AN: under construction, but please read and review! I am in the process of rewriting this story, so some parts may be a bit disjointed. Also, my computer is taking spaces out of the story for no reason so sometimes itcomesoutlikethis, which is not intentional.

Chapter One - Must Get Out

Title: Sound of Hysteria

By: ben 'n' jerry

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with Harry Potter. I do, however, own the plot and the characters you do not recognize.
Must Get Out belongs to Maroon 5


I'm lifting you up, I'm letting you down
I'm dancing til dawn, I'm fooling around.
I'm not giving up, I'm making your love.
This city's made us crazy, and we must get out.

When we were kids Luna was always the one my father pulled onto his knee to tell his friends about her pet Crumple-Horned Snorcack; something that I used to scoff at. I didn't enjoy the workings of my imagination as I always felt that Luna would surpass me in that area, and I suspect that my very conscious decision to alienate aspects of this kind from my childhood had a lot to do with why I grew up so quickly.

My father didn't have time for my rationality, he would never give me satisfactory answersto my questions. My twin was always the centre of attention, even if she didn't know it. I bet she's still oblivious to how much it hurt me when people referred to her as the interesting one, the sweet one, the eccentric little blonde one.

I actually triedbleaching my hair blonde several times to no avail when I was about eight, and my interest in Metamorphmagi dates back to those days as well. I wanted more than anything to be like Luna, who was older thanI amby only six minutes.

We were both sorted into Ravenclaw in our first year, but we didn't share a dorm room, since an abnormal surplus of first years seemed to have been sorted into our house. At first people fawned over Luna and her delightful little habits and her individuality, but eventually they started teasing her a bit- I have to say I think it affected me more than it did her. I got into a couple of fights in first year- none too serious, but as my Muggle elementary school counsellor told my father, my antagonistic tendencies festered to a point where all my bottled up anger was unleashed upon the unfortunate soul who provoked me. That would be a direct quote, as a matter of fact.

The subtitled version reads that what could start as a small fight could turn into the beating of someone's lifetime, and what could start as a small challenge could grow into a full-fledged wizard's duel.

I never really thought of myself as belonging in my house, despite the fact that I had been branded with the Ravenclaw stereotype long before I even knew such a thing existed. My mother always used to joke that I was wise beyond my years, like a little grownup. She was the one who encouraged my reading even at a very young age, the only one I ever allowed to read my poems and stories. After she died, I stopped writing altogether, and even though my father didn't know how much it mattered to me, he had the common sense to try and get me to write again, as that was all he ever saw me doing anyway.

Truth was, once I had been sorted into the house with characteristics corresponding to my own personality, I never felt like I deserved the praise or results I got for my work. It seemed a fluke that I had been sorted into the house with alumni known for their literature, achievement, and arts, when what I was trying to do was to isolate me from these things that reminded me of my mother.

Ginny Weasley and I sometimes ended up as Charms partners and we got along pretty well. She seemed very alone and afraid, and I think that after her run-in with the Chamber of Secrets in our first year, I was one of the only people she really seemed to trust. We spent a lot more time together.We spent hours talking about the things she had gone through, about the diary, about Harry and about her family.

By the end of our third year she was almost a different person, someone with newfound confidence, new hope and a tight circle of friends including Colin Creevey, Damini Patil and myself.

She never knew that the happy, strong, independent person I was around all of them was just a cover up. None of them knew that I was always pretending.

They became immensely frustrated with me; they couldn't understand how I could turn from the understanding and patient confidante they knew to a such a violent, angry person within minutes. They told me that the hours I spent in detention could permanently affect my record, but it never mattered to me.

As Ginny healed, and Damini started to beautify and Colin's obsession with Harry Potter lessened, I started to retract more and more into myself. I still hadn't written anything besides school requirements since before I'd been moved to Gryffindor. I started feeling more and more alone, even though I was never actually by myself.

Finally, during the summer of my third year, Luna and I received a letter from my grandparents on my mother's side, who lived in France, offering us the opportunity to attend one of the top wizarding schools in Europe, Cypress Academy, for a summer term.

My grandfather was the headmaster, and I'd never really understoodwhymy father insisted on sending us to Hogwarts in our first year. Luna had already committed herself to a summer job with the Quibbler, leaving me to go by myself. I wasn't very unhappy about this arrangement, since I had a feeling that Luna and I spending alone time would not be a very good idea.

I spent most of my remaining time in the UK in London, where Damini lived. The Patil house was always filled with people, Lavender Brown was a regular, as was Ginny Weasley, and hords of other Gryffindor and Ravenclaw girls. It was a very strained, tense time, even under the facade of the bubbly, airheaded teenage girl environment. Harry Potter's return with the corpse of the Hufflepuff heartthrob Cedric Diggory sent most girls into a frenzy even if they were only shallow enough to recognize the loss of a pretty face, and not what significance this held to the wizarding world. Of course I believed Harry's story, but I didn't defend or support either side around these girls, as it would really make no difference.

Everyone was talking, and here is where my suspicions that most rumours around the school were bred in the Patil household was confirmed.

I had never heard as many varying versions of a story in my life, and although it aggravated me, I decided to keep my peace.

Truthfully I wasa bitrelieved to say my goodbyes around the beginning of August. Damini cried, and Ginny held on to me like she would never let go. Even Colin,who was only there for a couple of days, momentarily overcame his paranoia of touching a girl to give me a hug. It was nice. I felt really bad that I couldn't show more emotion at the time. I was staring directly at the sun to make my eyes water, but I think all I really did was cause retinal damage and possibly increased my risk of developing cataracts before I hit forty.

So here I am. A summer abroad turned into a summer and fall abroad. Which, in turn, became a fall and a winter abroad. Which, of course, meant we had to see spring through in its own right. It's been a year since I've been home, I haven't seen my father, Luna, or any of my friends since that summer of my third year.

The house is empty. I'm sitting on my bed, the familiar blue and white checked pattern beneath my fingers, smelling faintly of laundry detergent,and there's nobody here.

I don't understand. I was sure I'd sent an owl before I left my grandparents' house, telling them what time I'd be arriving, and they aren't here. It's the middle of the night, so even if they hadn't received my letter, I would expect them to be home.

I haven't even unpacked yet, so I just grabbed my bag and headed down the stairs. I wrote a quick note and left it on the kitchen table before grabbing a handful of Floo powder. I had to go somewhere where there werepeople. Somewhere where one extra person would make hardly any difference.

I sighed and stepped into our big fireplace.

"The Burrow!"


AN: I've taken my reviews to heart and changed a few things, so there might be a little inconsistency, but I'll fix it soon enough. Please review!