I had been at Grimmauld Place for four days and the only time I left my room was to shower. I spent most of my time staring at my wall and pretending to be asleep whenever someone would check up on me or bring me food. It wasn't like I didn't want to see anyone, I just didn't have the energy to. I was emotionally and mentally exhausted. The first day I had spent trying to convince myself that this was all a dream. The next day I spent being mad at Marlene McKinnon. The day after that I spent crying for my mom and how I would never see her again. Now, on my fourth day, I spent most of my time feeling sorry for myself and I hated me for it. I knew I wasn't being fair to Tonks or Remus or especially... Sirius.

I felt my throat get dry and I looked out my window. It was dark and quiet outside. If I had to guess, it was probably early morning. I sighed and pushed myself off of the bed. I tip-toed across the room and quietly pulled my door open. The hallway was pitch black. I strained my ears to try to find any kind of noise that someone was awake. Once I was satisfied that there wasn't, I slowly made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen to find a glass. I almost fell down the stairs a couple times in the dark but I was able to catch myself. I walked into the kitchen and opened a few cabinets, looking for a cup.

"Cups are in the cabinet to the left of the sink." I let out a little scream, jumping. I spun around, placing my hand on my chest, my heart racing. At the table sat Sirius. He was half in the shadows. If he hadn't spoke up, I probably would have missed him all together. He looked awful, like he hadn't slept in a few days. I tried to swallow down the guilt.

"Um... thanks." I muttered. I turned and opened the cabinet he said and saw it full of cups. I grabbed one and quickly filled it up. I took a long drink before filling it up again. I was about to leave the room when I hesitated. I looked between Sirius and the door before sighing and making my way to the bench at the table. We sat there quietly, avoiding each other's eyes. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I glanced up at him. He was staring at his hands.

"Wha-"I shook my head and swallowed the lump in my throat. "What was she like? My mother, I mean." Sirius's head shot up and he looked at me for a long moment.

"She was amazing. She was wild and funny and always down for an adventure. She could make anyone smile, no matter how sad they were. She was beautiful. I don't mean in just looks, though she had that too. She cared about people. She was the kind of person that felt so deeply. She was the kind of person that always brought out the best in people." I watched as a smile played on his lips while he talked. I laid my head down on my arms and listened to his stories, occasionally asking questions. He told me about how they first met at the Gryffindor table during the feast after the sorting ceremony during their 1st year. He told me about how all through 4th year, he tried relentlessly to get her to notice him but she was too caught up liking a 6th year Hufflepuff to pay him any attention. He told me about the amazing chaser she was and that she had once made 11 goals on her own during a game. By the time Tonks and Remus found us in the morning, we were laughing and swapping stories.

After helping Remus with breakfast (apparently he was the only one who could cook), I went upstairs to get ready for the day. While we sat around the table, I was informed that the Weasleys would be arriving later that day and I couldn't have been more excited. The Weasleys were my favorite characters in the books and I couldn't wait to see what they actually were like. After I finished showering and I was dressed I made my way downstairs to find the adults already waiting for me at the bottom.

"Wotcher Andie! Your dad and I did a bit of talking and we think it would be a good idea if we didn't tell the Weasleys about you coming from another universe. We will let Molly and Arthur know the situation, of course, but we think its best if we didn't let the children know." I stared at Tonks. Although the thought had crossed my mind, I wasn't exactly sure I was comfortable with lying to everyone.

"Well how do we explain who I am and why I'm American?"

"We think its best if we tell everyone that when Sirius was sent off to Azkaban, you were sent off to live with some relatives in America. Now that Sirius is back, you've come home to England to spend some time with your father and to go to Hogwarts." Remus jumped in. I nodded carefully. I suppose that that wasn't exactly a lie. I was sent off to live in America and I was here now to live with Sirius, all I had to do was leave out a few details. I thought it all over and suddenly a wave of panic washed over me.

"How am I supposed to go to Hogwarts? I don't know any magic and I don't own a wand! I'm not even sure if I'm a witch?" Sirius chuckled a little at my outburst.

"Of course you're a witch. Remus is going to take you to Diagon Alley to get you a wand after we finished talking to you. As for magic, we've talked everything over with Dumbledore. We are going to teach you the theory while you are here for the summer and then when you get to Hogwarts, Dumbledore has arranged for you to have tutoring sessions with McGonagall. He believes that if you work hard, you should be able to be caught up in no time." I felt excitement bubble in my stomach at his words. I was going to get my own wand! The fan girl in me was screaming. I turned towards Remus.

"Can we go now?" I was practically bouncing. The three of them exchanged a look and laughed.

"I suppose we can." Remus said with a smile.

{ 3 }

We got back after walking around Diagon Alley for a few hours. The second we walked into the door, Sirius was on top of us asking to see my wand, not that I minded. Any chance to take it out was a chance I was going to take. I passed my wand into his outstretched hand and he brought it up to his face to study it.

"This is beautiful Andie! What is it?" He asked excitedly. His joy was contagious and it made me laugh.

"It's 13 ½ inches and made of cypress. The core is phoenix feather!" I took in the details of my wand...again. It was reasonably straight and had an intricate design on the handle. It was a soft brown color. I was absolutely in love with it. Sirius nodded in appreciation and handed my wand back to me. I had just stored it into my pocket when I heard laughter coming from the kitchen. I shot a confused look at Sirius and Remus but they simply smiled and turned to walk into the kitchen. I sighed in frustration before following them. I had barely stepped foot into the kitchen when a loud scream startled me. I jumped and lost my footing, falling ever so gracefully to the ground. Laughter broke out again into the room and I finally took in the new faces crowded around the table. Besides Tonks, Remus, and Sirius, the room was full of freckled faces and red hair. My face instantly lit up in a smile.

"You must be the Weasleys!" The Weasley closest to me laughed loudly and stood to help me off the ground. I accepted his hand gratefully and he pulled me up easily.

"Ahh, you've heard of us." Once I was stable on my own two feet again, I glanced him over. His red hair was cut short and his handsome face looked sort of impish. His deep blue eyes reminded me of the ocean. His face was scattered with freckles, but it wasn't overbearing. He was stocky and I could tell that he had defined muscles underneath his shirt. His arms were muscular as well, but again it wasn't overbearing. My eyes met his and I saw that his mouth was turned up into a smirk. He had seen my obvious ogling. Oops. I fought down a blush and instead kept eye contact with him, raising one eyebrow. He threw his head back with laughter again.

"Like what you see?" Yes.

"I haven't decided yet." I said, trying desperately to play it cool. I flipped my hair for good measure. I glanced around the room and took in the other occupants. There was a lanky red head with a long nose. He looked to be a couple years younger than the boy in front of me. I figured that that must have been Ron. Next to Ron, sat Ginny. She was a very pretty girl with long straight hair. She also had freckles like her brothers but they were less noticeable on her, only splattering across her nose and cheeks. Mrs. Weasley stood behind her daughter. She was a plump woman with a very welcoming disposition. I immediately wanted to go over to her and hug her. My eyes fell upon the boy that was sitting next to the empty seat his brother had just vacated. He, to no surprise, looked identical to his brother. He had a look of amusement on his face as he watched the interaction between myself and his twin.

"Who screamed?" I asked curiously, remembering the events of the last few minutes. Mrs. Weasley smiled sheepishly at me and raised her hand.

"I'm sorry I scared you, dear. It's just that you look so much like your mother! I haven't seen you since the day that you were born. I helped deliver you, you see. I'm afraid that I might have gotten a little over excited."

"You knew my mother?" I asked, my excitement piquing.

"Of course! I was very close to her family. She was a few years younger than me. I babysat her more than a few times." She smiled kindly at me. "I have a lot of stories that I could share with you."

"I would like that very much!" A throat cleared and I was brought back to the room. I saw that her children were all watching me with curious expressions.

"Not to be rude, but who are you exactly? Who was your mother?" The twin next to me asked, studying me closely.

"Oh, I'm Andie Jam- McKinnon. Andie McKinnon. My mother was Marlene McKinnon." I extended my hand out to him and he it grasped in his. I could feel the callouses on his hands and I had to fight down another blush at the nice feeling.

"I'm Fred. That's my brother George, our little brother Ron, and our sister Ginny. Bill and our father are at work but I expect that you will meet them later." He pointed out each family as he named them. "You look to be close to our age. How come we haven't seen you around Hogwarts before? I'm sure I definitely would have noticed you." He winked at me. Sirius cleared his throat menacingly and glared at him. Oh god. He was going to be one of those parents. A couple of the Weasley's noticed and looked at him with interest.

"I was sent to live in America with some relatives after my mother died. I'm going to be attending Hogwarts in the fall though!" I said hastily, trying to distract Sirius.

"Why are you returning now? Not to be rude, but you do realize that there is an evil, psychotic wizard running around England right now?" George asked with a snort.

"Oh really?" I retorted. "I would have never guessed. I thought England was always this dreary. To answer your question, I'm back to live with my father."

"Who's your father? Why didn't you just live with him before?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Well I'm sure I would have but our communication has been a little... barred until recently." I smiled slyly at my pun and Sirius snorted.

"What do you mean?" Fred asked

"It means," Sirius started darkly, "that you just flirted with a convicted murderer's daughter right in front of him." 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

A/N Yay, the Weasley's are finally here! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I was having an easier time writing the rest of the book than I was with this chapter... Hopefully I'm able to get the next chapter out quicker. This is the longest chapter that I've written so far. Also, I'm fully aware that Sirius probably wouldn't brag about being a convicted murderer, especially since he is innocent but if he's trying to intimidate boys who flirt with his daughter, I can totally picture it. It seriously a Sirius thing to do ;-) 

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