazing at my hair with interest, which was to be expected.

But Fred and George were, above all, the most interesting people in the room. I could just tell by the way their eyes were slanted downwards like they were trying not to appear guilty. The mischievous half-smiles when they thought no one was looking were a dead give-away, too. They had done something, probably set up some kind of prank. Usually, I didn't truck with trouble-makers (exhibit A: Felix!), but these two had some sort of, I don't know, playfulness that made it okay, somehow. I tore my attention away from them in time to hear my Dad say, "This is my wife, Elise, and these are my two girls." Lizzie broke in to introduce herself and I soon followed suit. "Hi, I'm Lizzie!" She was so perky when she said that, I wasn't surprised that they all smiled at her. Everyone loves a happy person, I thought. I stepped forward a bit farther into the light and caught everyone's attention immediately, which wasn't that hard at all because my hair was such a bright color, it was almost luminescent. "And I'm Alexia," I added awkwardly, not nearly as lively as Lizzie, but everyone smiled at me anyway.

"Well, it's gotten a bit full in here. Why don't you all go out into the garden while we stay in here?" She was referring to the children going outside, and it was all right with me, so I followed the Weasley kids outside to their magnificent garden, the likes of which I've never seen, before or since. All the plants were growing higgledy-piggledy and everywhere you looked there was some other interesting bloom or fruit or vine to admire. And, as an added bonus, the Sun was still out! For no apparent reason, I started running and doing cartwheels through the rows of plants, along the many walkways. I'm pretty sure I made quite a sight, a green-haired girl randomly spinning in the garden, but at the moment, I couldn't have cared less! I was feeling the sunshine for the first time in what felt like forever, and I wasn't cooped up in Mrs. Jones' apartment.

By the time I made it back to where the others were I was gasping for breath with a stitch in my side (it really was a very large garden), and everyone had settled down into a relative circle. Relative meant that Percy was nearby, but he had his nose in a book. I got the feeling he was only here because he was required to be. I plopped down on my back in the grass and closed my eyes, still breathing heavily.

"Having fun?" a voice asked teasingly. I cracked one eye open and turned my head towards the voice. Upon seeing it was one of the twins, I sat up and answered, "A ton. And you?"

He looked at me for a few seconds, and then, suddenly, asked, "Why do you have a black streak in your hair?" At this, Percy looked up irritably from his book, A History of Prime Ministers, and scolded his brother, "Don't be rude! She's our guest and you shouldn't ask questions like that, George!" George rolled his eyes at Percy, saying back, "I'm Fred, four-eyes! And she's not offended or anything, are you?" He directed the last half at me because I was giving him a look. I just thought it was funny that he asked after the streak of black and not the mass of green it was surrounded by. I liked that.

"Oh, no, I'm fine with the question, don't worry. It's just that most people would ask why my hair was green instead of why there's a black streak through it. It's because I felt like it, really." Lizzie and I shared a private look that said, "If only they knew." Percy grumbled about delinquents messing with their hair color and returned to his book, which wasn't all that much of a downer, actually.

While Lizzie was talking Quidditch with Ginny, who was surprisingly knowledgeable on the subject, Fred, George, Ron, and I all formed a bit of a circle of our own. We joked and laughed endlessly, me asking them about Hogwarts and them asking me about life in America. At one point, George (or Fred, I couldn't tell the difference yet) asked, "Tell me this, how did you know that Ron was afraid of spiders? I mean, just look at your shirt. It's almost directly aimed at Ron!" I had had no idea of this phobia, but I decided to have a little fun with it (heh heh heh). "Oh, I was cursed as a baby to become a giant spider every full moon. All arachnids know when someone is afraid of spiders." Even though he knew I was joking, he still got a little paler under his freckles as he chuckled weakly. Hmm, maybe I could take this a step further…

"Oh, I'm not kidding. I turn into green lynx spider, so that's why my hair is green." Now he was really pale and he looked like he was about to run away until Fred, George, and I collapsed in laughter at his facial expression. But now they were curious as to why my hair was green, again. "Sorry, trade secret! Can't tell ya, or it'd be all over England by Monday." They begged and prodded, but I was adamant, so they eventually gave up and we moved on the twins' misadventures at Hogwarts.

This afternoon was like a dream; I felt so happy and comfortable around the whole family, even Percy on the few occasions that he actually said anything to me, and it passed by as quick as lightning. Soon it was time for dinner, and then, far too soon after that, it was time to leave. I said my sad goodbyes to everyone, thought the one to Percy was awkward because we had spent almost the entire time ignoring each other. As we went back to Mayfield Apartments and walked up the stairs, we were all chattering about how amazing our visit was and how nice the Weasleys were.

A/N Okay, so I'm going to try to fit in Diagon Alley somewhere in the next chapter, and maybe we'll meet someone we know there! This is the first time I've had to deal with canon characters, so I really want to know how I did!