The next few days were a flurry of excitement for young Flora Potter. They all had brilliant red hair, and they were always smiling. Even when they were mad at each other, they still smiled. And they were all so nice. Ginny was sharing her room with Flora, the twins were teaching her about potions and showing her all the inventions they made, Percy was helping her go through her textbooks, Charlie was telling her all about dragons, Bill was helping her go through all the Gringotts paperwork that started showing up, Molly was teaching her to crochet, and Arthur had really figured out her comedy niche.

Other than Bill, the twins were her favorite. They loved showing Flora what they were working on, and testing them on her too. She'd also noticed that the twins were largely ignored by the rest of the family, and Flora liked to be invisible, so she trailed after them wherever they went. Bill thought it was cute, but she'd heard Molly worrying that the twins would corrupt her.

The kittens, now dubbed Star (the black one) and Cassie (the white one), also loved the twins. Flora wondered if her familiars could see Fred and George's colors. Fred's magic was bright red and kind of abrasive, but George's magic was a pastel shade of orange, and when they spoke together their magic mixed and swirled together, mostly around their heads.

Ron was different. He was quiet, he kept his distance. Since they would be in the same year, Flora thought she should try to be friendly with him, but every time she tried he didn't seem interested. It took two weeks for Flora finally figured out a way to get him to like her. Ron liked feeling important. He liked knowing things that other people didn't, and he like explaining those things. He was playing chess one night with Percy, and Flora asked him to teach her how to play.

Over the next two days, that was all they did. They played game after game after game, and Ron would tell her about different strategies and show her what she was doing wrong. And he was a good teacher. He didn't get frustrated when Flora did, and he always knew when she needed to take a break. Despite her lack of skill for chess, Flora was glad that she'd succeeded in befriending Ron.

After her first full week at the Burrow, Bill pulled her aside. They went out into the yard and sat at the edge of the forest before he started speaking.

"I need to tell a couple things to prepare you for Hogwarts, it's about your parents."

Flora was already interested, but her eyes widened at the mention of her parents.

"You see, before you were born, there was a war. A man called Lord Voldemort was trying to overthrow our government. He wanted the Wizarding World to be different. He wanted people called purebloods to rule over everyone else, and there were a lot of people who agreed with him. Your dad, James, was a pureblood, but your mother was what we call a muggleborn, someone whose parents weren't magical at all. Your parents were fighting against Voldemort, along with my parents, Dumbledore, and a bunch of other people. For some reason, Voldemort targeted your parents. They went into hiding to protect you, but they weren't hidden well enough. Voldemort went to the house they were staying in, and killed both of your parents. And then he tried to kill you too. But because your parents sacrificed themselves to protect you, the spell rebounded, and Voldemort died."

Flora had been listening very patiently the whole time Bill spoke, but now she was scribbling in her notepad.

They didn't die in a car crash?

"No, they didn't die in a car crash. They were heroes. And because Voldemort died that night, and you survived, you're seen as a hero too. You're famous."

Draco said I was famous. This is why?

"Yes. Every kid in our world grew up hearing about how you defeated him, everyone knows your name. Other than Voldemort and Dumbledore, you are the most famous person alive." He gave her a minute to process before getting to his main point. "People at Hogwarts are going to treat you differently because of your fame. Some people might want to be your friend only because of your past, and not because of who you are. Some people are going to hate you for your past. But the most important thing you need to know is that your past doesn't define you. You're allowed to be your own person. The other kids, and possibly even the professors, are going to make a lot of assumptions. They're going to want you to fit into the idea they have of you, and they might be upset if you don't."

That's stupid, Flora wrote.

"I agree," Bill said with a laugh, "It's very stupid. You're a smart kid, and I know it might be hard, but you'll figure it out. And I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Flora stood up and gave Bill a hug, the first physical contact she'd initiated in years, and then she wrote another note.

If they died to protect me, does that mean that my parents loved me?

It broke Bill's heart that she even had to ask. "They loved you very much," he confirmed.

Then the pair of redheads made their way back to the house, hand in hand.

Flora was pretty withdrawn for a few days after her talk with Bill. It was the twins that finally pulled her out of her funk by spiking everyone's food. Charlie could only speak in Italian, Ron had grown about six inches, Molly lost her ability to speak all together and her nose grew every time she tried, Percy's head swelled up to three times its normal size, Ginny's hair turned pure white, and Bill's hair fell off completely. Arthur had been working late, so he avoided whatever nefarious plans they had for him, and they hadn't thought it was a good idea to prank Flora, so there were only three normal looking redheads at the table, and they were all laughing.

Molly tried to scold them after everyone was returned to normal, but her heart just wasn't in it. Everyone was glad to see Flora smiling.

The next few weeks were pretty quiet. Flora had accepted her fame and decided that she wasn't going to let anyone tell her who to be. A man called Remus started coming around for dinners. Apparently he had been friends with her parents, and Arthur had written to him. He told her stories about her parents and he taught her different ways to calm down. Ever since she left the Dursleys, Flora's magic had been lashing out. After graduating to a regular broom, she had fallen off and three square yards of earth had rushed up to meet her. It hadn't moved since. Any time she was scared or frightened, her magic reacted in ways the others told her wasn't normal. Apparently, accidental magic wasn't usually as strong as Flora's was. Learning to use her wand helped a little, but Molly and Arthur were against it, since it was technically illegal.

Tomorrow was the big day, she would be going back to Hogwarts. She hadn't really gotten to look around the last time she was there, and she was filled to the brim with emotions, so naturally, she couldn't get to sleep.

Flora snuck out of Ginny's room, and headed to the kitchen for a snack. Even though she knew the Weasley's would give her any food she wanted any time she asked, it was always better to be safe than sorry, so she grabbed a snack along with a couple others to put away in her trunk.

"Hey kiddo, what are you doing up?" asked a very sleepy Bill as he walked into the kitchen. Flora put all her snacks down on the table and grabbed a sheet of paper and a quill. That was another thing she loved about the Weasleys. They never tried to get her to talk, and they had paper and quills stashed all over the house, always within reach. And they always waited patiently for her to write.

I can't sleep. I'm nervous and excited for tomorrow, she wrote.

"I know how you feel, I was a wreck my first year," Bill told her. She thought for a moment before continuing.

How did you get used to the colors?

Bill looked a little confused before he answered. "What colors? The house colors?"

No, Flora shook her head. The colors of everyone's magic. It was a little overwhelming when I first came here. Especially your mum's magic, it's bright.

"What color is Mum's magic?" Bill asked, looking a lot less tired than before. He'd sat up a little straighter and the bags under his eyes seemed to have disappeared completely.

Yellow. Bill pulled out his wand and cast a simple spell to turn his teacup orange.

"What color is my magic?"

Dark blue. She wrote first before pausing. She looked up to Bill with sadness in her eyes before writing more. Other people don't see the colors, do they?

"I don't think so kiddo, at least, I don't. And I haven't heard of anyone else being able to see magic like that." Flora face fell at this new information.

I'll never be normal, will I? She wrote sadly before passing the paper back.

"No one is normal," he told her. "Normal looks different for everyone. And even though I've never heard of this, doesn't mean no one ever has. I'll be returning to Gringotts tomorrow, and I'll do some research for you, okay?" Flora gave him a simple nod before getting up and grabbing her snacks and heading back upstairs.

She ate her snack and stored the others and tried once again to push down her fear and get some sleep, cuddling into the soft fur of her two familiars.