Picking Up The Pieces by TheGoldenKneazle

Chapter 1: My Eccentric Family Visits
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Chapter 2: The Great Weasley War
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 Chapter 2 – The Great Weasley War

When I woke up for a third time, it was only Madame Beauvoir who was anywhere near me. This in itself shouldn’t have been a relief, but when I had no idea what I thought of anyone any more, it was.

“Ah, you’re awake. Well, I’ll get some more of this in you, and leave you with this sheet. I think it was delivered by Rose Weasley”, she said in a friendly manner, shovelling multicoloured medicines down my throat at the same time.

Oh, the joys of being a bludger magnet. 

“Also, due to your memory loss – the last 31 months, I think your cousins said – we’ll be having a visit from one of the Memory Healers at St. Mungo’s. They’ll give you all sorts of tricks, and talks about how to get your memory back, but until then, I recommend dreams!” Here she beamed, and folded her hands neatly in front of her.

 “They’re the best way to remember, although a bit distorted by other aspects until you get the true version clarified…” Looking slightly disturbed, Madame Beauvoir paused and moved down the ward to a girl in her first year who had accidentally eaten a cupcake that made her skin turn green. It had been a sixth year prank for their friend, not this poor girl.

 After eating my breakfast, I stared at the ceiling, bored. Everyone was in lessons, and Rose had visited me before them, while I was asleep. Absent-mindedly, I picked up the sheet she had left for me. It was actually quite helpful, and she had been very nice in making it for me. You see, written on the sheet was all of the family connections (which I knew), which house they were in, their year, age, and ‘other info’. Mostly, as it turned out, these were fights I had been in with them, and why we had made up.

 I didn’t fail to notice that most of them I had started. Why had I been so fiery-tempered? Something must have seriously pissed me off.

 Thinking back to what Madame Beauvoir had said about dreams, I thought back to mine. Only Fred and Dominique had been in them. So, flipping through all the little pieces of paper, I first found Dominique’s. And gasped.

 Oh, boy. No wonder she hadn’t been anywhere near my hospital bed.

 No, I would not have wanted her there for anything! Total bitch! It was quite like in my dream. Apparently we had been gnashing at each other for quite a while, with different ‘rounds’ (what does that mean?), including her managing to dye my hair bright orange – and I mean bright, neon orange – but I managed to remove it with some help, apparently, but left the ends orange because it looked good, I said.

 Looking down at my hair, it does look good.

 But apparently, after a bit more of nastiness on her part, I pushed her straight into the lake at Lucy Gibberd’s fifteenth. And also, somehow the giant squid got involved.

 That would explain the dream. But Rose’s notes were so brief, how could I tell what it was about in the first place? Dominique was a naturally testy and quick-tempered kind of person.

 I needed details. By the sounds of it, this was a very public battle. Hopefully (or unfortunately, depending on the as-of-yet-unknown outcome), other people would know about it, as gossip. It would be totally inflamed, but there had to be some truth in it, surely.

 As I planned, I realised that the first person to go to would be Madame Beauvoir herself. She would certainly know of any injuries we had caused each other. Then I would ask the other patients, who would know gossip – mostly about the injuries, of course, but it would hopefully be a little more than that.

 I wasn’t relishing talking to the mega-reprimanding woman, yet there was no other way. I sighed and heaved myself up, head spinning again. Ugh.

 I looked around, and tried calling her, but now, when I actually wanted the woman, she had abandoned me. Lovely. Now I had no starting point, and almost nothing to go on!

 Feeling cross, I contemplated my other options. Asking the first-year down the end seemed to be the best way to go. I knew her name was Megan Gibberd – the younger sister of Laura Gibberd whose party we had been at with the lake incident… So, she would hopefully know more about it than a random first-year.

 I carefully sat up, then v-e-r-y--s-l-o-w-l-y half-straightened up, and shuffled at snail speed across the ward. I was taking NO chances with my messed-up head. Megan lay watching me heading slowly towards her, and sat up herself for me.

 I slowly seated myself on a bed beside her, and sighed deeply. That had not been a pleasant experience, but unless I wanted to repeat it three times faster whilst being shouted at by Madame B for being out of my bed, I had to get this over and done with as fast as possible, no matter how much I wanted to recover.

 I straightened up, and prepared myself for battle. “Hi. I’m Roxanne Weasley, and you’re Megan Gibberd, right?”. The poor green girl nodded once at me, looking slightly worried. I hoped it had more to do with the fact that all fifth-years are scary to first-years, and not that I had done something really evil and stupid.

 “Huh… you’ve probably heard about how I don’t remember stuff from the last three years?” I asked. I knew from experience (that I had no idea of, now) that you knew everything about everyone in the hospital wing after being in there just a few hours. She probably heard them all talking to me, and Megan nodded to confirm it.

 “Well, I want to know… what you know about what went on between me and my cousin Dominique.” She looked scared now, and reluctant. “It’s just that, any information at all would be helpful… because I know nothing about her, and me, at all. Apart from that at your sister’s party, I pushed her into the lake. And I don’t know why.”

 Her face had cleared, and she coughed once, before shyly admitting, “Yes, I heard a little, from gossip and my sister… After all, it all went round again, once you were Basilisk Girl!” Seeing my shocked face at that name, she quickly carried on, apparently not wanting to expand on that particular point.

 “Well, I know there was a fight during a quidditch match with the two beaters, which was probably you, considering that it was a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match, you’re both beaters, and you got knocked out by a bludger in this last Gryffindor match… and Lauren said that you and Dominique were duelling by the lake when Dom was drunk, and… you pushed her in.”

 Megan had really opened up, and for that I was glad (and surprised), but I wanted to know how the squid was involved, and what happened after. We were starting to get to the heart of it now, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear it - although I inevitably had to – but I couldn’t have stopped her if I tried.

 “Um, well, my sister didn’t say anything… but there was a rumour around the school that you got the squid to eat her, and only the Scamander twins jumping in saved her!” She looked up excitedly through her lashes at me, eyes bright. “And then, there was a giant battle, and you were graffiti-ing about each other and in their rooms, and stealing each other’s stuff, and your hair went orange” (she stared at my orange ends) “but the school started taking sides, you know? It was really cool though, because one of your cousins started selling ‘Roxy’s Sexy Team’ and ‘Dom’s Stompin’ Team’ badges, and banners and stuff! It was so cool!”

 She was all into it now. It was nice to hear about it from an unbiased point of view (except from the biasedness of Rumour). But I was going to kill whoever started selling those badges.

 Although I may have to buy a banner and put it above my bed in the dorm (if Lily hasn’t already put one there).

 I was dying to know who was on which team, now. And what was the deal with Fred, and Molly? And how did this start anyway? Unfortunately, I couldn’t risk asking any except the last question to little Megan, so that was what I did. She took a deep breath, her strawberry blond frizz standing out around her head, and actually setting off the greenness of her skin quite nicely.

 “Well, nobody knows! Because she was hitting a couple of bludgers at you during the game (where it started), but then after half-time, you were sending them right back at her! And then there was the whole quidditch brawl thing, but” she shrugged, “the only link anyone saw was, apart from the cousinly thing, your brother. Because, you know, he was kind of best friends with Dominique and two other cousins of yours, I think. And all the quidditch stuff was in the first match in October, when your Fred disappeared after the first couple of weeks in September. Nobody knows why! I was hoping you did, but obviously, you don’t, because you need me to tell you this stuff…” Megan trailed off, looking a bit crestfallen. I wanted to please her, but I couldn’t.

 “How do you know all this stuff?”, I asked. It was confusing how she knew so much about my family.

 “Well everyone knows all this stuff! The Weasleys provide the most gossip in the whole school!” She beamed at me. I took this to mean that it was a good thing, to be living in the spotlight, not a bad one. Hm.

 Were we a kind of celebrity family, like all the Brangelina kids, in Muggle magazines? Or was it a more Big Brother-ish everyone-hates-everyone thing? I hoped not.

 “Hang on, all of the Weasleys? And how do you know about-“. I was unceremoniously cut off at this point by Madame Beauvoir sweeping me up, off the bed, past the three or four beds in between mine and Megan’s, and dumping me in it.

 “And for that, you can have extra repairing-medicine!” she told me. I groaned.

 I really hoped they didn’t make those black-and-blue-medicine beans anytime soon. ‘This medicine had got to be the worst thing I had ever tasted’ was my last thought before the sedatives in it met my own exhaustion and swept me into unwanted blackness. Again.

 (When will people stop forcing me to sleep?)

 

---

 

 Roxanne’s Memory Book

 ‘Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s kids

 

VICTOIRE                                                                                            

* 2nd year away from Hogwarts                                                 

* Ex-Ravenclaw, Prefect                                                                              

*Not really any particularly significant fights.                                                                                                  

 DOMINIQUE

*6th Year

*Ravenclaw

*Kind of team-war. Lots of fighting, in rounds, her dying your hair orange, you pushing her into the Lake at Lauren Gibberd’s fifteenth – giant squid!

 LOUIS

*3rd year

* Ravenclaw

* He always hangs out with the Scamander twins, despite them being fifth-years. They are rubbing off on him!

 Charlie Weasley is too busy with dragons to have kids.

 Percy Weasley and Aubrey Wood’s Kids
 

 

* 7th Year

* Hufflepuff

* Only a tiff about what side she’s on. Made up because “she shouldn’t have to pick sides”. Strictly neutral, but hangs out with Dom.

 LUCY

* 3rd Year

* Hufflepuff

* Not really any arguments. Keeps herself to herself (unlike meddling Potters).

 

 

* Would-be 7th Year

* Gryffindor

*Ran away in second or third week in September this year, reason unknown.

 ROXANNE
 

* 5th Year
*Gryffindor

* Lost memory from 31 months. You should know this, though – it’s just proof.

 Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger’s Kids

* 4th Year

*Gryffindor, thankyou very much ALBUS

*Not really any I can remember… only one where we ended up buying each other Honeydukes sweets by the dozen to say sorry. Reason unknown.

 HUGO

*2nd Year

*Gryffindor

*Frequent fights about who gets that particular chair in front of the fire in the common room! (you don’t much like him sitting in ‘your revision chair’)

 Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter’s Kids

*6th Year

* Gryffindor

* Lots of arguments, about brooms and quidditch mostly, but also about his arrogance, his mean-ness to girls, and most of the things in his life, to be honest. It’s good for him.

 ALBUS

* 4th Year

* Gryffindor (contrary to James’ opinions)

* A couple of arguments, just about homework and wrong decisions. Also about Dominique.

*2nd Year

* Gryffindor

* Just two major blaze-offs, both in the last two summers, about rooming stuff. Made up quickly and easily. Also, about the team colours.

 As you can see, we have quite a large and complicated family, not even counting the ‘extras’, who are effectively part of the family – The Scamanders, Teddy, Scorpius depending on where he’s at with Al and I. I will deliver THOSE notes tomorrow or later, depending on how time goes. Sorry about briefness, Rose x'

 Pretty cool, huh? But I can’t actually remember much about my opinions on my individual cousins, because those would have changed… and I don’t know why. I have to re-learn my family.

---

 

Chapter 3: Gossip
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Chapter 3 – Gossip
 

 

Over the next few days, I had quite a few visitors. Rose and Albus came, bringing tidings of who the Honorary Weasleys were in slightly longer notes than our family ones, because Rose expected me to remember less about them than my family: this worked for me, really, since I didn’t have inerasable ties to the Honorary Weasleys, but would like to stay friends with them, for the moment, at least.

I think.
 

 

Things could still change!

Lily and Hugo came later that day. Lily was all up for recounting mine and Dom’s fights, all the while assuring me she was on Roxy’s Sexy Team. I was quick to assure her, in my turn, that I disliked the name, and at the moment wasn’t really fit to be on any team, even one named after me. I was keen to know who came up with the humiliating names, and who had the genius/horrific idea to sell badges and team ‘wear’ (as Lily said) to the rest of the school.
 

 

(It was quite cool, really, but I wasn’t going to admit that. It was pretty ace to know you have a team of apprentices and ninjas at your bidding.)
 

 

Apparently, it was her and her brothers. Unsurprising, really. But Hugo was quick to put in that the school had basically already all taken sides after the whole lake thing, so it was a way of generating more defence for me, and more humiliation for Dom.

Yet it does work the other way too – more defence and prepared ninjas for Dom too, and humiliation for me.
 

 

Fight-wise, there had been a LOT of ‘action – reaction’, as Hugo said, and Lily recounted all the fights that were straight-on:
 

 

·         The infamous quidditch match incident, where she provoked me into sending bludgers back at her. Apparently, it ended with us brawling in the mud for a good few minutes before we were separated, and was celebrated by students as the Dirtiest and Funniest Match Ever.
 

 

·         She started dropping snide notes in class, which I sent back, until we were reeling off as many insults as we could think of (I had showed Lily some).

·         At Lauren Gibberd’s famous Fifteenth Birthday Party, we (especially Dominique) got drunk and were ‘duelling’, until I poked her in the eye with my wand, she scarred me across my cheek with hers, and I pushed her into the lake. Duelling on a pier is so not a good idea.
 

 

·         Everyone then heard about our history. We started ‘corridor hexing’, if we passed each other, leading to MORE publicity.
 

 

·         The Potters started selling badges – “Roxy’s Sexy Team’ in a reddy-pink, and “Dom’s Stompin’ Team” in blue. Apparently this causes ‘house rivalry, to make it more public!’. Hugo was treasurer, as he was the only one who could be trusted with money; to not lose, spend, or unequally divide, it.
 

 

·         We started managing to sneak into the others’ dorm, graffiti their beds, steal/mess up their stuff, etc., with teams of ‘ninjas’ on Team R and ‘spies&sneaks’ on Team D – ninjas is way better. Potters started selling badges with “Top Ninja” and “Super Spy, Super Sneak” on.
 

 

·         The hair incident. I fake-tanned her. She swapped some of my make-up. I jinxed her mirrors to scream she was ‘ugly’ every time she looked in them. And apparently, Dom was trying to sneak me a cursed cake.
 

 

·         Apparently, Dominique spread a rumour today that I was actually pregnant. WHAT?? According to Lily, I should spread one about her too, to combat that. I pointed out that I have nothing to hold against her now, she has effectively WON! Argh!
 

 

So now, Lily has agreed to be my PR, and official Sexy Assistant. “It’ll be really catchy!”, she said enthusiastically. “Ohmigod, no! I don’t want to be seen as THE Sexy, Lil!” I retorted, half begging. That was so NOT good for my reputation (if I had any left after these campaigns of hers). I did not want to be another slut around the school for boys to pick up!
 

 

“Well, it would be different if I was Stompin’ Assistant, wouldn’t it! Huh, just let me have some fun, Rox! I promise I’ll spread a really good rumour for you! Ok, thanks. Byeee”, and Lily sailed off down the ward, effectively ending that conversation. Hugo shrugged and quickly added, “I’ll try to reign her in as much as I can, but, I can’t promise anything. Unlike her, apparently.” He grimaced, and walked fast to catch up with my little redheaded, sashaying cousin as she Left The Building.
 

 

I swear Lily acts like she’s four years older than she really is; most normal second-years wouldn’t have said half of what she’d said to their best mates. This rumour she was doing better be good, although I had no way to tell if it was good,(by non-existent standards?), and no way to punish her, or a wish to.
 

 

Meanwhile, Megan didn’t have half as many visitors. I felt a bit sorry for her, as her sister was her main visitor. The first time Lauren came was when Lily and Hugo had just left, and I was very drowsy in my own bed, bandages still in place. Then, as she walked down the ward, I could feel loathing emanating from her onto me. I was quite startled, because had I seriously done something that bad to someone? It was like a physical punch, as she evilled me all the way down, hands in pockets, until she got to the excited Megan.

They chattered normally for a bit, and I just zoned out, until I vaguely heard Lauren say “I’m not happy with Roxanne being here!” Megan, sounding a little cross (aww), crossed her arms and said “well, she’s very nice really! We’ve been chatting. And she couldn’t even remember what happened at your party, and her cousins had to tell her about the whole battle thing!” 

Slitting open my eyes slightly, I could see Lauren bending down and whispering to Megan then, quite urgently. I saw Megan’s eyes open wide in shock, but then her face close up, and she shook her head, whispering angrily to her. It was sweet the way she was defending me, but I didn’t even know if I was guilty or not. I really hoped I wasn’t leading Megan on – she was really cute, and I enjoyed talking to her.

Then Lauren leaned back, sighing her disapproval. I was a bit ashamed – I like Lauren, and we used to be Herbology partners for my first two years, I remembered. She was a nice combination of serious and silly, when she wanted to be. I really hoped she was still like that.
 

 

After chatting animatedly for a few more minutes, Lauren left, eying me more with wonder than annoyance this time.

A bit later, I still wanted to know what Lauren thought of me, and why she was whispering. It’s not like I’d understand what they were talking about! Anyway, it was driving me crackers – like, what were they saying? What have I done? Does everyone know? Is it secret? Argh!!

It didn’t take me half as long to get down there this time. I could actually stand up, and walk at a slow pace, instead of shuffling! True, I did have my hands out in case, but it was way cool to be able to stand up again.
 

 

My head was definitely on the mend movement-control-wise! (nice word.)

That is how much I needed distraction – I was congratulating myself about walking. I really wanted Megan to not spread stuff about me that I didn’t understand, and I wanted company.

“Hey”, I said, sitting down fairly composedly on the bed next to hers. “How are you? Your skin is looking a lot paler today”.

She seemed really pleased with that. “Yeah, Madame Beauvoir said it will hopefully be gone within the next two days! I’m glad I can get back to seeing my friends again, and finding out what’s been going on while I was in here. Although…” she looked sideways at me, and I felt compelled to say, “not much is happening because I’m in here too?”.

She grinned happily. “Yeah, that’s about right. But, apparently Dominique’s been out to get you, Lauren said…” she twisted her fingers together unhappily.

“She was worried about me talking to you, wasn’t she?” I asked. Megan nodded sadly again. “What she say I’d done? Because I’m not very aware of what I did right now…” I trailed off, not sure whether to carry on or not. I didn’t want to make her nervous, or me entirely blameable (although I basically was).

“Yeah, that’s what I said!” she burst out. “But, Lauren says that you have a hot temper. And to be careful. And… she says it’s your fault I’m green, even though you’re nice and stuff, it’s yours and Dominique’s fault I’m stuck in here and couldn’t watch the quidditch or anything.”

I gasped, everything becoming all too clear.

Megan had eaten a cupcake a sixth year had tried to sneak to a ‘friend’ – Madame B had supposed. And Rose had heard a rumour that Dominique was going to try to poison me. AND a load of these cupcakes had been found all over the house tables, with ‘for The Sexy Party’ written on them, Rose had mentioned in passing!

I think I dreamed about that last night, looking back. But I felt awful. It was my fault for her, indirectly, but still! Innocent little Megan Gibberd was hurt because of me!

Then, that snide little voice in the back of my head (which always pops up when you need it least) reminded me that ‘surely many other people have been affected by this war, because of you, too’. The ninjas, innocent bystanders, the best and bravest Gryffindor team… But I didn’t know how to stop Dominique. Was it even worth trying?

I slowly rose and went back to lie on my own hospital bed, thinking deeply.

Ugh. I was such a horrible person.

Sleep that night wasn’t much better. I drifted through confusing snatches of lessons, conversations and evil plans, not understanding any of it. Random people I did recognise floated in and out, telling me controversial information ‘til I couldn’t even understand them anymore.

Waking up late the next day was a blessed relief. I did nothing much except lie on my bed and read over the information on the ‘Honorary Weasleys’ Rose had given me, and try to draw my own conclusions. I wished I had a magazine, or a newsletter, to work on… My mind jolted with surprise. A newsletter to work on? I didn’t get it, until I realised that it must have been an old pastime, and my mind had naturally travelled along the riven path that newsletters were something to work on! 

How sad!
 

 

It was only a little something to remember, but I was elated still when all the Gryffie girls in my dorm came to visit at lunch, bringing stolen sandwiches with them to eat. It was nice to see Harriet, Edie and Isabella again, and hear their chatter like we always were. They trooped in noisily, spell sheets falling out of Edie’s bag all over the floor, Isabella’s hair ribbon and scarf trailing along the floor, and Harriet bringing armfuls of stuff for me.

On closer inspection, it seemed to be the randomest selection of things she could have brought from the dorm: new merchandise from the campaign, fake coins, an official-looking form, a rubber duck that quacked every few minutes, an edible quill (with no ink), two chocolate frog cards, a cactus, a small and tatty poster for the Weird Sisters, a teddy calendar and two relentlessly bouncing balls currently trapped in a humming, blue vase.

This had Harriet written all over it, and I was touched that she had brought so much for me. Useless things, but it was nice that she had.
 

 

Isabella had brought my amazing Gryffindor scarf, and apologized for not bringing any others, but she didn’t think I would remember my obsession with scarves until she told me, so it was ok. Truly, as she predicted, it was only when she explained this to me that I remembered how nice scarves were.

Edie had brought a very pretty ‘forest in a box’. She said that they had found it in a corner of the dorm and thought it would be nice to have beside your sickbed. When you opened the box and tapped the tiny seeds in it, they exploded into life-size versions, which you could then pick up and place where you liked, as they were enchanted to feel feather-light and not need watering.

The only problem was when you didn’t have a clear image of the size you wanted in your head, they exploded into a rather larger version of itself than was desirable. It took a long time to get the Flutterby Bush, especially, down to bed-height, and the trees had to be shrunk for quite a long time before they were an acceptable six feet.

After laughing for so long, and having so much fun, I did start to feel very tired, and my head spin lots. It was so annoying, this weakness! Fortunately, my amazing Gryffindor friends understood, but I still felt bad for making them sit down instead, although there was a reason I was in the hospital wing.

Everyone was really happy to be together, and my friends had a good time repeating lots of stored-up gossip to me. I was only too happy to become up-to-date with this kind of thing, because three years worth is a LOT of gossip to catch up on.

I listened silently while they told me that: Molly Weasley had a month’s worth of detentions from Professor Pleguely. The Potters had launched a new ‘Basilisk’ appeal, and Lily had started designing items of clothing. Hannah Presley had broken up with Lysander Scamander. Professor Longbottom, our Head of House, was having the password changed every week now, instead of every month, because of all the break-ins. Scorpius Malfoy had been found duelling an Illusion-ed person, as of yet unidentified. Louis Weasley had started dating a second-year. Aidan Finch-Fletchley had been beaten up by the Whomping Willow, but wouldn’t tell anyone why. Rose Weasley had managed to train her cat to do all sorts of clever things… most of these things were very mysterious, it struck me.

I was still listening eagerly, and they were still rambling on, when I suddenly remembered what it was I had wanted to ask them: WHAT THE HELL WAS FRED DOING?! He had skipped the last four months of school (so unlike him), abandoned all of us without a word of explanation (so far as I knew) and wouldn’t let any of us know either!!

Except me… but that didn’t count, to be honest, because I had no idea what the hell was going on. Full stop.

Suddenly, I jolted up in bed. Everyone was surprised, and Isabella actually stopped talking about her Hogsmeade date, which I would just have to find out more about later. This was important!

“Guys! What’s with Fred? Megan told me he was gone since September. But I know NOTHING ELSE! What happened? Why? I mean… Like, what…” I started waving my hands around and just left my mouth open by accident. I’m such an idiot sometimes, when I don’t have control of myself! But I was really panicking. I knew nothing of my brother’s whereabouts, end of. He had always been my mentor, and though I was sure he could look after himself, I was in desperation as to know why.
 

 

In case you hadn’t picked up on that.

“Hey! Calm down” Isabella said, leaning forward and catching hold of one of my flailing hands and gently laying in down on the blanket. Slightly slowly, but with optimum eye contact, she stated “Nothing is life-threatening – we made him promise it wasn’t. He won’t be coming back – ‘unless things change fast and for the better’, were his exact words, I think. BUT he cannot make contact with us, because it’s too dangerous. He said something along the lines of, anyone he speaks to, or even sees, is in danger…” here Isabella leaned back, a small crease between her eyebrows.

I didn’t get it. Dangerous how? And where did they get this from?

“James told you, and you were sitting with us at the time. Although you made us promise not to tell anyone, it is still you so…” Edie shrugged. She had read my mind. And of course I had no objections to re-telling me!

“But…” here it was my turn to frown, and open my mouth before the ever-frustrating drone, Madame Beauvoir, swept over and broke up our conversation.

Does she delight in killing what little recollections I have, and getting rid of ALL my social time?! WHY!!

“Alright girls, this has been lovely of you to visit Roxanne, who has been going a little stir-crazy recently” she gave a mock-glare to me “but it is ten minutes since lessons started, and I believe you all have somewhere to be!” Harriet gave a little shriek and quickly gathered up her bags and cloak, with Edie resorting to hovering her fallen sheets out behind her, and Isabella just standing by the bed still, rooting in her little navy satchel for something.

I hoped it wasn’t more of her pink lipgloss, which looked gorgeous on her, but I wasn’t in the mood to see other people looking good when I looked like shite. I hadn’t been allowed a shower in two days, even though I had been playing quidditch before this. QUIDDITCH! The most hot, sweaty, and evil game ever!

Fortunately, it was a tiny purse. It was a very pretty one too, sky blue with a pink, green and white flower pattern on it, with beads and ribbon. I was touched, although confused, and about to ask what it was for when Isabella leaned down and whispered “I thought you might need this when you get out. Just thank me later!” Her blonde wavy hair tickled my ear, but she stood up, hitched up her skirt, winked at me and sailed out of the ward.

Curious now, I opened the purse a crack and saw a flash of rose-pink velvet and pretty materials and smells before Madame B rushed over with some more of that HORRIFIC medicine. I groaned – I was so totally sick of it by this point, and my head was basically unnoticeable now! Apart from slight extra fatigue, I was FINE.

Let off, woman.

She raised an eyebrow at my angry face. “You don’t need to give me that face. This is your last dose now”, she said, pouring medicine, and laughed at my ecstatic little victory dance. “It should send you to sleep and mend the last few pain problems before you see the healer that is coming in around 5! She’ll help you!”

Happily, I gulped the last of the medicine (still wincing at the taste) and lay back, thinking before it was too late.

Hang on. Healer? Today?

What were they going to do to me to get my memories back?

---

 

Hey, these are all the Extended Weasleys. I’ll just explain about each without the simple layout though – it’s easier this way!

Son of Remus and Tonks, who died in the Battle of Hogwarts when he was really young. Metamorphagus, but favourite hair colour is turquoise. He is in his fourth year out of Hogwarts, and engaged to Victoire (as of a couple of months). He’s pretty easy-going – Gryffindor, so he’s way cooler than the others.

Twin sons of Luna and Rolf. They’re kind of cool, and not weird we-cannot-be-apart twins, or even weird you-can’t-tell-apart twins. They look a bit different, largely because of Lorcan’s scar across his face, from a spell during the squid incident (apparently the water has changed the spell, and they haven’t found a cure yet). Louis worships them, probably because they’re a cleverer but slightly less ambitious version of Uncle Fred and George (according to Uncle Harry). Lysander believes in nargles and that, but I’m not sure about Louis. Check up on this.

 

This is me now, Rox – Albus, because Rose wouldn’t be able to do Scorpius’s info without writing something stupid, and knocking over the milk when we asked what she was writing (which is from experience, let me tell you). Scorpius’ parents are Draco and Astoria, blah blah, he’s a cool kid, him and Rose like each other but won’t get together coz they’re stupid, etc. He keeps duelling people, I think, from all the scars he comes back to the common room with (and refusing to talk about) and he heard yours and Dom’s quidditch convo I think, from the way he was all white afters. Mostly its guessing, I can’t get much out of him nowadays – Al.
 

 

Also, I guess there us Weasleys have a load of other family friends that we could put in, but they’re not really honorary Weasleys, apart from maybe Alex Bell…. The others weren’t sure but you probably see a lot more than any of us do (apart from Hugo and Lily, of course), and Fred always said she was round at your house a lot during the holidays… so, this is her, I suppose.
 

 

Daughter of Katie Bell (her parents are divorced) , she’s in the same year an dorm as Lily (poor Alex, her room must have gone through so much already). You seemed to be a kind of mentor to her, and you saw her in most holidays I think – your Mum and hers are good friends,I think. She’s pretty smiley and amiable, but has a real temper if you dig too deep, past her warnings. She says she’s keeping her distance so you can get used to us slowly, and that’s what she’d want.
 

 

Love, Rose x
 

---

 

 

Chapter 4: The White Fog of Healing
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Chapter 4 – The white fog of healing

After waking up a few hours later, the first thing I noticed was all the birds and insects around my bed. They were all pretty and colourful, but really loud. They were also sitting mostly on my head or in the tree right beside me, so it was kinda scary waking up with a blue bird screeching in your face.
 

I carefully sat up, then regretted it because a load of chicks (baby birds, not girls, in case you were weird enough to think otherwise) fell down the back of me, as they had been leaning against the back of the frame but on me. Sighing, I attempted to shuffle them along with my hands and to GET OUT OF MY BED, when Madame Beauvoir arrived.
 

I looked up and found that the pocket garden had grown massively in a few short hours, and I was surrounded by a thick forest.
 

Fortunately, when I flicked my wand crossly at it, everything receded fast, into what Edie had set it to be. Gah. I hadn’t wanted a flipping jungle, just a few pretty flowers!

As I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, Madame Beauvoir decided it was safe to come over now. Frowning at the garden, she said “You should be all healed now – no pain, or movement problems, no fatigue or sudden hunger loss. If you DO receive any of those symptoms, come back to the hospital wing to be treated” she listed in a bored voice.

“And on a different note…” she beamed, “the healer is here! I don’t know how long they’ll be with you, or if they’ll come again and see you lots, but your parents will know, don’t worry. And after that, you can go!” She smiled again, and bustled off down the ward, to see a couple of hexed and bruised Slytherins.

 

I could actually… go? After this meeting thingy?

YESSSS!!!!

Finally! I could go up to my dorm and see if I had been clever enough to keep a diary, talk to my friends and find out what I’d missed!! FREEDOM!!!!

I was unwontedly pulled back down to earth when a rather flaky-looking, wrinkly old woman cleared her throat from beside me. I slowly looked up at her sheepishly, but she just smiled patiently.

“Yes, it’ll be nice to get out for you, although I do like your little forest. Very good for the mind! Now…” she glanced around. “Will it be ok if we do the following exercises in the middle of the floor? We need a big space in case you remember something too vividly, or receive too much of a shock.”

 

I was starting to worry about this now. Why would I need that much space for remembering, and why would I be getting shock not from the memory?!

 

I clambered through the flowerbed and into the middle of the floor, yellow pyjamas and all. Megan was watching with amusement, her skin almost not-green any more, and she was lying on her stomach with her head propped up on her hands, at the end of her bed. She was grinning in an amused kind of way, but when I shot her a nervous look, she just laughed in a friendly way.

I wasn’t feeling very encouraged here, especially when the healer pulled out a battered but large red carpet bag.

Madame Beauvoir seemed quite happy with us being in the middle of the floor, and just carried on brewing a remedial stock potion for flu, after conjuring a rug in the middle for me, with a few cushions for comfiness.

As I just stood there, feeling stupid, the woman was just rummaging around in her carpet bag, for like five minutes! I was just standing there, bored and a little weary, and sick of the Slytherins’ sniggers, when the most awful sounds started coming from the bag: holwing, and smashing glass, and the horrible clashing of metal and stone. All the healer did was pull out a few things and place them behind her back, before extracting her arm.

I nearly fell over I was hyperventilating so much. WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE GONNA DO TO ME!!!! Shit, I wanted my memory back, but I wanted to keep my limbs too!!!

 

Turning back around to see me literally shaking, the healer was pretty surprised, but got me to sit down, and was just saying, “There, honey, just sit down and relax. It’s all gonna be fine”, when I finally managed to spit out, “What are you gonna do to me?” I was pretty fearful at this point.

She looked surprised that I was worried about that. “Just some breathing and relaxing exercises, dreaming skills, and so on. Nothing to get worried about, certainly not as worried as you just were!” She chuckled, and I relaxed somewhat. My face must’ve been quite funny for them all, before I understood.

 

For the next hour and a half, she showed me ‘the best relaxing, mind-channelling and memory-recalling yoga poses ever’. They were quite funny to do, and there were some weird ones (hello? balancing your entire weight on one hand with your foot above your ear sounds like hell, but it is actually very calming. Try it! Now you look stupid too, lolz).

I did them all lots, and once I had learnt them all, their properties etc, and a nice little routine for them, Mrs. Smethwyck (the healer) produced dinner. It wasn’t very substantial, and it seemed a rather odd assortment to me, but she said this would optimise my brainpower and concentration for the work tonight. 
 

At this point, Madame B was giving the other patients their tea too. Only Megan had still been watching us by now (although a lot less attentively), the Slytherin boys had gone and a Ravenclaw third-year who was blistered all over was taking potions from Madame B (with a constant shower over his head, conjured to keep him cool), watching me work, and shovelling his food down.

I had to drink an over-caffeinated coffee and a herbal tea with my fizzing white liquid, banoffee pie, curly kale, peas, entire lemon, and spicy curry-and-tomato sauce. It tasted ok, but really odd, and I had a feeling that I would be throwing it up at some point. Not nice imagining that.

After tea, I went to the loo, and came back to find that Healer Smethwyck had brought over some flowers from beside my bed. Quickly, she shoved them into my hands, which was kind of surprising coz I had no idea what she was doing (duh).

 

“Now, deep-breathe with these for five minutes”, she instructed me, and we carried on.

 

I was made to do a few forward-rolls (why?), before humming the same long-note order she told me too, with my eyes closed, for a good ten minutes. 
 

Then, I was still sitting on my cushion and unable to see, when I could hear my healer turning around and rustling behind her, along with a few rather suspicious noises. I didn’t want to interrupt her ‘vibes’ , as she made me call them, but I was a little bit worried.

 

“Uh… healer Smethwyck? Uh… what are you doing?”, I stuttered, eyes resolutely closed, but fluttering. I shifted around in my zen pose but couldn’t resist opening one eye to see what she was doing. 
 

Fortunately, it was only steaming water, into some kind of bowl. All I concentrated on, straight away, was the feel of the steam on my face, and the smell of it (ie. Pure and nonexistent). Whoa, I was getting good at this relaxing thing, and knowing what to do. If I never recover my memory, maybe I should go into this!

“Right. Roxanne, get into your best pose, and I will hold this under your face while you deep-breathe, close your eyes, relax and channel”.

So, I quickly pulled my leg across my body, leaned backwards, and stretched out my other leg with both hands. I’d forgotten the name already, like with most things, but this was a way cool one. It was starting to get weird, though, when the steam rushed onto my face, which of course I couldn’t see. All I could hear was the gushing of more water into the bowl, and those stupid notes I’d hummed for ages before, resounded through my head. Somewhere to the side of me, a relaxing voice whispered “Relax… go deep inside… deep down… relax… search…” and so on.

I suddenly saw, in my mind’s eye, white fog clearing, and a river slowly emerging… I felt a quick jab in my arm then, on my surface, and this would have brought me back up, but the fog was turning a delicate pink.

I was a bird, swooping down through the fog, to the water’s surface, where I could see my own face approaching me… Suddenly, I didn’t want to land anymore, and I tried back-flapping (huh), but I just dunked into the river anyway.

 

All was silent and still for a moment, lost in bubbles. I tried to struggle, but with the first wing-flap, sweet water filled my mouth.
 

Fred was standing over me in the hospital wing, wearing a long cloak and a face etched with sorrow, talking, explaining.

 I was snapping a picture of the sea with my new camera, as it was my ninth birthday. Mum and Dad had come, and Fred, so I wanted pictures before he left for Hogwarts.

Hagrid was giving me full points at my Care of Magical Creatures exam, third year, as I discussed dragons and chimeras with him. 

 

 

 

I seemed to hear a loud sploosh, before I was drawn out of the water, back through the fog and back to the present day, in mega-fast rewind motion.
 

Cracking open my eyes, I scared-ly saw a freaky metal band thing around my head with a phial strapped on top (in the mirror lying in the floor), a pink-and-blue gas tube just pulled from my chest and a yellow-filled needle lying on the floor next to my arm, where a small spot of blood was.

 

So that was what had kept me in that foggy-river-place when I had almost pulled out… presumably injected me with a semi-hallucagenic substance, to keep me where I was and expand on my current state of mind.

WHOA. It was a very clever state of mind I was in… unfortunately, it would probably wear off soon.

 

Looking around, and feeling like a scared rabbit trapped in the headlights, I noticed an amount of damage near to where I was: beds had been smashed around, the rug has been ripped, and many flowers and bushes had been trashed in some way.

I froze, not wanting to be pulled back to reality.

I had done this?

 How? Why?

 

There was a loud popping from behind me, and a weight was lifted off my head, along with the band obscuring most of my vision. “There you are honey! First lot of memories for you, although not as many as you would’ve had, if we hadn’t needed to stop you because of the ruckus… you caused yourself quite some damage.” Mrs. Smethwyck’s lumbering shape came into view, and she carefully sat down in front of me, making full eye contact.

 

“The memories had just started to get longer!” I blurted out. I was pretty pissed at having been stopped from knowing more about me. I mean, hello? I don’t have much to work on here. I need AS MANY PIECES AS POSSIBLE so I can FIT ME BACK TOGETHER!!!

“Yes… I would hope so too! Now, I’ve given all the instructions and gear to Madame B, so you can repeat this every other night. She knows how to do it, but you’ll have to work out your own routine for getting into that mind… Are there any other, previous memories you’d like to store?”

Fearfully, I nodded. “Yes, but… I was fighting after quidditch in that last one… that’s why I was hurting myself. And-"

 “Aw now, come on sweetie. Don’t worry, this can all be fixed in an instant. Now, let’s get you into bed, then that memory! You need a good night’s sleep after this, as it is half eleven now, and then you can go tomorrow, Sunday, ok?”

 

She tucked me into my newly un-trashed bed, and I quickly thought of all my dreams and vague déjà vus before she extracted them and put them in a separate phial, labelled differently.

 

I closed my eyes, weary to the core. I was desperate for sleep, and desperate to start dreaming about my memories, from now.

 

Well, there’s not been any weird dreams, and all my memories for today have been most vividly recorded. Well, if this is a book to remember stuff: so’s I don’t forget, this is my little routine for relaxing before memory-retrieving:
 
                - Eat appropriate meal beforehand

                - Breathe and relax as Golden Dragon, add bowl and dive down… 

 

 

And if you’re wondering why the daughter of George is not more of a prankster, don’t worry: things will all pick up by next chapter. She just needs to get to her stocks of WWW ;) 

 

Chapter 5: Heady from the Release
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It was around ten when I had the first freaky surprise of the day.

This one was in the form of a person, and they couldn’t have caught me in a worse place. No kidding.

I had woken up at half eight and scoffed my breakfast of eggs before grabbing Isabella’s present-purse and heading towards the bathrooms. These were proper, nice, painted-and-decorated bathrooms, not like the normal partitioned Hogwarts ones. I unfortunately had nothing much to wear, apart from my yellow pyjamas, but I figured I’d work it out later. I had no time for this kind of thing when a bath was calling my name!
 

I started running the thing happily, but with a lack of anything better to do, opened the purse. And was kinda shell-shocked.

I mean, whoa. How much work had this girl gone to for me? Inside, it was all pink velvet, and had been magically expanded to pretty big! All the small compartments had nice, girly stuff in them, like perfume in this one, earrings in another, shampoo, hair stuff, and so on. Two compartments were labelled ‘Spare Clothes’ and ‘Underwear’. Each folded out to show shelves of the things, and it was really, really nice stuff. Silk and ruffles and smoothness!

Anyway, Megan bounced up to me as I rummaged in the half-filled drawer beside my bed, and told me she was getting out tomorrow! I was very pleased for her, and we spent a good forty-five minutes running back and forth from the bathroom, spraying her and me with perfumes, doing our hair and making her over, and me doing my make-up (I trusted Megan, but I didn’t have faith in her mascara wand skills.)

Then, a random guy with floppy, fair-ish hair comes walking down the ward kinda poncey. He looked like expected to be the new Justin Bieber, but I assumed he was here to see Madame Beauvoir, until he came right up behind me and gave me the shock of my life by hugging me from behind.

“Excuse me! What are you doing?! Get off me!” I cried, trying to turn around in his arms. He was pretty persistent though, and just kissed me when I was facing him.

 

“Ow! Babe, what did you do that for?” this stranger moaned. I had no idea who he was, and he was really annoying me. Why had he not been to visit and explain himself to me if he was involved with me? And he was such a ponce, I must have taken Amortentia to even look twice at him.

“Get your hands OFF me!” I hissed, shoving him away. “I don’t know who you are, why we EVER knew each other and why you’re harassing me!!”

He looked up from the bed. “I’m your boyfriend, Aidrian! Remember me from anything?” He grinned, and turned on a puppy-dog look. I wasn’t buying it though.

I bent down to her, leaving Adrian on the bed, and she quietly whispered “you broke up with him six weeks ago! He said some stupid stuff about you, and he was treating you bad” in my ear.

I frowned and straightened up.

“But baby… we got back together! Just ask your Isabella when you get back. She knows we were trying to keep it quiet! And… when you come back to talk to me about us, make sure to wear that dressing gown again. You look really hot in it, although I prefer you in your underwear.” He winked at me. I was horrified.

One thing I was sure of was that I had never given myself to any guy like that. Edie had mentioned something about a Sexy Team Underwear Show once, and I must have been in that (explains Iz’s fancy underwear in the purse), but I was never in anything that revealing.

 

I just wasn’t like that, I knew, and he had NEVER seen my underwear. Unfortunately, I knew at least one person who had, becaus Iz had told me.

“Megan, don’t listen to him. He’s trying to freak me out, because no guy has seen my underwear," I lied. "Especially not YOU! Now get out before I hex you!” 
 

He just sat there and smirked.

I pulled out my wand, and pointing it at his throat, I narrowed my eyes. Tiger look.

“Dixit Magnetatis!” I hissed. Suddenly Aidrian looked scared, and clutched his throat. He opened his mouth to try to say something, but all that came out was squeaking. He tried again, with a harder concentration: still high squeaking. This time, he screwed up his face into a constipated look, and tried shouting, but only loud squeaking came out.

Me and Megan were laughing pretty hard by this time, but it was as he was walking out the ward doors, looking mutinous, that the rats from all over the castle arrived. And bestowed their love upon him. 
 

The magnetatis part had worked, then.

I swear I had never laughed so much as I could remember.Me and Megan were doubled over, laughing so hard tears were streaming down our faces and my stomach hurt. It was just hilarious as the egotistical, empty git was carried off by a load of rats.

I had no idea where the spell came from, but boy, was it funny to watch
 

 

Upon leaving the hospital wing with my few belongings, I proudly walked along the halls to the Great Hall. I had managed to get away, with memory intact! AND looking good, too.

However, I had not expected to receive quite as much shock from the amount of publicity we had here at Hogwarts. I mean, I knew it was very public battle – the Potters were making SO MUCH MONEY – but I had not expected the walls to be plastered with life-size and larger posters of Dom and I. And a random Basilisk sometimes (why?).

Only one guy was sitting anywhere near it, and as he seemed to be in my year (OWL textbooks are a big giveaway), I plonked myself down opposite him, and swung my packages onto the table beside me. It was pretty crumb-strewn, but I didn’t really care by this point. 
 

“Hey. Where is everyone?” I casually asked, sitting down and grabbing the nearest clean plate.

The guy looked up from his toast and transfiguration textbook to examine me. “Quidditch. Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin, so I didn’t bother going.”

“That figures”, I replied. “Kinda boring watching them of you have family on both, and It’s not like I can particularly support either team. By the way, who are you? I’m Roxanne, as you know… but I probably knew you before, and I can’t remember”. I sat expectantly and chewed while he looked up and seemed to think.

“Well, I’m Daniel Longbottom. Hi. And I don’t think I knew you that well before – we didn’t really speak, anyway.” He just shrugged and returned to reading his book.

I frowned, not really in the mood to have my mood brought down. However, before I could say anything, someone called out “Dan! Over here now!”, and he had to grab his stuff and drag it to the other side of the room to talk to whoever wanted him.

It was even more worrying as I approached the Fat Lady’s corridor: there were scarves and GIGANTIC posters, cut-outs of me and the Ninjas, and some different poster designs which hadn’t been seen before. There even seemed to be a contest as to whose was the best. There was also a very odd stall, mostly covered by sheets at the minute… but I didn’t really want to know what was underneath.

You can understand my trepidation as I walked up to the Fat Lady. I was slightly scared about what it would be like INSIDE the common room (considering how bad it was outside), and it was then that I realised: I didn’t have the password.

“Argh!!! Can I not even come back to my STUPID common room after FINALLY getting out that STUPID hospital wing?! I mean, nobody thought to tell me the password, which DUH, I don’t KNOW because I CAN’T REMEMBER ANYTHING FROM THE LAST THREE YEARS OF MY LIFE!!!” I screamed. I was pretty pissed off. The match had started only half an hour ago, and would surely last a good few hours. Then when I did eventually get in, everyone would be there.

It had been looking so good.

“Oh, go shout at someone else!” the Fat Lady replied crossly. I had been quite rude, but I had reason.

Aah. I had (probably) missed little Alex, my little Gryffie buddy. 
 
 

I wasn’t even sure at this point, fifteen minutes later, that I wanted to be shown my dorm. Because I had had such a freakin’ shock with the common room, even after my worried expectations, that I thought the dorm was gonna be a hundred times worse.

Alex assuring me that it was also didn’t help matters.

However, I was safe in the knowledge that any newcomer to the revamped Gryffindor common room would be kinda shocked. I mean, seriously? Did they – the Potters – HAVE to have a gigantic stall and magically-expanded-to-ridiculous-size broom cupboard to ‘create new stock’? Did my fellow fifth-years HAVE to redecorate the common room in pink and red with ninja designs, slogans, posters and all the palava? Did I (I’m guessing) HAVE to have a large, large bookcase with all the different Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes order postboxes and sheets?

Well, yes. It was such a cool idea! But, anyway, the other ideas were slightly shocking. But, the sofas were all pretty new and REALLY nice, so I guessed that the Potters had donated some of their profits made off selling Roxy’s Sexy Team/ninjas stuff and bought our room some AMAZING sofas, and desks.

I was quite proud of my cousins. It was really nice of them!

Although I didn’t really like the way they were making the money. I had yet to see a stall-in-action, but I was quite looking forward to it. In a way I wouldn’t tell them for the world, because I was new-Roxanne and reformed, RIGHT? And, I mean, – WHAT THE HELL IS THAT POSTER OF DOM DOING HERE?

I must have looked quite mad to Alex, as I huffed and shook and clenched my fists, and frowned and smiled around the room. Really, it wasn’t looking quite as drastic now.

And now, this brought us to my dorm. The scary wonder. Huh.

 

Silently, I climbed the many long, spiral staircase up to the fifth-years’ dorm. Just the four of us were in there, but I hoped that somehow, Harriet had kept us organised. Standing before the old oak door, though, the possibility seemed rather small.

Still, I walked on in, holding my breath: ready for the third freaky surprise of the day. And collapsed.

… that would make the dorm the fourth freaky incident, when I came around.

Chapter 6: Regrettable Actions (AKA The Result of My Temper)
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Chapter 7: First Day Back
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Chapter 8: Fights
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Chapter 9: Ice
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Chapter 10: Releasing (Out of it)
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Why did it always come back to the hospital wing?

Because here I was, once again. ARGH.

I felt thoroughly displeased but not particularly aggressive about the fact that I was here, facing those high stone arches, once again. Once again, lying on my back waiting for the go-ahead to leave (which Madame Beauvoir had said would be this evening). Once again, just waiting for the bandages and potions to work their four-hour way through my bloodstream so that I would just have a large scar.

It wouldn’t be as large as the wound itself. But pretty impressive, which was what I had hoped for. If, you know, I had to have the wound at all. Which I didn’t really want, but… anyway, you get what I mean.

I was feeling pretty neutral, to be honest. This in itself was surprising, because when I wasn’t feeling extremely angry/happy/sad/nervous, I was probably under the influence of some greater factor, like food, or in this case, medicine.

I was (mutely) enjoying just lying there in warm whiteness. It was nice… until, of course, some pig decided to put their foot right in MY mess.

“Oh, look what the cat dragged in,” came from a bed across from me, in a very sarky and bored voice. Raising my head slightly, and frowning, I saw the ever-lovely Clarisse Walker.

Now, I have to admit that if you didn’t know Clarisse, you might think she was a perfectly lovely person, with her long brown hair that was always perfectly straight down her back, her pink smile and her flawless honey complexion.

Of course, she was even MORE lovely when you knew her. She was the head Spy on the blue baboons’ team (as my delightful cousins had nicknamed it), and was the most bitchy girl in school. She held the most and wildest parties, had the most boyfriends, got the most drunk and was the most ‘easy’ girl (as credited by James). Yes, who didn’t love Clarisse?

But right now, I felt too drowsy and weighed down by my body to make a cutting remark, tempting as it was. I shouldn’t have been so wasteful about this wonderful opportunity to poke fun at her without getting detention… but instead I grunted and sank beneath the covers, pulling my head under too.

I just lay for ages in the pearly warmth, slowly pulling my legs up more and then tucking my head in so that I was in a loose ball, curled up like a teeny hibernating hedgehog.

Aaw, I love hedgehogs… they’re so cute and tiny!

But with all Clarisse’s sighs (which I could hear), shuffling around (which I could also hear) and her eye-rolls (which I could physically feel… that is how good she has actually got at them), it was not very restful.

So, I did what any normal witch would do in the circumstances. I summoned my wPod and plugged myself in.

I suppose I should explain the wPods… well, when the muggle iPods were being sold at Dad’s shop, they sold pretty well, but we often had complaints when someone tried to change them even a tiny bit by magic, and they exploded or something stupid.

Therefore, Aunt Hermione had the brilliant idea of creating wPods – iPods that you bought music on and played music on and stuff, but that were magic compatible. They even had a wTunes where you could buy all the latest Weird Sisters and The Moon Destiny stuff on it.

Needless to say, they sold pretty well. Okay, they were a MASSIVE hit. Because after all, all teens, magical or not, love to listen to music, and here was an answer for all of us now!

Actually, Aunt Hermione made the very first one for Teddy for when he went on the Hogwarts Express for the very first time. With it, he became very popular pretty quick (although that was not Aunt Hermione’s original aim), and the rest is history.

We all got our own from her when we reached eleven, in different colours for each of us. Nobody had the same colours, and somehow each set fit the owner perfectly. Like, mine was red and brown and pink. Fred’s was red and purple and gold. You get the idea.

So ANYWAY, I just hit the first thing my finger landed on. I had no idea what I had last listened to, and now it came again…

It was something fairly boring. I sighed and switched to the next song, and then sat, bobbing my head up and down, ignoring Clarisse's withering looks from across the room.

Eventually, I was just lying there with my eyes closed and all absorbed in the music, when someone came up to the bed and jumped on it, making me half-fall out.

"Oof! Oh my gosh... OI! Help me up here!" I tried to frag myself back up, but Dan just laughed away beside my bed.

"Get your feet OFF my clean bed, you arse!" I cried, only half-indignant. As I may have mentioned the last time I was in the hospital wing, I had to SLEEP under that thing. Not him - ME. And I wasn't a great fan of sleeping amongst mud, thanks very much.

Dan smiled, and said, "I've come to lighten up your boring day."

"What, by going?"

"Yeah, right. I light up a room just walking into it!" I grinned at him.

"So what did you have in mind?" I asked idly, wondering if this involved my fists again. That plan hadn't ended so well, after all.

"Your wPod. We're going to have a pretend talent show!"

At first, I was kind of apprehensive. A talent show? A pretend one? How was it going to work?

But an hour later, I couldn't stop laughing at Dan's impression of a unicyclist, and he knocked over the bed by falling off it when I did a very good impression of a bad singer on the muggle show "The X Factor". I am amazing at that kind of bad-singer impression, because I don't have to try for it! (Nobody ever said the Potters and Weasleys had good voices... there is reason that Professor Binns never mentions any facts that Uncle Harry serenaded Aunt Ginny at some point).

Clarisse was insisting on being huffy and sighing loudly, but I couldn't care less. Dan was a really great friend to come and help me like this.

Eventually, I collapsed in a belly-laughing heap on the bed, the covers thrown about, as the final jazzy chords of our most recent 'talent acts' background music went up and the happy guitar faded. What a good time we'd had… I felt so warm and fuzzy! How cheesy - I'd have to get angry over something stupid tomorrow.

Dan smiled down at me, as he had collapsed on top of me, me on my side, him at right angles across me on his front.

We just couldn’t stop laughing and giggling for the sheer beauty of life. I'd had such a good time when he'd done almost nothing.

How did he do it?

 

 

 

Chapter 11: Sociable
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Chapter 12: Normal (or not)
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Chapter 13: Superwoman!
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Chapter 14: Organising Secret Plans
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Chapter 15: Now Panic and Freak Out
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