The sky was just beginning to lighten in the east. Willow breathed in the sweet morning air, the humidity already present. It was going to be hot later that day. There was a promise of rain in the heavy clouds hanging overhead. She could smell the amount of moisture in the air. It was not her favorite kind of weather, but she was overdo for a cloudy morning. Her mood was back to plummeting through the ground.

No one else would probably get up for a while. She was guaranteed at least an hour of alone time, which is exactly what she needed. Willow absentmindedly grew a few small sprouts. In the back of her mind, she was still worried about how the Smith twins and Paige would react to her keeping this secret from them. If she ended up destroying their friendship because of this one secret, she would be devastated. Willow couldn't even remember how she made it through each day without her friends from Hogwarts before she turned eleven. All she could remember was the pain.

The sun was rising fast, turning the clouds blood red. It reminded her of her injuries from the previous night. Willow examined her knuckles, noting how they were nearly healed already, leaving only light bruises behind. She was still amazed by how extensive her powers were, and how powerful they were shaping up to be. They were quite plausibly the only reason she had survived her first year at Hogwarts. Pulling through the first near-death experience was one thing, but living through the second one...that was very lucky. She probably wouldn't get that kind of luck again, knowing how bad hers usually was.

Willow's emotions were growing stronger by the day. She was tired of keeping them down, exhausted from how many secrets she was keeping. It seemed like she was straining herself to the max every day in order to hide herself from the piercing gaze of the world. She was frustrated that she couldn't simply tell everyone about her powers. She could help, help protect innocent people like the Smith twins. Willow didn't see the big deal in making sure they stayed hidden. She wasn't in danger because of them, as far as she knew. No one was. She could control them, and they'd never had lethal tendencies. There was nothing wrong with them. For the time being, she'd listen to her father and keep them hidden. But the moment she could expose them, she would not hold back.

I've already told you, the voice lady scolded. It's very dangerous to release that information. Knowledge of your powers, in the wrong hands, could spill too much innocent blood.

Willow sighed. I know, it's just frustrating. I wish you would hurry up and tell me what this is all about. You promised that you would reveal yourself and give me a little bit to ponder. Aren't I ready for that yet?

You are, but are you sure you're ready for me to reveal myself?

Yeah, unless it's immediately going to kill me.

Alright, you need to stay out of sight for this. Others might panic if they see you talking to my physical form in your backyard. I don't remembering anyone telling you that I'm invited.

Oh, shut up already.

Willow's pulse quickened with excitement, despite the attitude she was displaying. She thrust her hands upward to grow a small, secluded ring of trees and shrubs around her. No one stirred inside the house. Willow tried to calm herself down, but she was so excited about the sudden change of events that it was impossible. She was about to learn some more! Maybe it would help her state of mind, put her at ease. She could only hope.

Ready? the voice lady asked.

Ready, Willow immediately replied.

She gasped as her body shivered with a chill that she didn't feel. It felt like someone was drawing all the energy out of her body in one go. A silvery light covered her eyes, then there was a bright flash, and Willow stumbled. She wanted to scream, though not in pain or fear. Then there was the weirdest sensation- as if something was being yanked out of her, something attached with super glue- and it was gone. Willow realized she had closed her eyes. When she forced them open, she gaped in awe.

A ghost stood before her. This wasn't any normal ghost, though. Unlike Sir Nicolas and the other ghosts at Hogwarts, she wasn't completely gray. She had color everywhere, dulled by the silvery mist that swirled around her form. Her hair was a rich brown, her eyes a brilliant blue, her skin a beautiful copper. The woman's clothing was a patchwork of every color Willow had ever seen. They were arranged in just a way that it was appealing to the eye, in patterns, abstract scenes, and artful background hues. Willow thought she remembered the woman's face from somewhere, but she couldn't place it. A dream, maybe?

"Willow, at last," the woman sighed. "This moment has been prolonged much too long for my liking."

Willow blinked slowly at the woman. Her voice was even more silky and ancient when it was outside of her head. It reminded her of a waterfall she had seen in the Amazon Rainforest- thousands of years old, reverberating with the memories of thousands of years of carving its way to that single pool, and gentle, but powerful. Willow reminded herself not to get on this woman's bad side.

"Hello..." she said shyly. "Am I still not allowed to know your name?"

"Not yet, Willow, but I promise it will not be too much longer. When the time is right, and you are fully prepared to know everything, I will tell the rest of my secrets to you. Now is not the time. You are much too young. Have fun in your life, make memories with your friends, be happy. The world is never at peace for long."

Willow nodded, expecting that sort of answer. "You did promise to tell me a little bit more, though."

"Ah, yes, a tad more than before," the woman said. "Reach in your pocket."

Willow furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't have anything in her pocket. The only things she had on her at all times during the school year were her pens, pencils, and a notepad or two. When she reached into the side of her shorts, she came up empty-handed. "Um, I'm pretty sure I didn't put anything in my pocket today."

"Your other pocket, dimwit."

Willow reached in her left pocket and recoiled her hand immediately. "Ouch! What is that?"

"An inanimate object can't bite you, Willow," the woman said. "It's just cold to you. Quit being a baby and get it out!"

Willow shook off her hand, then reached into the side of her shorts again and pulled out a small, silver object. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she recognized it.

"How- why- what- " she stammered. "How does the map do that?"

"It's more than just a map," the voice lady said. "Open it up. Yep, tap that corner."

Willow tapped the corner of her Astronomy cheat sheet. It opened up into its usual self, displaying the constellations and stars in extreme detail. She glanced quizzically at the woman.

"It's the same as it always looks."

"That's simply a security measure," the woman scoffed, as if it was obvious. "You were drawn to this map at Diagon Alley in that little shop. Have you ever wondered why?"

"Not really," Willow admitted.

"Well, it wasn't supposed to be there," the voice lady explained. "This map belonged to several special people before you. It's been passed down from generation to generation until the last family in possession of it was murdered by Voldemort. He didn't know about it, of course, and when scavengers raided the place, it was sold to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. It's been hiding in their junk piles ever since."

A realization slapped Willow across the face. "I'm the next special witch, aren't I? That's why I was drawn to it! That's why it feels different to everyone else that touches it!"

"Exactly. This map responds to you, and you alone. No one else can open it."

"Wow," Willow breathed. "Is there anything else I should know about it, you know, since you can't tell me who these special people are and why I'm one of them?"

"Yes, actually," the woman replied. "You've unknowingly discovered it before. Tap it anywhere except the edge."

Willow complied, touching the map directly in the center. She took a step backwards when it suddenly changed again. It was the same as last time, dividing up into several screens depicting very different images in multiple locations, but she recognized one of them. Her hand flew to her chest.

"That's- that's- " she stuttered.

"Fred and George, right?" the woman finished for her. Willow nodded, still staring, rooted to the ground, at the image. "You see, Willow, this map is not really a map at all. It's useful for studying- and the occasional cheating- but that's not its real purpose. This map shows the people close to you. Anyone that manages to win your absolute trust and friendship and reciprocates it will appear on this map. Mind you, I mean absolute trust and friendship. Very few people will win that from you, and you from them. The people that appear on this map can see it as it appears when you open it for them. Others will only see a constellation map, no matter what. If you play with it a little bit in the future, you'll discover its special features, like how to isolate images and get it to show you a select few at a quick glance. I think you'll love it."

Willow glanced at each of the images. She was still in shock that there was more than one image. Willow never thought that anyone would win her trust, not even the twins, and to have them trust her back, probably with their life...that was something. Paige also appeared on the map, and so did Harry. The only other ones were her family members and-

Oh my God, Willow thought.

"Um...Miss- Voice Lady? Can people be removed from this map if the trust is broken, or do they remain on it forever, no matter what, if you've already had a connection between them?"

"Of course they can be removed!" she exclaimed. "No trust, no special protection from the map."

Willow stared with wide eyes at the image. After everything she's been through, after everything I've been through, how can my mum and I still trust each other that much?

The Voice Lady's image faltered, as if she were a hologram running out of power, redirecting Willow's attention. "I must return to your head now, Willow. Soon, I'll have to rely on your energy to sustain my form, and believe me, it's much more taxing than you think."

Willow nodded. "Okay. Is there any way I can take you out of my head like this, or do you have to do it yourself?"

"You are strong enough now. If you call me, I will come."

A smile grew across Willow's face. "That's so much more reassuring than you know. Wait, you know everything about me already. Nevermind."

The woman laughed. "It's scary how much you ignore about yourself. I'll return to you now."

"Wait!" Willow called, having one last question. "Can I call you a name so that I don't have to call you ridiculous things like 'Voice Lady'? It's weird."

"As long as I approve of it. Do you have anything in mind?"

"Cebba," Willow said immediately. She blinked, the name not having any meaning to her. Were her powers acting up again? She had never heard that name before, and it had slipped right off her tongue, like Norbert's breed had when she first saw him.

"Sure," the woman said, though there was a wary gleam in her eye. Willow didn't catch it. "Call me Cebba from now on, then. Try to have a good, safe rest of your summer, Willow."

"I will, Cebba," she promised, liking the way the name naturally flowed off of her tongue.

Cebba disappeared in a flash of light, and with a quick sensation similar to someone pulling a bag over Willow's head, the woman was gone, leaving Willow alone in her ring of vegetation. She reversed her powers and returned the trees to the ground. The energy rush it left her with only lasted seconds before her sadness swept it away. With Cebba's presence gone, she was left with an empty feeling. Willow committed herself to regrowing a tree and undoing it to entertain herself. The longer she sat there, playing with her powers, the deeper she sank within herself. Why was she so sad all of a sudden? There was nothing wrong in her life at the moment- well, aside from her powers situation. The Smith twins were finally safe, she'd had a fun day with her friends, she had her new wand, and September first was drawing nearer every day. There was nothing to get down about.

But there was plenty to be worried about.

As Willow sat there, her powers unknowingly reacted with her sadness and drew the attention of nearby small animals. Baby rabbits hopped closer, their noses twitching in curiosity, a few stray kittens wandered near, and a cluster of brave fawns stood on the edge of the nearby forest. Willow barely turned her head when they encircled her.

Too much sadness, they chorused, their voices echoing in the back of her mind. Too much sadness.

Willow wanted to tell them to go away, but her chest longed for their comfort and care. She let the animals burrow themselves against her sides, cuddling away her sadness. An overwhelming sense of guilt hit her when she thought about how much her dad had tried to comfort her over the years and how she had pushed him away every time. She was letting baby animals raise her up in a dark time over her dad. What kind of person was she becoming?

Willow didn't get enough time to ponder that question. Her head whipped towards the sliding door at the same time the fawns' did. Someone was opening it. The deer and rabbits ran for it the moment it opened, but the kittens stayed a little longer, not fearing humans as much. Willow gently brushed them away and stood up, trying not to trip over them as they rubbed against her ankles.

"Fancy seeing you up early," a voice whispered.

Willow smiled weakly when he came into view. "You're one of the few Gryffindors that does get up early, George Weasley."

"You're the only Gryffindor that would get up at half past five every morning if we'd let you go to bed earlier."

"Touche."

"I heard you singing earlier," George said, grinning. "You're actually a very good singer, did you know that?"

"What were you- You heard that?" Willow stuttered furiously, her mouth dropping open. She did have a habit of singing early in the morning when she was any bit of emotional. In fact, that morning, she had woken up with the intention to sing through her favorite three songs. George must have woken up when he heard it. "I- I didn't know you were up- "

"Oh, shut it already," George said. "You're acting ridiculous. Of all the things for you to be scared of, people hearing you sing it one of them? The great Willow Guerrero, the one that couldn't care less about her appearance, let alone what people think about her, is afraid of people judging her singing?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, I'm terrified of people judging my singing. I don't have a good reason, I just am. Got it? You better not tell anyone."

"I won't," George promised. "Seriously, Willow, lots of people at Hogwarts sing. Most aren't great, and I know from experience. Most of the Gryffindors will belt out random songs in the hallways whenever they feel like it. Don't even get me started on what happened one night after a Quidditch match when they played a drinking game with Butterbeer..."

"I'm...not going to ask about that."

"Hey, for what it's worth, you shouldn't hide your voice forever," George said. "It's okay to keep it to yourself, especially since it seems to help you with a few things, but there's no need to hide it. You're a bloody Gryffindor. People expect you to shout out whatever's on your mind."

Willow smiled. "You sound like you know a thing or two about this."

"I do. Fred doesn't know it, but I've actually taken a liking to a few Muggle songs before. Every once in a while, I try to sing them, but it's kind of difficult. Muggles are good at music."

"Some spend their whole life making it, performing it, reinventing it, etcetera." Willow looked up at George. "That's pretty amazing that Fred doesn't know. How did you manage that?"

"With great difficulty."

"Obviously."

George stared at the kittens that still crowded around Willow's ankles. "I think you've got some admirers."

"They're more trying to comfort me than worship me at the moment," Willow admitted, her lifted spirits crash-landing again. "I think my powers react to my emotions. They sensed my sadness and decided I needed a cuddle or two."

"Since when does a cute animal not cheer you up?"

"Since...today."

George walked closer and picked up one of the kittens. It crawled around his shoulders like a scarf, bright blue eyes shining with approval. "Must be in pretty bad shape, then."

Willow nodded. "Summers are the worst time for me."

"Too much time to think?"

"Exactly," she said. "I'm kind of pathetic, really. I've withstood much worse than this before. I should be stronger, right? But it's only crumbled by foundations more. I'm afraid- "

Willow stopped herself, unable to continue. George put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're afraid that you won't be able to keep up your strength much longer, aren't you? You've always been the strong one, always been the shoulder to lean on, always been the protector of the group. You are strong, Willow. You're not getting weaker. You have to have weak moments to become stronger, you know."

"Good point."

Willow stared at the horizon where the sun was just beginning to peak over the trees. She wanted so badly to open up to George. Everything she had been holding back was pounding against the floodgates, some already dripping over. She didn't want to unload on someone- that wasn't fair to George- and, after all, he might try to get her to spill the biggest thing on her mind. That was a secret she had to keep. No one was allowed to know about that. No one. But George's kindness pushed through.

"Alright, you've obviously been suffering from something," George noticed, getting straight to the point. "What's the matter? Don't you dare hold back, Willow. You know better. Just because my life is laughter and joking around doesn't mean I'm completely clueless about sadness. I have emotions other than happiness every once in a while."

Willow sighed. "Fine. Are you sure you don't want me to hold back?"

"Positive. One hundred and ten percent."

"Here goes nothing," Willow began, stroking the kitten in her arms for support. "I'm still having nightmares about killing that troll. I didn't tell you guys about that, did I? Whoops. My mum has been creepily silent about the whole locket situation. She was also friends with Quirrel, and I'm surprised she didn't give anything away to him. She saw me shape-shift when I escaped her. I'm worried that she's got bigger plans for me and it didn't have anything to do with a mother's loyalty to her daughter. I almost died twice this year, not that it matters. Several people know about my powers that shouldn't. My powers are getting stronger, sometimes a little out of control. They almost exposed me to Muggles at the London Zoo last month when I had some sort of panic attack because they were surrounding me- long story short, I rescued a boy from a tiger enclosure, and they wanted to plaster me all over their news stations. Harry had to go back to his possibly abusive home with the Dursleys, Mandy had to go back with her horrible mother, Oliver has no parents to return to, and it sounds like his grandparents are awful. The Smith twins have been abused by their mother all along and I didn't recognize it. That might be tied with first prize for foremost thing on my mind with the entire fight with Quirrel. I have horrible nightmares about it. Him and Voldemort, and sometimes my mum...They're awful. They play with my mind in dreams, torture me, make me feel like I'm worthless, make me feel like my death wouldn't be anything worth crying over. I don't know what to believe anymore. Sometimes, when I wake up, I can't separate dreams from reality. It's tearing me apart. I'm sick and tired of waking up drenched in sweat, wanting to cry but being unable to, wanting to laugh it off but hanging onto that lingering doubt that it's true. I just want to feel...happy. All I wanted when I came home was to truly feel like I came home. Quirrel took that away from me. Voldemort took that away from me. My mum drove the point- I'm not going to make that pun. But you understand, right?"

George stared at her, eyebrows raised, completely stunned for a moment. Then, he nodded slowly, as if still digesting everything she had just told him. "Yes, I do understand. I can't empathize, of course, but...bloody hell, Willow, how long have you been holding that in?"

"Um...as far back as the troll attack," Willow admitted. "I think I've let bits and pieces slip, but that may be my imagination, too. The thought of unloading that on you guys- I thought it might break you. I promised myself to hold back if that was what it would take to protect you guys from me."

"Protect us- from you?" George chortled. "Willow, there's no need for that. You're not some kind of monster that we need to keep in a cage. You have a good heart, anyone can see that. Except you, for some reason. You really need a lesson in self worth."

"I've been putting that off as long as I can," Willow said. "I need to not hold back when it comes to a life-or-death situation involving my friends. Knowing me, I'll attract that kind of danger to all of you." Her eyes widened with sudden fear. "You haven't been attacked by anyone lately, have you? Other than Mrs. Smith, I mean."

"No, but that doesn't mean you're responsible for taking us into the danger, and neither is Paige," George said quickly. "You're the one that got us out of the situation, remember?"

"Yeah, but you've still gotten into so much more trouble with me around," Willow said, her first year replaying in her mind. "Quirrel could have done so many things to you if I had told you about my plans. If you came after me, and found him there..." She shuddered. "I'm not sure I want to picture something that gruesome. And with all those Quidditch lessons, all those times I scared you to death, I shouldn't have, I'm sorry. You could have fallen off your broom or been hurt in the Forbidden Forest chasing after my sorry arse. You shouldn't have to do that. And- "

George cut her off by pulling her into a tight hug. Willow fell silent, hugging him tightly, too.

"You listening to me, Willow?" She nodded. "Good, because you need to hear this. You're not endangering us. If we were scared to be around you, don't you think we would have said something by now? We're not afraid. Even if you were endangering us, I'm pretty sure we would choose to stick around anyway. We can hold our own, and Merlin knows you can turn into a bloody dragon to save the day whenever you want. You have nothing to hold against yourself, Willow. Don't ever think you're a burden on us, because it's just the opposite."

Willow's mind took a few seconds to process the message, then, for the first time since summer had began, it got through to her. Her mind stopped racing to find faults, a little bit of the weight lifted off of her shoulders, and she actually smiled a little bit.

"Thank you, George," Willow said, trying not to cry.

"It took you long enough," George chuckled. "Now can you stop being insufferably sad?"

"I can try," Willow said.

The two backed a few paces away from each other, sheepish smiles on their faces. George yawned sleepily.

"I'm apparently tired, still," he said. "I think I'll go back to sleep now. See you in a few hours, Willow."

"I'll make sure you're the first one up," she teased.

"You better not, or you're first on the pranking list!" George threatened.

"Oh God, no! I'm just joking! Or maybe...Alright, I won't. Good night, or good morning, really."

George disappeared back into the house, closing the sliding door behind him. She got that weird fluttery feeling in her chest again. What was up with that? She hadn't felt it in a long time. It was gone as soon as it came, though, so she didn't puzzle herself over it. Willow glanced at the kitten in her arms, its icy blue eyes staring innocently into hers. She stroked its back.

"I think you're magic. You made me actually speak for once."

The calico kitten simply mewled and begged for Willow to rub her belly. She obeyed, looking up at the sunrise once more. For once, instead of longing for happiness and an end to all of her suffering, she felt at peace with herself. Willow was a lot happier than she had been in a long time. And it was all because her friend had taken the time to get her out of that place. A single tear trailed down her cheek, as if making a new path for her to follow. She was ready to face the world again. She was once more on strong foundation. Maybe there was a benefit to this "talking it out" thing all of her friends did. She could hear Mandy now.

Wow, what a concept. I never would have thought something I do to help me would work on your totally different problems.

The calico kitten nuzzled her head into Willow's hand. Yep. She was keeping this kitten, whether her dad liked it or not. Willow glanced at her watch, pressing a few buttons to check the date. It was already July 31st. Today is Harry's birthday! She still hadn't heard from him all summer, and she was starting to get suspicious. What if he was in trouble? The Durselys could be doing something horrible to him right now, and he couldn't tell anyone! Willow's mind flashed back to the night before, where a simple visit to the Smith twins' house turned into a rescue mission. The same thing could be happening to Harry! He might need her help right now!

Woah, woah, woah! Slow down! Willow scolded herself. You're growing things with the amount of worrying you're doing! At least wait until everyone gets home safely to fly off on yet another quest to save a friend or two.

Willow glanced at the ring of greenery that had indeed been growing in her runaway train of thoughts. She took a calming breath. There was no need to get worked up yet. Harry might be fine, on the other hand, something that she hadn't considered. But something told Willow that wasn't the case. Her senses were getting so powerful that they were extending to sensing danger for her friends. She had an instinct to trust them more than reason.

Look, as soon as everyone gets home safely, tell Dad where you're going and get there as fast as you can, Willow told herself. You know where he lives, just head that way and your senses will guide you to where he is. It will all work out, and in the end, you'll get to say Happy Birthday!

Willow sat outside until the sun was high in the sky, submitting to the demands of the kitten. When it was around nine, she went to wake her friends, using the kitten as a diversion so they wouldn't murder her. She found that they were much happier to wake up to a kitten than her. How rude. Nevertheless, her dad and she started breakfast, and everyone slowly stared trickling into the kitchen. Paige was (naturally) the last one up, and she wasn't ashamed in the slightest. She grumpily found a chair at the table and plopped down in it. Willow sent the kitten her way as a plead to be spared from her wrath. She started forgetting about Harry and focusing more on her guests. Her dad and she made a wonderful breakfast buffet, one that could have rivaled Hogwarts's selection in the morning. Fred and George made sure to leave no leftovers on the table, and for once, Paige and Willow helped out. The Smith twins still looked quite haunted and couldn't eat nearly as much, though they probably ate much more than they would have at their mother's house. Every one of their ribs was visible beneath their borrowed shirts and shorts. Willow suppressed the anger she was seething with.

After breakfast, the Weasleys and Paige packed up their stuff and left promptly via the Floo Network. George gave her a knowing look before leaving, passing a silent message between them, a promise, almost. The Smith twins remained a lot longer. While her father apparated to the Ministry to sort out their housing situation, Willow stayed behind. She couldn't stand the silence left in the wake of the morning's business. It couldn't have been two minutes before she struck up a conversation with the Smith twins.

"How are you guys doing this morning?"

It took Samuel a moment to reply, "Much better off than yesterday, thanks to you."

"You can thank Paige, mainly," Willow corrected. "She's the one that decided to take us to your house to check on you. I can't imagine what would have happened had we not..."

"I can," Sally said bitterly. "Mum would have casually punished us for nothing again. That wasn't even the worst Mum could have done. She was in a good mood yesterday, unlike- "

Sally stopped herself. This was obviously something she couldn't share, so Willow didn't push it.

"How long has it been since your dad died?"

Samuel winced. "Let's see...it seems like ages ago, hasn't it? We weren't that young, I can still remember his funeral plain as day, he was buried on our own property- oh, yeah, three years. So we would have been eight years old."

"And has your mother been hurting you that long?" Willow prompted.

"No, not exactly," Sally said, her kaleidoscopic eyes shifting and changing as the horrors they'd seen replayed before her. "You see, Mum was a noble woman. She used to be the most loving, caring person in the world. Mum was in Hufflepuff, and from what Dad told us, she was a true Hufflepuff, right down to the core. She would have laid down her life for the people she loved. But about a year after Dad died, we started seeing changes in her. She started forgetting things. Then she would have severe mood swings. Samuel and I were getting worried at that point, but she wasn't harming us yet. She was suddenly nasty to people at work and got fired from her job. Money got tight, so she started selling things, sometimes our stuff without our permission. Mum became very introverted and wouldn't come out of her study for hours. It was then that Samuel and I knew that something was very wrong. We tried to coax Mum back to us, but nothing worked. It only provoked her more. She became violent towards the house elf, so bad that we freed him to save his life. Before then, she would have scolded us for pulling his ears. We were one of the few families that treated our house elf well. She had lost it for good. Finally, her violence turned on us, and we were done for. She would punish us for every little thing we screwed up. Beatings became a regular occurrence. I don't even recognize the person that's pretending to be Mum right now."

Willow nodded, blinking back tears. How could this have passed her by? As haunted as the Smith twins were when they first arrived at Hogwarts, she'd thought that learning their story would have taken precedence. But no. She had let them fade into the background and hide their stories when that was exactly what they didn't need. "And to think, all this time, I didn't even bother to ask."

"Don't," Samuel said, standing up despite his weakness. Willow looked up in surprise. "Don't you dare blame yourself. It wouldn't have changed anything. The Ministry workers would never have believed us anyway, and I'm honestly surprised they came at all when you asked for help. They don't want to get involved in family dynamics for some reason."

"I know, it's ridiculous," Willow agreed. "Muggle laws do better at protecting children from bad parents than wizarding ones. I think I might have a few things to say to the Ministry when I come of age."

"It's okay, Willow, really," Sally said. "Your voice against hundreds will hardly change anything. Besides, we helped each other through the past couple of years. We aren't in too rough of shape."

Willow's eyes traced each twin in turn, Sally's words triggering a realization. Their skin was oddly perfect for being beaten all the time. She noticed how much healthier Samuel looked, and how much less haunted Sally was. Willow had a sudden desire to run directly to the Minister of Magic and scream in his face.

"Oh my God," she breathed. "You covered up your scars with a disillusionment charm. That's why I've never noticed anything, aside from the fact that you always wear robes. And...Merlin, Sally, do you give Samuel more food because he takes more beatings than you?"

Sally and Samuel shared an equally panicked glance, then nodded stiffly. Willow turned away for a moment, wishing the tears away that were welling up in her eyes. They wouldn't help the situation. She was angry at their mum much more than she was sad about their abuse There was no need for tears; she needed to report this to her father once he got home.

"Willow, seriously, we're fine," Sally assured, putting her hand on Willow's shoulder. "You don't need to worry about us anymore. Thanks to you, we don't have to go home to Mum anymore. Samuel can finally get away from her harsh words, we can re-hire our house elf, maybe even claim the property when we're of age and turn it back into a park..."

"I still can't believe how strong you guys are," Willow said. "She abused you not only physically, but mentally, especially with Samuel. I would have broken down and gone mental by now."

"That might be the only perk to living with Mum," Sally said. "She gave us one thing we would have never gotten otherwise- armor against the words of others. We could care less what other people think of us anymore. There's very few people's opinions in this world that we take seriously."

"I suppose that's true."

"It is," Samuel said. "Honestly, it's an amazing feeling, being above the opinions. We don't have to change ourselves for anyone. It's refreshing."

Willow smiled. "You guys are cheering me up now. How ironic is that?"

"Very. It's nice to have the roles reversed every once in a while. You need a little support every once in a while, Willow."

"Aw," she sniffed. "Come here, you two."

Willow drew Sally and Samuel into a soft hug, trying not to cry. The twins hugged back without hesitation, holding her close. Then, they pulled back, eyes a little misty.

"Thanks for caring so much," Sally said. "I thought most of my friends would reject me because of this kind of background, like they thought some of Mum transferred to me, but that might be part of Mum's manipulation over the years..."

"It definitely was," Willow concluded. "I will personally make sure she never hurts you guys again."

"Trust me, I'm excited to see her behind bars," Samuel said.

"Me too, Sam." Willow caught herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you with the nickname or anything, it just kind of slipped out- no harm intended- "

"It's fine," he laughed. "I like it, actually. My Mum always called me Samuel. I think I'd like to make the change to everyone calling me Sam, now. Might help me move on."

"Good, because I was really going to struggle with that."

Willow's dad arrived just then. He sped towards the three, looking distressed and frustrated, but he quickly hid it for their sake. Willow thought it odd that his wand was gripped tightly in his hand.

"Alright, I've finally sorted it out with those bloody fools," he announced. "Sorry it took so long. They were dreadful to deal with, taking their sweet old time...Anyway, this may come as a bit of a shock, Sally, Samuel, since you don't have any living relatives, but there is someone next in line to take care of you. Your father, shortly before his death, decided to nominate a godparent for you. She's a dear friend of his."

The Smith twins' eyes widened. "Hold on, really?"

"Why did Dad not tell us about this?"

"I have no idea," Carlos replied. "But everything's official- Sarah's going to take care of you."

"Oh my goodness, Sarah Brown? Dad's told us so many stories about her!" Sally exclaimed, her eyes shining. "She and him used to be study partners and pretty much did everything together back in their years at Hogwarts! Remember, Sam? That Muggleborn Hufflepuff girl that blew up one of the greenhouses?"

"Oh, now I remember! I really do! She sounded amazing."

Carlos smiled. "Perfect. We can leave whenever you're ready. She's expecting you to floo travel through her fireplace any time now."

The twins said their goodbyes to Willow, saying they'd see her soon at Hogwarts, and floo traveled away. As soon as they were gone, a dreary silence settled over the mansion once more. Carlos walked up to Willow and took her hands in his.

"What a day," he sighed. "Well, past twenty-hours. A rescue mission, giant breakfast, crabby Ministry workers, imprisoning a violent mother. What a summer. I bet you're almost glad to go back to Hogwarts."

"That reminds me," Willow said, the mention of missing Hogwarts triggering her memory. "I haven't heard back from Harry all summer. I'm worried that he's in trouble, and he can't tell anyone."

Carlos didn't even need to ponder her words. "I know I can't stop you, so I'll just tell you to be safe. Little Whinging isn't far from here. You'll make it there before your powers exhaust you. I know how easy it is for you to become a bird anymore. If anything goes wrong, anything at all, make sure you send Iris or fly right back. I'm always able to help."

Willow gave her dad a quick hug. "Thanks. I'll see you in a little bit. Te amo, padre."

"Te amo, mi hija."

Changing into a falcon and squawking softly in farewell, Willow took off into the afternoon sky, the sun quickly heating up her dark feathers to an uncomfortable temperature. It was much later in the day than she would have liked, but as long as she reached Number 4, Private Drive and made sure Harry was okay, then she would take what she could get. The sun was getting unbearably hot, though. She dove into more than one fountain to cool off. The Muggles didn't seem too surprised. She hoped they wouldn't suspect her, since birds do dumb things and all.

About two kilometers away from Little Whinging, a thought occurred to Willow- she should get Harry something for his birthday! There were plenty of Muggle bakeries in the area. All she would have to do is take one without the Muggles noticing, which she figured out with a twinge of guilt. Willow hated stealing, but it wasn't like she had any money with her, let alone Muggle pounds. She would take something small that she could hide easily. Harry would be surprised no matter what she got him- the Dursleys refused to get him anything on his birthday.

Willow wanted to throw up as she remembered that little fact.

A busy street appeared below her. She glanced around, her falcon form lending better vision, and she spotted a tiny little shop with a cake displayed in the window. Perfect. Willow dove into a small gap between the buildings and landed, smoothly changing into a human. She was getting the hang of that trick. Peering around the corner, Willow made sure no one had seen her, preparing a story on the fly just in case, but thankfully, the Muggles continued going about their own business, ignoring her entirely. She joined the partially crowded sidewalks and slipped into the bakery with a happy smile on her face.

The smell hit her immediately- chocolate frosting, sprinkles, baking cakes, cupcake batter- Willow almost wanted to stay a little longer and eat something herself. But she shook her head, banishing that fantasy. She was there for one small dessert. Stealing two would be way too much.

Willow scanned the displays, then the menu. There was every dessert she could imagine there. Some of them she had never even heard of, but looked so good that her mouth was watering. Her nose twitched when one of the bakers opened up an oven to remove a cake from it. Willow wished it was for her. She returned to her task, searching out the perfect gift, when something caught her eye. A freshly made miniature round cake with the words "Happy Birthday!" in frosting sat all alone in the corner nearest to the door. It was perfect for Harry. That was the one she had to get.

Now she had to figure out how she would get it without the Muggles noticing.

Willow glanced around the shop, taking in her surroundings. The bakery was very busy. People were bumping each other as they tried to get to the counter to request specific items. The bakers themselves were bustling around, getting orders as fast as they could, looking very stressed. Willow's heart broke to think that she would steal this cake from those poor Muggles. They probably worked very hard to make it appear so perfect. She almost thought about not getting it at all, just going straight to Privet Drive. But Harry needed something for his birthday. Willow sighed, promising herself that she would come back to that bakery and give them a hefty tip with the next thing she actually bought. Grabbing a gift back and placing the cake round inside, Willow nonchalantly made her way out the door, as unobtrusive as ever. No one stopped her, which made her wince with guilt. She went back to the alley and shape-shifted into a falcon again, hooked her talons around the handle, and took off before she could change her mind, refusing to look back.

Willow reached Privet Drive without much of a problem. Iris somehow found her mid-air, as if she knew that her master was going to a new place. That would definitely spare her father some worry if things went awry. She had a bad feeling that they would.

As soon as Willow laid eyes on Number 4, Privet Drive, her brain started firing like crazy. Her head hurt with impossibly fast signals racing around it. Something was definitely wrong. Her eyes confirmed her powers' misgivings when she saw Harry's uncle throwing him into his room. Harry was fighting against him for all he was worth, but the bigger man was too strong for him. Her blood boiled when Vernon threw Harry against his bed and shouted at him. Harry looked like he was about to cry and scream back all at the same time. Willow wanted so badly to burst right through his window and attack that purple-faced, ignorant, vicious man, but she knew that it wouldn't help the situation. She waited angrily outside his window until Vernon slammed the door, locking Harry in. Then, she knocked on his window, scaring the living daylights out of Harry. He shakily got up and open it. Willow set the cake down on the ground, waddled a safe distance away from it, and transformed back into a human. Harry turned so white that Willow thought he would pass out.

"What- Willow! What are you doing here?" he hissed. "If Uncle Vernon sees you- "

"I'll be fine. I can change into a mouse to hide, remember?"

The panic faded in Harry's eyes, instead replaced with relief. "Thank you for coming to visit me. I've been stuck in this place far too long. Not seeing you guys is killing me."

"Why didn't you answer my letters?" Willow asked. "Did something go wrong?"

Harry sighed, flopping back on his bed. "Yes, something went very wrong. Uncle Vernon locked Hedwig in her cage, over there, and a house elf named Dobby has been stopping all letters from reaching me."

Hedwig tweeted in agitation. Harry reminded her that she couldn't be let out, there was a lock on the cage. Willow picked up the round cake and handed it to Harry, who gave her a confused look.

"I realized today was your birthday," she explained. "So I brought you a cake, since your aunt and uncle refuse to do anything for you."

"Aw, Willow," Harry said, nearly choking up. "You didn't have to do this. I'm used to not getting birthday presents by now, let alone cake- "

"I did have to do it," Willow interrupted. "You deserve a birthday cake ten times this size for all the birthday celebrations you've missed. Besides, I think it might be the only thing you'll eat for tonight."

"You're probably right about that."

Harry dug into the round cake. He ate it slowly, trying to savor eat bite as if it were his last. Willow wondered if her poor friend had ever gotten the chance to eat cake before coming to Hogwarts. Knowing the Dursleys, he hadn't. She couldn't believe Harry was forced to live with these horrible people all of his childhood. An awful childhood wasn't something he could go back and fix. He grew up being hated all his life, hidden away because he wasn't normal. Willow had had enough of abusive parents for that summer. She was definitely going to make a case to the Ministry of Magic when she was older- or at least punch Vernon in the face.

Suddenly, something clanged against the side of the house. Harry and Willow rushed to the window, only to find more bad news. Vernon had set a ladder just beneath Harry's windows and was already gathering his power tools and a set of bars. Willow's mind went into overdrive when she realized she wouldn't be able to escape soon.

"Quick, Willow, you have to leave!" Harry urged. "You have to go get help!"

"No, I'm not leaving you!" Willow protested. She cursed when she realized that she had left her paper and pencil at home. "Where's the nearest quill and parchment? Where is it, Harry?"

"I have some left over in my trunk," Harry said. "But what does that have to do with- "

Willow ignored her friend as she flung open the trunk and dug out some parchment and a quill. She frantically scribbled a short message on it:

Harry in trouble. Send help. Stuck in room. Bar on windows.

Willow

Whistling loudly, she called Iris, who immediately swooped down from the roof. Iris took the parchment in her mouth and flew away, just before Vernon started climbing the ladder. Willow panted, falling backwards onto Harry's bed.

"What- did you- Merlin's beard, Willow, did you seriously send your owl for help instead of escaping yourself? You're going to be stuck in here for days, maybe even weeks!"

"So will you," Willow pointed out. "I can't leave you here all by yourself."

"But- " Harry stopped himself. "You're absolutely mad, Willow. Mental. But thanks for staying with me. It might make it a little less lonely and boring." Harry looked out the window, his eyes widening in fear. "Willow, get down! Shape-shift! I don't know, just do something, Uncle Vernon is nearly here!"

Willow instantly shrunk into a mouse, retreating to the dark corner of Harry's bed right before Vernon arrived at the window. His power tools hammered and hacked away, creating a ruckus that could be heard all down the street. Harry silently stared at his uncle. His eyes forlorn and desolate, he spaced out, as if trying to wish himself away from there, but at the same time giving up because it was no use. Harry didn't even react when Vernon shouted and grinned wickedly at him through the window. When the front door slammed to announced Vernon's arrival back inside the house, Willow finally allowed herself to shape-shift back into a human.

"Wow, I can see why you hate your uncle so much," she said. "He's the trashiest human being on this planet. I think he could give Voldemort a run for his money in diabolical evilness."

"Yeah, he could."

The two fell into silence. They stayed that way for several hours, simply sitting next to each other on the bed, lost in thought, too shocked by how quickly things had escalated to do anything. The only interruption was Uncle Vernon installing a cat door and pushing a morsel of dinner through. It was cold and unappetizing, making Willow wonder if it were a leftover from their dinner. The only consolation was that keeping Harry locked in his room forced Petunia and Vernon to cook their own food. When Willow mentioned this to Harry, he barely even cheered up. Understandable. As night fell, Harry crawled under the covers to go to sleep. Willow transformed into a dog and laid at his feet, falling into a deep sleep.

Apparently, flying to Little Whinging and sleeping in dog form stretched her powers more than she thought. Willow was so exhausted that she slept until early afternoon the next day. She found herself still curled up as a dog when she woke up. Harry was munching on a small bowl of warm salad. The expression of disgust on his face told her everything she needed to know about how it tasted.

"Finally, I thought you would sleep forever," Harry said as Willow transformed back into a human. "Do you want some of this salad? I know, its gross, but it's food."

"No, you go ahead and eat it," Willow said. Harry shrugged and ate the rest of it. "Anything exciting happen while I was out, other than receiving a disgusting salad?"

"Nope. Just general boredom."

"Sorry I was out so long," Willow apologized. "My powers take a lot more out of me than most people realize. It surprises me half the time."

"Don't worry, it's not like you were getting me in trouble," Harry said. "Aunt Petunia never saw you, and if she did, maybe she might've skipped over it. I mean, you chose the perfect color to blend into my bed. I lost you more than once."

Willow smiled. "That's been known to happen."

"I wish that Dobby would have gotten lost, to be honest..." Harry muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Oh, did I not tell you about how I got myself locked in my room?" Harry asked. Willow shook her head no. "This is going to sound crazy, but I'm sure you're more than used to this crazy wizarding world by now. Two days ago, my uncle was hosting a dinner with a possible buyer for his Muggle tools or whatever, saying that if the deal fell through, he'd make a bunch of money, buy a vacation house, it would change their life, blah, blah blah. Well, the plan was that I'd stay up here and be quiet so that the evening would go smoothly. That did not happen. A house elf named Dobby showed up in my bedroom. He warned me that terrible things would happen to me if I went back to Hogwarts, that there's some sort of evil plan in the making. Dobby stopped all by letters from my friends thinking that it would make me want to stay here. I don't think he realized that this place couldn't be any worse. I'm pretty sure I'd simply starve to death here, while at Hogwarts, at least I have a fighting chance if something goes wrong. When I refused to swear I wouldn't go back to Hogwarts, he ran downstairs and magically dropped a cake on the dealer guy's wife. Dobby disappeared to make it seem like it was me, and an owl flew in from the Ministry, warning me not to use magic underage. Uncle Vernon locked me in my room last night for the first time, believe it or not. What you saw yesterday was me accidentally trying to go down the steps to start dinner. I'm so used to that, now. Vernon thought I was trying to defy him and- well, you saw what kind of damage he followed through on."

"That's awful," Willow said. "Your uncle sounds like the most disgusting, worthless piece of rubbish this world has ever seen."

"He pretty much is," Harry agreed. "I wouldn't want to cross him again, though. His bark is just as bad as his bite. He doesn't make empty threats very often."

"I will personally help you hex him when you turn seventeen," Willow promised.

"Thanks."

"So, about this Dobby character. Who do you think he belonged to? There's a lot of powerful wizarding families these days...I can't even think of them off the top of my head. Of course, I, of all people, wouldn't pay attention to who's pureblood and who's not, who's got all the power and who's powerless. But that might come in handy some day when I raid the Ministry of Magic to improve a few things. I'll pay attention to that now."

"When you what?" Harry squeaked.

"Oh, nothing," Willow said. "Just a future plan to rescue you from all of these horrible adults."

"Okay, that makes me feel better," Harry breathed. "For a second there, I thought you meant you were going to take over the Ministry and become a dictator of the wizarding world. You didn't mean that, right?"

"No, but thanks for the idea."

"I can't decide whether you'd be a really good, fair dictator that would fix things, then replace most of the officials to remove corruption, or a tyrant that would take over the world and rule with an iron fist."

"I'd go for the first image, but take you pick."

Harry chuckled to himself as Willow beamed innocently. "Enough of that. I'll just stop you if you ever march on the Ministry. How have your powers been progressing, by the way?"

"They're doing great, to everyone's surprise," Willow answered. "For once, I think I'm getting them under control. That might be due to the fact that I'm constantly using them now, but nonetheless, it is nice to not have to worry about them acting up all the time. They are getting stronger, though, and that could pose a problem when I get back to Hogwarts, because the more powerful an emotion is, the harder it is to hold them back. My powers have started reacting to strong emotions and helping me defend myself or reach a balance in any way they can."

"So, to sum it all up, you're getting super powerful, and there's no way to stop it," Harry concluded.

"Yep. That's it, aside from the fact that the voice lady in my head finally appeared to me."

"Who now?"

"I don't think I've told anyone much about her, so here's a quick recap: there's a woman whose voice has been in my head since the beginning of first term. She's been helping me transform, work with my powers, discover a few secrets about them, and some miscellaneous things. This woman and I like to insult each other, by the way. We can have telepathic conversations virtually any time. You guys would find it funny. Anyway, this voice lady promised to appear to me and reveal some more information about my powers. This morning, she finally did. She's not exactly a ghost, but she kind of is. There's more of a blue sheen to her than a typical ghostly silver. She didn't float above the ground but walked on it, and I'm pretty sure she would be solid if I touched her. I call her Cebba now. She said that I can call her whenever, and she will come to me."

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Harry said. "Do you think others will be able to see her?"

Oh, I see where this is going, Cebba interrupted. You're going to call me just to show me off to your friend. I don't think so, girl. I'm no model. There's no need to call me, and besides, he won't be able to see me anyway, idiot. You should have known that.

"Shut up," Willow muttered out loud.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry, I was trying to respond to Cebba," Willow explained. "She's talking to me again, since she can see everything I see, and says that you wouldn't be able to see her. Sorry."

"That's fine. Just curious."

Harry put the empty salad bowl next to the door. He sat across from Willow on the floor, whose stomach growled softly. She hoped Harry truly didn't hear it when he didn't react.

"Well, there's not really much to do in here, other than sleep and talk," Harry said. "I wish I would have brought something entertaining up here when I got home from Hogwarts, but it's all locked in my trunk in my old bedroom."

"The cupboard under the stairs?"

"Yep. That's the one. This only became my room this summer because the Dursleys were afraid of me cursing them to wake up as some ridiculous creature."

"How nice of them," Willow said sarcastically. Hedwig chirped in her cage, begging to be let out. "That reminds me. I hope Iris got home safe and delivered the message by now. Help should be on the way soon."

"It better be, because at this rate, we're both going to starve to death before September first."

"I really wish my powers weren't reserved just for life," Willow said. "I know, that sounds really self conceited when you think about it, because that's basically the most broad power I can think of, but it's annoying when I have all that power and I can't move soil to grow something in your bedroom. And because of these dumb bars on your window, I can't grow a plant tall enough for us to reach it."

"It's not your fault, Willow."

"Still, I would have loved to help..."

The two sat there in silence for a while, watching the birds fly outside. Willow almost regretted staying with Harry, instead wishing that she had flown off to get help and arrived with full backup, then smashed the Dursleys' house apart to get to Harry. But that thought immediately vanished. She couldn't leave Harry all alone for days on end when he was being systematically starved and dehydrated to death. If things got really desperate, she could try to turn into a strong animal and bang the bars out of his window, but they looked pretty strong. She would pass out from concussive effects just as fast as the exhaustion of holding herself in a new form. Willow sighed. She was stuck again, and she hated being trapped. It was the worst sensation she had ever experienced, almost as bad as being helpless and too weak to act upon her anger when Quirrel trapped her in that storage room. That meant a great deal to her.

Before she knew it, the afternoon wore away, Harry was let out to use the bathroom, and he returned without any injuries. They chatted all evening into afternoon, and after much encouraging and reassuring, Willow got Harry to take all the food for himself. Not that it was enough to fill even one person's stomach. They had another round of silence, and, once darkness enveloped the landscape, they recognized their inability to sleep and talked late into the night. Somehow, they made a game out of trying to make each other laugh, and at one point Uncle Vernon actually broke in to ask what was so funny, they were laughing to loud. Willow quickly changed into a black mouse again, and the moment they heard the bedroom door shut down the hall, they resumed the game, just a little quieter that time. The clock on Harry's dresser read half past three before they finally went to sleep. Willow changed into a black dog again and laid at Harry's feet. Right before she fell asleep, Harry whispered something.

"Willow?"

She perked her head up, glancing at Harry.

"You'd make a much better cousin than Dudley."

Willow thumped her tail a few times on the bed in agreement, then fell into a deep sleep.

The evening sun was already shining through Harry's window when she woke up again. She really needed to practice sleeping in different forms more often if she was ever going to sleep regularly while in them. Willow transformed back into a human and stood up, stretching her stiff muscles. Harry was already up again, eating the last remains of what looked like a broccoli cheddar soup. He dumped the vegetables into Hedwig's cage, and when the owl turned her beak up at them, Harry tried to explain that she wouldn't be getting anything else.

Eat them, Willow commanded Hedwig.

The snowy owl glanced at her, as if scowling, then began to eat the vegetables, slowly and with as tortured an expression as an owl can have. Harry whipped around to see Willow staring at Hedwig with her eyebrows raised.

"Did you- did you just...Make Hedwig eat?"

"I guess you could say that," Willow replied.

Harry set the bowl down by the cat flap, then sat on his bed, yawning. "I'm still tired. I didn't sleep to well last night. If you don't mind, I'll doze off now..."

"I wouldn't mind in the slightest," Willow said as Harry fell asleep.

She was left alone in the room as the sun sank below the horizon. It darkened again, but she didn't mind, since Harry was there and all. Willow may be afraid of the dark, but when she had someone with her, the fear was almost nonexistent. She entertained herself by shape-shifting into random animals and creatures. At one point, she called all the birds and telepathically ordered them to land on the Dursleys' house. She could barely contain her laughter when she heard Vernon screaming that his roof was turned white with bird poop. Then, she sat and gazed out at the stars, fingering the map in her pocket, wondering just how many people would show up on it over the years.

The time was passing fast. Willow could hardly believe it when she looked at the clock to realize it was half past eleven. Her stomach growled loudly, and she wished she could tell it to shut up. Harry would need all the food he could get, being much skinnier than her from the start. Willow forced herself to keep focusing on naming all the constellations in the sky. Then, the unthinkable happened.

One moment, she was staring at the sky, and the next, there was something blocking her view. Peering at the figure, she realized it was an abnormally large shape to be flying in the sky. It grew bigger as time passed until Willow saw that it was heading straight towards her. Then, it slowed down and pulled up next to Harry's window, and the figures inside could be recognized. There was no mistaking the blue Ford Angelina and the three shocks of red hair inside.

"Fred! George! Ron!" Willow exclaimed.