(A/N: I know I've been writing fast but right now is a great time for that because I just finished writing my first novel and I'm still waiting for the agents to respond. Thus I am in a writing mood. Voila. It works.)
I slept easily through the night, unperturbed by anything. I dreamed of house-elves dancing for a group of frowning centaurs. Because it was a bizarre dream, as all of mine were, I was quite content to lie there and watch it. When morning finally came I was unaware of it. It took someone poking me to wake me up.
"Psst!"
I opened my eyes slowly. I said the first thing that came to mind. "Why bother whispering when it's your intention to wake me up?"
"That's a good question." There were two red-headed boys standing at either side of my bed. "Fred, why do we whisper?"
"Dunno!" Said Fred cheerfully. They looked awfully alike.
"Are you two brothers?" I asked groggily.
"Why, yes we are!"
"Oh."
"Who are you anyway?" Fred asked, sitting at the end of my bed.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I was still in need of a shower and a change of clothes.
"Do you have a name, or do you only speak when you're angry in the morning?" Asked the other.
"My name is Favian."
"Well I'm George and that's Fred."
"Cool." I blinked and yawned. I was still wearing my undershirt and torn jeans, which were beginning to chaff my skin.
"You came last night, didn't you, with Professor Dumbledore?" George said.
"Oh… that's right." Everything came back to me. "Oh. That is right, isn't it?"
"Yes. It is, isn't it?" Fred imitated me.
They were twins, I realized. Identical in every way except for maybe one or two freckles. I looked closer. Only one or two.
"Why is it you're here, Favian?" George inquired. "Like Casa Black?"
"I'm still not sure why."
It was a half lie, but I certainly didn't want to discuss prior events with those two.
"FRED! GEORGE!" The door burst open and Mollie came in, apoplectic with rage. "I told you NOT to DISTURB HER!"
"Sorry Mum, but we weren't getting much out of you. We're not getting too much out of her either but at least we know her name now." George said, standing quickly.
"She's HAD it ROUGH! You two are going to have it ROUGHER if you don't GET OUT!"
"Get it George?"
"Got it Fred."
"Good." And they disappeared with a pop.
"I'm sorry Favian dear, did they wake you? I'm Mollie Weasley, by the way."
"Hi Mrs. Weasley." I assumed she was a Mrs. because she seemed motherly. "Thanks for letting me stay."
"Oh it's nothing dearie. Would you like some breakfast?"
"Actually, that sounds great." I admitted. "But could I get a shower first? If that's okay…."
"Oh that's fine! I can imagine you'd like one. Yes. Let me get you some clothes. You're taller than Ginny; maybe Hermione has something to lend you? Let me show you to the bathroom then." She led me down the stairs and into a bathroom that looked as though it had recently been cleaned. Unlike the rest of the house it looked light and happy. "Here's a towel and there's the shampoo and soap. Take your time, there's no rush. I will introduce you to people after breakfast, how does that sound?"
"That's sounds great, Mrs. Weasley." I felt very warmly towards this woman.
She left and I took a quick shower. I hated being naked in an unfamiliar place, especially a place where there was magic. Who knew what could be seen through the walls? I wrapped the towel firmly around myself and wondered if I would have to put my old clothes back on. There was a timid knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked carefully.
"Hermione, Mrs. Weasley said you needed some clothes."
"Oh yeah, thanks."
I opened the door and saw a girl with bushy brown hair. She handed me some folded clothes. I thanked her again. After drying off the rest of the way I put on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. The tee-shirt was kind of short on me. I was embarrassed to see that it was because of my breasts that it ventured up to my navel. My mother would've told me to put something longer on, but she wasn't there to say anything. I felt my heart plummet again. I breathed deeply for a couple of seconds before walking out with my towel and bundle of dirty clothes.
Hermione had waited for me, engrossed in a book called "A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi." I had a jolt of recognition.
"You garden too?" I said happily. Maybe I'd have something in common with her after all.
"Oh, no." Hermione blushed, closing her book. "This is for Potions class."
"Oh." I looked down, embarrassed. My wet hair hung loosely at my shoulders.
"You know, with magic you don't have to towel your hair dry. Look." She took out her wand. "Aridisio!" My hair was suddenly soft and dry.
"Thanks." I said in surprise.
"Technically I wasn't supposed to do that but Professor Dumbledore said that I'm allowed to use magic now outside of school in order to teach you." Hermione gushed.
"Oh. I don't have a wand though."
"Mrs. Weasley will take you to Diagon Alley. In the mean time you can use mine."
"I'm going to put these on my bed, is that okay, d'you think?"
"Oh, no, give them to Mrs. Weasley; she'll wash them for you."
"Okay." I looked around, half-hoping for a sign pointing me in the right direction.
"She's in the kitchen, come, I'll show you."
The kitchen wasn't very cozy or nice and I felt bad for feeling that way as a guest in someone's home. The house was spooky and dark and didn't look very clean overall. Mrs. Weasley bustled around making scrambled eggs and toast. I told her that she didn't need to do all that work but she waved my words away. Soon I was presented with an enormous breakfast that I couldn't possibly have finished.
Hermione sat next to me and watched me eat. It was rather disconcerting. She didn't talk until I finished my eggs. Mrs. Weasley came over and spooned out some more.
"That's okay, really… I can't… oh… too late."
"You need some food, I can see it."
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, but really, I'm okay."
"Nonsense." She bustled away.
"It's futile." Hermione smiled.
I stared at the mound of eggs I had received but instead ate my toast. "I think that ought to do it." I patted my stomach. I took my dishes to the sink. "Do you want these eggs, Mrs. Weasley?"
"Oh no, dear, just leave your dishes, I'll take care of them."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Of course. Now you and Hermione scurry upstairs. She can help you learn some wand work."
"Come on." Hermione motioned for me to follow. We went into our room and she pulled out a stack of books. "I've kept all of my first, second, third, and fourth year books. I never knew I'd be teaching someone. I hope I'm okay."
"I'm sure you'll be fine." I wasn't sure if I was talking to myself or Hermione.
"Let's begin with the basic motion. Swish and flick. You try."
I took her wand and replicated her hand motion.
"Excellent!" We spent half an hour in that room going over many charms and spells. She started teaching me transfiguration when a knock sounded on the door. "Come in!" Hermione said.
The door slowly opened.
"Why are you in your room in the middle of the day, Hermione?" A red-haired boy poked his head inside. "Oh! Is this Favian?"
I nodded, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about my looks. How many zits I had right then I didn't know. I had been very good about not looking in the mirror. I only ever touched my face to wash it or apply lip gloss. My fingers twitched, wanting to know what sort of acne had taken over my face.
"I'm Ron, and this is Harry." Ron opened the door the rest of the way and admitted a skinny boy with black hair and an odd cut on his forehead.
"Did you cut yourself?" I asked.
"No." Harry shook his head.
"Are you sure? You have a scab on your forehead I think…."
"That's a scar." Ron said. "You-Know-Who and Harry Potter…."
"Who?" I asked dumbly.
"Oh Favian! We haven't gotten to History yet! Let me fill you in on everything." She told me about a terrible man named Voldemort and how his name had once been Tom Marvolo Riddle, how he had tried, but failed, to kill Harry and had killed his parents.
"You know," I said in the few moments' silence, "I know this is probably totally irrelevant but if you rearrange the letters in Tom Marvolo Riddle you get 'I am Lord Voldemort.'"
"Yes. He told me that once." Harry said quietly.
"Voldemort sounds like a real jerk."
"To put it lightly." Ron agreed. "But don't say the name."
"Let her say the name." Snapped Harry.
"Can he hear us?" I asked, suddenly afraid.
"No." Harry said. "People are just weird sometimes."
"Okay."
"Harry, do you think you could teach Favian some Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"Me?"
"Well, of course. I mean, you have come across them so many times."
"I can hardly teach!" Harry protested.
"Well neither can I but you should see how much she can do now! I think her charm work is seriously at least fourth year level. They're going to be putting her in different classes with different grades depending on how she does on the test McGonagall's giving her."
"She's giving me a test?" My heart sank. Tests always made me sweat and shake, especially when I didn't know what was going to be on it.
"Don't worry; it won't affect your grades!" Hermione said brightly.
"But it will affect my years at Hogwarts."
"You have a natural gift already. Ron and Harry didn't get these charms as fast as you did. It took them weeks."
"Look, just because our minds wander a little in class doesn't mean you have to tell her we're idiots." Ron was turning red.
"I didn't say you were idiots. I simply said she's more talented than you, but that's not saying much I'm afraid."
"Ouch." Said Harry.