Bill had made it up to the first floor with his Mum and separated to start searching the rooms. Bill went into the bathroom first, checking behind the shower curtain and even in the thin cupboard that sat beside the sink. Sophia was known to be rather short, who knows how small of a ball she can curl herself into. When he obviously didn't find her, Bill went into the next room without actually realizing whose it was. He opened the door and looked around for a minute, before zeroing in on the girl who was sitting up right on the furthest bed with her back facing him. He let out the deepest sigh of reliefs and turned over his shoulder to call out to the rest of his family.

"I found her! She's in here!" he called. Molly put a hand to her chest in relief as she pulled herself out of the storage cupboard and walked over to the window that was in the hallway. She pulled it open and stuck her head to cry out to George, seeing him smack bang in the middle of the field almost being swallowed by the long grass.

Bill shook his head with an amused expression at the whole situation before turning back to look into the bedroom, only to see the girl gone from her spot on the bed. He panicked for a moment at the thought of losing sight of Sophia for the second time, only to catch her again sitting in the corner under the windowsill. She sat on the floor with her arms hugging her knees tightly to her chest and burying her face into her kneecaps. She had curled herself into a frail looking ball making Bill raise a wary eyebrow at her shaking form. George, Charlie and Molly all arrived behind the man and looked into the bedroom to see Sophia in the corner.

"Oh thank Merlin she's alright," Molly sighed and took a step into the room.

"Um I wouldn't be so sure of that..." Charlie added at the sight of ball form she took. Molly seemed to ignore her son and continued on her way into the room, displaying her usual motherly smile. She weaved around the twin beds and made her way towards the corner, holding her arms out in a way someone would when going in for a hug.

"How did she even get all the way up here?" George questioned quietly, eyeing the corner with a concerned look.

"Gave us a fright you did Sophia," Molly said softly and got within two metres of her, only to have Sophia's head shoot up at the speed of light.

"D-Don't come near me!" she stuttered, her voice sounding raw and crackly. The Weasley mother stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Sophia's blood-shot eyes and red nose, tears leaking down her bandaged face. Sophia sniffled and jerked her head like a robot round to the door, seeing the three redheaded men standing there astounded. She quivered at the sight of people being in the room and eyed the woman who approached her so hastily and warmly.

"Sophia... dear, it's okay," Molly attempted, and not daring to take a step closer. The girl was starting to shake like a leaf, shoulders rising and falling from her heavy and frantic breathing. "You're safe. You're at The Burrow dear."

"T-The... The Burrow," Sophia repeated as her eyes blinked repeatedly for a moment. Her voice then lowered into barely a whisper as she clutched her knees even tighter to herself. "I-I know the Burrow..."

"Yes, yes you do," Molly nodded along encouraging, offering a hesitant yet warm smile. "And you really should be in bed. You could hurt yourself more-"

"You're Molly," Sophia cut the woman off without stuttering this time, yet the Weasley didn't mind.

"Yes, I am Molly," she beamed down at the girl, happy at the recognition. "Molly Weasley, you remember dear?"

"Weasley..." Sophia repeated again but then went quiet, staring down at the floor wooden floor below her feet. Molly looked up to her sons standing at the doorway, all exchanging a very similar look. When nothing else was done, Molly started to take a few small steps towards the corner. This made Sophia shoot her head up again and try to shrink further into the wall, shuffling her feet away with some sobs leaving her mouth. It was heart breaking to hear the terrifying sobs come from the once so happy and vibrant girl. She looked like a frightened child, looking so small and afraid of something that seemed barely familiar to her.

"You found her?!" Fred's voice rang from the hall, making the brothers turn their heads to see the boy running down the stairs. His face showed he was relieved as well as excited to hear that Sophia was found; not noticing the guarded looks the boys in the doorway wore. "The ghoul in the loft decided to sit on the door latch and not let me out."

As soon as he got to the doorway, he saw the small ball in the corner and his mother standing a few steps away with an almost pleading look. Fred's face dropped at the sight of the hunched shoulders of Sophia sobbing into her knees, forcing himself through to stand at the front of his siblings. Molly turned her head to Fred for a moment and relaxed slightly.

"Fred , maybe you should be the one to speak to her..." Molly suggested quietly, retreating back around the twin beds in order for Fred to take her place. At the sound of his name, red teary eyes peered out from over Sophia's arm and caught sight of the Weasley twin. Fred gulped dryly and made slow steps round towards the corner, glancing back at his family every so often to see reassuring and encouraging looks from his mother especially. He stopped at approximately the same spot Molly had and crouched down to his knees, Sophia's eyes following him all the way down with wet droplets sticking to her eyelashes.

"Sophia..." he started but then wasn't sure what to say. The way she gazed at him made him think he wasn't real. She looked at him as if she didn't believe he was really in front of her, blinking only when she thought he wasn't noticing. Fred thought that she might just be in shock; having so many people come into the room at once with Bill yelling through the house also probably didn't help.

"You're Fred," she spoke with a much more firm voice than before. "I know you are..."

"That's right, I'm Fred."

For the first time, Sophia lowered her arms from in front of her face and let her legs fall. They straightened out in front of her to reveal her ripped and dirty clothes, letting out one more sniffle that echoed lonesome throughout the room. She then surprised everyone by getting to her feet with shaky legs, making Fred straighten up just as fast with his arms out in front of him.

"J-Just be careful love, you shouldn't really be-"

He was cut off by the thin arms that wrapped around his middle and the face that buried itself into his brown suit jacket. Sophia clung to him as if he was a life source, shaking while hugging his middle with all the strength she had left. Fred looked over to the Weasleys' in the doorway with a surprised look but still wrapped his arms around her back and shoulders, cradling the back of her head as if it would break at the slightest touch. Even though she was clearly confused and terrified, Fred indulged in the feeling of finally being able to hold his girlfriend again. He rested his cheek against her messy short cut hair, swaying slightly to give her some sort of comfort.

"You're here... you're really Fred..." she whispered to herself with a small crack wavering her voice. Fred's heart broke at the reassurance that Sophia needed to give herself, making him wonder with even more disgust at what was really done to her. As if the sight of her broken body wasn't enough, the way she looked at all of them made her seem like a complete stranger.

"I'll alert the Order that she's awake," Fred heard Molly say from the door, seeing her begin to make her way out of the room to find her wand to send out the Patronus.

"No!" he called out, Sophia jumping right out his hold and backing away. He turned his head back to her to see her eyes wide and terrified once again, clamping her hands together against her chest in an attempt to maybe appear smaller. He had scared her without even thinking, making him feel awful for his thoughtlessness. "No no I'm sorry Soph, I didn't mean to scare you."

"We need to tell the Order Freddie," Molly insisted as she turned back to look at him.

"She's scared! Imagine what she's going to be like with a bunch of people coming into the house at once," Fred gestured towards Sophia who was starting to shrink back into the corner she was once in. "J-Just wait a bit, please."

Molly still looked unsure but listened to him anyway. She looked between him and Sophia who was being encouraged to come back out of the corner by his beckoning, offering her a small lop-sided smile. Sophia looked hesitant to but let herself be pulled back into Fred's arms and bury herself into his front. Her legs wobbled and shook from having to stand for longer than they physically good, eventually making Fred keep her up with a hand around her waist.

"Why didn't we look in here first?" Charlie whispered to his brothers. "Who else's room would she go to?"

"I'm actually a little offended she didn't go to my bed first," George retorted making the two oldest boys' roll their eyes.

"That's because you're not Freddie."

"I'm as good as!"

---

Fred had been able to get Sophia back down to Charlie and Bill's room by carrying her bride-style. He tried his very best to ignore how thin, bony and light she felt against him. She also curled her fist into his jacket with so much grip that he could have compared her to one of those koala bears that he read about in Muggle Studies once. He had even got as far as putting her on the bed she once lay in until he said he would be right back with some water and food for her, to which she immediately jumped back up again on to her wobbly legs.

"D-Don't leave me in here! Please don't leave me Freddie! Please please-"

"Okay love okay!" he stopped her frantic pleading, watching as her eyes began to water and physically quiver in fear. "I won't leave you, but you need to lie down."

Sophia shakily sat back down with Fred's soft guidance with him picking up her bandaged legs, gently sliding them under the covers and pushing her shoulders down to have her lay flat. He covered her body with the duvet and tucked them under her chin, noticing how her eyes didn't leave his face once. Sophia's bloodshot eyes stared at the side of his face with a constant fear that he will disappear in midair, just like all the other hallucinations did. But she was able to touch him. He spoke back to her like he was really there. Where she was right now was real. Fred was real.

"You're here..." she repeated again as Fred sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah I'm here love," Fred nodded along, gazing at her bruised and tear-stained face with sad and dark eyes. "You're safe."

"Safe..." she repeated absently, turning away from Fred and looking at the ceiling above her with now distant eyes.