Many thanks for the reviews! I should let you know that school does start next week, and I hope to get three more posts in before that. Then, I might be updating less depending on my schedule (I'm in grade 11), but I have finished up to chapter twenty roughly, so this story will not be dumped. Ciao!

Chapter 6

Someone knocked on the outside of my room and I sat up with a jolt. Ron and Harry walked in, Harry leaning on Ron heavily.

"Dinner's ready," said Ron, "but if you don't want to eat that's good too. Mum says that she'll bring your potions up and then you can just go back to sleep." He was wearing a maroon jumper and a pair of black trousers. Harry was dressed almost the same, except his jumper was the same color as my walls.

"I'll be right down," I said, "I'm just going to freshen up."

Ron gave me thumbs up, and he and a very mute Harry turned to go down the stairs. I walked to the dresser across from my bed and found my things already put away. My hairbrush, toothbrush, and Chap Stick from the hospital were placed on top.

I picked up my hairbrush and tied my hair back the best I could without a mirror. I straightened my secondhand sweater and picked up my cane from where it was leaning on the end of the bed stand.

Dinner was a quiet affair, although not quite a somber as I had expected. The dining room was more like a dark hall, with a long table and enough chairs to seat twenty people. Everyone however was sitting closest to the door. The twins had graced us with their presence and were updating their parents on the progress of their house.

"Well Mum, the burrow will still be the burrow, just better. More room, and the living room will be bigger," said Fred.

Molly smiled. "I don't know what to do with you two! First you do that joke shop and now fixing the house." She looked like she was about to cry when George interrupted.

"You and Dad will have a whole floor to yourselves. It's up at the very top and has your favorite colors in it Mum."

The mood lightened after that, and Ginny explained to me why it was such a big deal. Her voice was slightly hard sounding at first, but the more she spoke, the kinder it got.

"During the war we didn't really live in our house, we lived here. So when the news came, it was no surprise to us that part of the house had been destroyed and it had been raided and what not. But Fred and George made this joke shop a few years ago, and they made a whole truck load of cash." She leaned in and whispered, "It's this whole surprise, because Mum thinks the house is just being remodeled, but Fred and George knocked down the whole thing and basically started from scratch. They took the same house plan of the old burrow and are putting it into the new burrow. And Mum and Dad aren't allowed to see it until it's done." She smiled gleefully, and then seemed to realize it was me she was talking to, and turned back to her conversation.

"That's wonderful," I said, even though I knew she was ignoring me.

"Molly you've out done yourself," said Remus from across the table. He heaped some more soup into his bowl and smiled.

"It was nothing," said Molly blushing slightly. "Just a little bit of stew. You know. Ever since Diagon Alley opened up again it's been much easier to find what I need to make a good meal." She smiled.

Arthur leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and I watched enviously. I don't think I had ever seen so much love in one family. Bill even smiled through his healed face. Ginny and Fred were whispering underneath their breath, and George was talking with Remus and Hermione.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Harry. I had noticed him sitting at the end of the table, quietly eating. Him and Ron had been speaking softly.

"Well, as you know Diagon Alley reopened," said Arthur, "So they went down for a little while. Alastor needed to get out, and Emmeline and Kingsley left with him." He smiled and took a bite of soup. "Oh, and Kingsley wants you to know that Hagrid's little brother says 'hi.'"

Everyone started to laugh, except for Harry, who only grinned and then continued to play with his soup. I didn't understand what was so funny, so I continued to eat and listen.

Ginny leaned in on my right and whispered in my ear impatiently, "Hagrid's brother is a giant."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"That is so cool." I said. She put on a cocky smirk.

"I've met him. So has everyone here except… George I think. Oh, and you." She turned back to her previous conversation. I played with my soup for a little bit more and then excused myself.

As I went to grab my dishes to take them to the sink, Molly ushered me to stop. "I'll take care of it dear, why don't you go take a bath. Hermione showed you where everything is right?" I nodded my head. "Excellent dear, I'll come up with your prescription when you're done. Go on now."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," I said. I turned and limped out of the room and conversation started back up behind me.

§

The bathroom was a deep yellow, and contained not a tub, but something that resembled more of a miniature swimming pool. The sink counter was quite long, and I placed my toothbrush and hairbrush beside Ginny's and Hermione's.

I avoided meeting my own gaze at the mirror and walked over to the tub. I filled it all the way to the brim with steaming hot water, and stripped down carefully. As I removed the bandages from my ribs I realized I would have to ask Molly for clean ones to wrap myself back up afterwards. My clean pajama's (they were pink with little pygmy puffs on the pants—Ginny had good taste) I laid across the toilet seat, and my dirty laundry I placed in a pile by the door. A towel rack was beside the tub, so I allowed myself to get in.

The heat felt soft on my skin and I eased myself in the tub. My cuts on my ribs burned for a few seconds, but then the pain left and I lied in a corner of the tub, resting my head on the wall. It seemed that everyone here was mending. Remus seemed very inward, and didn't talk much. He was such a lovely man though—fatherly. Harry I knew had problems, and Ron seemed inward as well. Ginny doesn't seem as hurt as her family, but she was bitter, or angry with me for reasons I knew not. She seemed to be in a type of distress, but I felt I might never know. It was a house of healing.

There was a loud pop inside the bathroom and I let out a little shriek and sunk beneath the water so all that was visible was my head. Standing in the middle of the bathroom was a disgusting little creature with large eyes, and even larger ears. Tufts of hair poked out about his head, and he was wearing only a dishrag. It was the most ghastly house elf I had ever seen.

"Well hello… erm, could you do me a favor and uh, get out?" I didn't mean to be rude, but this thing was staring at me like I was a giant bug.

"The malformed thing asks Kreacher to get out does she?" the little thing mumbled under his breath violently. "Kreacher has to clean and she wants Kreacher to leave…" he started to mutter under his breath so I couldn't hear. He conjured the filthiest cloth I have ever seen and began to rub down the baseboards, sparing a few glares for me every few seconds.

A knock at the door made me look up.

"Is everything alright in there?"

"Erm, well, it seems I have company…" I yelled through the door.

"KREACHER!" screamed the voice outside the door. "Get out of that bathroom you disgusting little pervert!"

Kreacher looked at the door and sighed. "As master orders, filthy half blood…" With another pop he disappeared. I scrambled out of the tub and toweled dry. I threw on my clothing and opened the door to see Harry still standing there.

"Where is he? That sick little pig. I'm so sorry. I want to get rid of him…" He peered over my shoulder easily and looked disappointed to not see the thing in the bathroom. His face was very pale and his scar stuck out from his skin like a rose bush in a cornfield.

"It's alright Harry, he's just cleaning. I mean, he is a little weird, but I mean he can't have meant anything can he?"

To my surprise Harry started to laugh. "You sound just like Hermione. I hate that thing, but she won't let me kill him."

I laughed too. His laugh was infectious. It was one of those things you don't hear often, but it's nice to hear.

"He just shocked me a bit, that's all. Out of no where," I laughed again to make the whole situation lighter. "I think I'll go apologize to him though, I was a bit rude."

"He's crazy Beth, he'll think that you're a murderer and try to deflect you with Sirius' Mum's bloomers." He grinned again.

"Who's Sirius?" I asked. The moment the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were wrong. Harry's face, which had looked so much lighter a moment before, turned unfriendly.

"My god-father."

"Oh, erm well that's cool. Does he live upstairs?" The situation went from bad to worse. Harry turned away.

"Wait, Harry I'm sorry. This guy, Sirius, was he bad or something? I'm sorry…" He continued to walk away and I didn't stop him. I had ruined it. We were laughing for a moment. I sighed. Maybe I would ask Ron later.

§

"Mum went to go see Charlie, so she asked me to give you this," Ron said. He walked into my bedroom and placed four vials of liquid on my bedside table. "It's the blue, the clear, the pink and then the purple potion in that order. And if you want a sleeping draught you have to go ask Remus." He smiled. "I think I got it all. And if you feel sick at all then I apologize in advance."

"Thanks Ron." I looked at them and then stuck out my tongue. "I look forward to not having to take these anymore," I said.

"You think you've got it bad. Hermione takes one that tastes like puke, and Harry has to take a double sleeping draught." He squinted his face together. "I'm lucky though, I finished all mine three days ago. This baby," he pointed to the scar across is cheek, "is permanent. I think it makes me look dashing though."

I snorted. "Most dashing."

There was a silence for a second. "Ron, who was Sirius?"

Ron looked at me startled for a moment. "Oh. Oh he said something did he?"

"Well yes," I looked up at him, "Harry mentioned him when Kreacher appeared in the bathroom when I was in the bath."

"That little pervert."

"Well it's not that bad, but he said that Kreacher would try to fight me off with Sirius' mother's bloomers, and I asked who Sirius was, and he… well he got all sullen and walked away." I frowned and looked down.

Ron sighed and sat down beside me. The bed squeaked under his weight and he started to talk.