She woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. A grey light shined throughout her room. She pulled back the thick quilt that had kept her warm through the night and sat up. The bed creaked beneath her as she moved to place her feet on the ground. Shivers ran up her arms and she missed the warmth of the bed already as she moved across the floor. The closer she came to the door, the more she could hear the commotion downstairs. She glanced over at the clock. 10:32. It wasn't that late.

It had been 2 weeks that she had been staying at The Burrow. When she was younger, she remembered spending time playing with a group of children about her age all with fire-red hair. Her mother would take her here when she had "business" to take care of. Sometimes it would be only for a few hours- others for a matter of days. She was never gone for too long, though, and then they would bid their goodbyes and go home. The sensation of going home still lingered in her mind- the pulling of her nostrils and the nausea to follow. She loathed it now more than ever. But that was years ago. She couldn't remember why they stopped coming here. But now, all she wanted to do was go back home.

She grabbed a robe hanging off of a chair and put some socks on. The door groaned as she opened it slowly, wishing that when it opened it would show a hallway in her home. All she came to see was the wallpaper that seemed to adorn her makeshift bedroom as well. She descended the stairs right into the kitchen. Things were flying around- pots, brushes, silverware- and a short, stocky woman with red curly hair bustled around busily. A man with a hat was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. The picture on the front page showed a man behind a podium giving a speech of sorts. "Fudge Resigns- Who Will Be Next?" the headline screamed. The man turned the page and she looked up to see the woman. She was staring at her with a smile.

"Oh, my dear! Glad to see you're up! I have eggs on the stove if you'd like some," the woman said to her cheerfully. She nodded and moved to sit at the opposite end of the table from the man. He noticed her presence and set the paper down on the table.

"Sleep well?" he asked. She again nodded. She felt rude for her lack of words but had been finding it difficult to use her voice. A plate floated in front of her as well as a fork and knife. She picked up the utensils and poked around at the eggs. Occasionally, she would muster up the ability to bring some of them to her mouth. Every time she did, he had to fight the urge to retch. She swallowed slowly, noticing the eyes upon her. She could tell that the couple was worried about her. She wished they wouldn't fret for it only made her feel more pathetic. She knew she was in an awful state. Her skin felt clammy, heavy bags formed beneath her eyes, all of her movements were sluggish and half-hearted. All she wanted to do was curl into a ball in her bed and rock herself into oblivion. She took one last bite and pushed the plate away from herself.

"Thank you," she whispered. Her vocabulary was limited- thank you, yes please, and no thank you. She was thankful that she was being at least polite yet she still felt so rude. She stood up from the table and walked back upstairs to her room.

The days had been going like that. At first, it was impossible to rouse her from her bed. The next task was her room. Everyday, she was doing a little something more. She started talking last week. She had begun to plateau though. They were still unable to get her to come out of her room for anything other than meals and bathroom trips. A younger girl with the same red hair had come into her room once to give her some shower supplies. She explained them delicately to her as she just stared at the redhead. Everything was lavender scented she remembered her saying. Lavender was supposed to calm people. Relax them. She didn't understand why she wanted to give her something that was supposed to calm or relax her when she was already dead inside.

She sat on her bed and looked at the bottles that the redhead had given her. There was a clear one with shiny purple liquid inside and another black one. A purple bar of soap and a razor lay beside them. It was all so color coordinated that she blushed from embarrassment. It was silly but thoughtful at the same time. White towels sat beside the supplies. She glanced at the clock. 10:59. She hadn't spent much time at breakfast. She stood, undressed, and wrapped one white towel around her. Grabbing a washcloth and the shower supplies, she opened the door and made her way to the bathroom.

She slipped inside and locked the door behind her. Neatly placing the supplies in the shower, she cranked it up to as hot as the shower would allow and stepped inside. At first, she felt like needles were being thrust into her body all at once, but she began to relax as she felt the steam rise around her. She picked up the clear bottle and poured some of its contents into her hand. She eyed it curiously as she began to rub it between her hands and it foamed. She then worked it into her hair. Her hands began to move furiously against her scalp. She began to felt refreshed as the grime and dirt became washed away in the shampoo and water. She rinsed. The intense aroma flooded her nose. Lavender. She felt better. Better than she had in days. Warmth filled her as she continued her bathing. She used the liquid in the black bottle- conditioner- to work out the knots that had tangled in her hair. The bar of soap came next. She cleaned her skin and shaved away the hair that had grown on her legs and underarms. The sweet smell of lavender consumed her. She rinsed again and turned the water off. She toweled herself dry and moved in front of the foggy mirror. She took one end of the towel and placed it on the mirror. Moving it back and forth, she came face-to-face with herself for the first time in 2 weeks. Her light brown hair looked disheveled and wet. Her eyebrows were fuzzy and needed plucking. Grey-blue eyes stared back at her emptily. They lacked any emotion or feeling and harbored hostility, fear, and loneliness. Dark circles had formed beneath them. Her complexion was pale and dull. She now understood why the redheaded family had been worrying about her. She looked so lifeless.

She searched a cabinet and found a small wooden comb. She pulled it through her hair, taming the tangles that were everywhere. Finally done, she dried it again with the towel. Finding a small band, she braided her hair neatly to the side. She wrapped the towel around her body and opened the door. She looked to her right then stepped out of the bathroom. Suddenly, something collided into her and she lost her balance and fell over. She yelped from surprise, as did whatever ran into her. She looked up to see a boy with bright red hair. He looked to be her age, freckles scattered about his face. Even from the ground, she could tell he was tall and gangling. He blushed bright red and she did as well. She quickly recovered herself and double-checked to make sure her towel hadn't slipped at all. It had been a close one, but she didn't flash him. She was thankful and stood up quickly. He stood up as well, still blushing, and muttered a quiet apology. He took off in the direction he had been going originally. She stood there, slightly shocked but grateful. She reached up to touch one of her cheeks. She was still blushing, her hand being warmed by the blood that flowed through her face. She gave a small smile, feeling more alive than she had in days. The encounter surprised her. In any other time of her life, she would have been moderately annoyed but for now, she was assured that she was still alive. She had been embarrassed and felt it. Her body had responded. She was alive. She still hurt, but she was alive.

For the first time, she decided to go down to the family dinner. When she arrived, everyone was already seated. Four redheads looked up from the table to watch her descend the final few steps while their parents seemed oblivious. The older woman was scurrying around the stove still making the food and the man had another newspaper up to his face. When the woman turned around and saw her, she jumped slightly then a wide smile spread across her face. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she moved to pull a chair out.

"Oo! I'm so glad you came to join us dearie! Come, come; sit here right next to Ginny!" she squealed.

She looked to see the redheaded girl that had given her the shower supplies. Ginny. She would have to thank her later for the lavender scented gifts. She moved to sit beside her quietly. Much like at other meals she had been served in The Burrow, a plate, knife, and fork floated in front of her. She became suddenly aware of the smell of food. Pork chops, potatoes of some sort, and a fresh bread. Her mouth began to salivate from the aromas. A flying skillet came to her left revealing the pork chops. She gingerly took one and plopped it on her plate. Mashed potatoes with a gravy came by later followed by rolls. She took a little bit of everything. Although she wasn't able to eat all of it, the urge to retch wasn't as powerful. Her stomach was much more tolerant now. Once she had felt that she couldn't eat anymore, she sipped on her water.

It wasn't until then that she noticed the conversation being held. Two of the redheaded boys that looked exactly identical were deep in discussion with the older man. The boy she had run into earlier was also partaking. Ginny, the girl, was reading a book, seemingly ignoring the conversation as much as she had been. The two identical boys were animatedly describing some small device in one of their hands. They were exchanging the thing back and forth.

"With this, we'll make a fortune!" one exclaimed. His arms waved around frantically as they shoved the thing in front of the man's face.

"Right you are! It's genius, kids everywhere will be beggin' their mums and dads for some."

"But Fred, don't you think that the parents would want their children to go to class rather than taking a candy to make them sick and skip?" the older man asked.

"But dad, you're not seeing the appeal that children-"

The redhead on the right stopped short when he knocked his glass of water over. The boy she had run into earlier jumped back as to prevent any liquid getting on himself. After a slight pause, the redhead on the left smacked the one on the right behind his head.

"Oww, George! What was that for?" the one of the right whined.

"For being a bloody idiot, that's why! Clumsy twin-"

"Now, don't go on saying anything about me being the clumsy one-!"

"But you are! You obviously don't carry the same dignified grace as I do!"

The one on the right scoffed. Seeing the mess of the water on the table- she didn't even think twice. She raised her right and the spill had lifted itself from the table. She gently moved her hand to her left where the sink stood. As if by magic, the water followed her hand movements and flowed into the sink. Any sign of a mess made was completely gone now. When she directed her attention back to the table, she didn't realize that all sets of eyes were upon her. The younger ones at the table gawked at her while the older couple looked at her with knowing surprise. Her cheeks burned as she realized what she had just done.

"Did you- did you just do wandless magic?" the boy she had run into earlier asked incredulously. All eyes were upon her awaiting an answer.

"I-" she stuttered, "I- I should go now." She quickly pushed herself away from the table and ran for the stairs. Once she reached her room, she slammed the door shut and got into her bed. She hid beneath the covers, wishing to hide away from everyone; wishing that when she opened her eyes from sleep, this horrible nightmare would be over and she would be safe in her home.

So, there's the first chapter! I hope to see that some people like the changes I made to the story. If not, please give me your critique! Also, on the prowl for a beta. Message me if interested!

~fortheconfusion