"Alright then," Molly appeared in front of Sophia and Fred with Arthur close behind. "This is it then. Your first time out of the barrier!"

"It's not like it's her first day of school Mum," Fred rolled his eyes at the sight of the woman even getting teary eyed.

"Oh don't be silly Frederick," Molly sniffled, pulling a handkerchief out of her apron. "I'm just proud, that's all. Going out into the real world can be terrifying!"

"I appreciate everything you've done for me Molly," Sophia softly smiled and the woman threw her short arms around her, unable to hold back the sobbing she did into Sophia's shoulder.

"Oh dear you've grown so much!" Molly cried and continued to pull the girl down to her short height. "It seems like it was just yesterday, I was giving you a haircut!"

Fred covered his face with his hands at the embarrassment his mother was radiating. She had been like this when they had all gotten their Hogwarts letters. Right from when Bill got his to when Ginny got hers. The woman was the most emotional person he had ever met. He watched as Sophia awkwardly rubbed Molly's back with a look on her face that pleaded for help from either him or Arthur. Sophia tried to comfort the woman by saying about how appreciative she was and that she'll be able to do some things on her own now, which only made Molly sob harder.

"Alright dear, let's let them head off," Arthur intervened cautiously as he pulled Molly off of Sophia by her shoulders. She tried to make it look like she wasn't bothered by being set free from the Weasley's clutches but inside, she was relieved from being smuggled by her slightly chubby figure and the hunched over posture she was forced to have. She tried to shuffle unnoticed towards Fred who had just finished blushing from the embarrassment of his own mother.

"Well, you know the rules," Arthur continued with his arm placed comfortingly around the woman who was finishing up her sniffles. "Only to the shop Fred. Then bring her straight back at five with NO detours."

"Yeah yeah I know," Fred nodded with a small roll of his eyes. He then grabbed hold of Sophia's hand and started to quickly rush towards the front door to avoid another smothering from Molly. "Bye Mum! Bye Dad!".

At the sound of Fred's calling, George perked up from his slouched position just before the start of the fields. He turned around and saw Fred rushing down the porch steps with Sophia excitedly following with her hand entwined with his. George caught the hasty look on Fred's face and knew to start walking, hearing his mother's voice calling after them from the front door.

"And stay away from that Lee Jordan Sophia! He'll trick you into thinking HE was your boyfriend all along!"

"God she's a menace," Fred sighed as they had gotten far enough from The Burrow and descended into a slow casual walk. His cheeks were still slightly inflamed from his mother's pampering, which made him feel stupid as he was technically a grown man. He had never seen Bill or Charlie blush at all since they had left the family home.

"She's sweet though. I don't know what I'd do without her," Sophia added and smiled at the time she has spent with Molly. She had treated her like her own child ever since she had set foot into The Burrow. She never failed to change her bandages or make her a meal, making Sophia feel eternally bound and grateful to the woman. Maybe to the whole Weasely family in general. It made it feel like she had spent more time with the Weasleys' than she had with her own father. He hadn't been entirely present when she had needed him the most, leaving her to turn to the Weasleys' first and finding the comfort and home she needed.

"I don't know what we'd do without her actually," George piped up. "She washes all our clothes still. And our cooking's trash compared to hers. Oh and just to be clear Sophia, I am NOT interested in you. I swear on my life that I would never-"

"Geez George calm down," Sophia laughed. "I know you're not. I never even thought you were. You're not even my type."

"That's a relief," George sighed and wiped the invisible sweat from him forehead, but then stopped and looked back down at her with an offended look. "I'm not your type? What do you mean by that? What is your type?"

"E-Er I don't know?" Sophia muttered uncomfortably. "Um Fred maybe?"

"Oh so Fred's your type? We're basically the same person!" George sobbed dramatically.

"Don't take it that hard Georgie," Fred shrugged and sent him a smug grin. "I was always the better looking twin."

After a whole lot more teasing from both brothers, the three eventually reached the small picket fence that signified the end of the barrier. Sophia suddenly felt nervous to leave the safety that she had been cocooned in for months now. She hadn't taken any consideration into the things that could lay outside the enchantments that were powerful enough to keep even You Know Who out. She would now be in full eye of the public even if it was just for a mere few seconds. Sophia unconsciously stopped walking and took a step back from the fence, catching the attention of the twins who looked back curiously.

"You okay love?" Fred questioned at her hesitance.

"Yeah... I'm fine," she ensured herself more than anything.

"It's okay to have second thoughts," George offered and pushed open the fence, stepping out of the barrier himself. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No I want to," Sophia nodded again and took a deep breath, following after George with her head held high. She had unconsciously shut her eyes and held her breath, expecting to feel some sort of sensation when breaking through the enchantments that had become her life. But she felt nothing except the fresh air that she usually associated with The Burrow. She peaked through her eyelashes only to see Fred and George looking at her with identical comforting smiles, the wind making their flaming hair sway in the same direction.

"I made it..." she mumbled with eyes roaming the field that continued even after the fence.

"You did," the twins said together before lifting up their wands. "Shall we?"

Sophia squeezed at Fred's hand and tried to hold back the excitement that had now overpowered her nervousness. She felt the warm sensation in her stomach when she looked into Fred's brown eyes and smiled bashfully at him, letting him know that it was safe to apparate. He exchanged a quick glance with George before they both flicked their wands subtly, disappearing from the sight of The Burrow.

Their feet touched the pebbled ground of Diagon Alley and Sophia had only caught a glimpse of the almost unrecognisable street. George had rushed forward immediately and unlocked the front door of Weasley Wizard Wheezes with a non-verbal spell. Fred had then taken hold of Sophia's biceps from behind and ushered her into the shop before she could even take a full look around. But what she had seen was something that she definitely didn't remember about Diagon Alley. No bustling witches and wizards were exploring through the Wizarding shops. In fact, there weren't any Wizarding shops. Labels of shops had been taken down and windows were boarded up. It wasn't magical anymore and was a sort of hit from reality. And the reality was, that things were changing and the threat of being revolutionised for the worst was approaching.

The place she had just been pulled into however, was the complete opposite. Fred had pointed his wand at the lights that were spread out across the shop, allowing Sophia to see what she had heard about for months now. Her jaw dropped as the sight of the orange walls and colourful products that lined in layers on the shelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling. The room seemed to come alive wherever she looked, feeling like she could stare for hours at the labels and stacks upon stacks of colourful boxes.

"Wow..." was all she could say, making the two chuckle while slipping their wands back into their suit jackets. It had been an anxious rush to get Sophia into the shop before anyone could walk down the street and spot her, but they breathed a sigh of relief once they were inside the walls of their sanctuary.

"We're gonna open in an hour so we'll give you a brief tour now," Fred explained and immediately started to guide her around the many compartments. "We'll then get a hair from someone to finish your potion so you can walk around freely-"

"Wait what?!" Sophia stopped and stared up at Fred with wide eyes. "What potion?!"

Fred and George exchanged a look that only each other could read before turning back to her with cheeky grins. They had been practically bursting to let out their plans to Sophia beforehand but knew it would be safer to do it while in their own shop.

"We've been making you a Polyjuice Potion," George announced with a prideful look. "Snape would be delighted with us if he knew how good we were at Potions now."

"You're both mad!" Sophia shook her head, absolutely befuddled. She couldn't believe how naïve the twins were being. Had they thought about this in detail at all? Have they even considered how she would feel being around people she hadn't met before?

"You want me, someone who has been in hiding for months now, to walk around a crowded shop of people that I don't know?!" she shouted. "Do you know that the Ministry are still on the lookout for me?!"

"Love, we're standing right here. You don't have to yell," Fred attempted, taking a wary step back to where George had shrunk back to. "We've considered everything. No one will be able to recognise you if you just take the potion every hour-"

"What if someone who knows the person I'm seen as recognises me?!" Sophia cut him off. Fred looked as if he was thinking for a moment and exchanged yet another with George, who wore a very similar expression.

"Oh... erm...." they said simultaneously. The two looked stumped by the question and Sophia groaned aloud with a hand across her forehead. Not only was she worried that someone would know she was the person who had been missing all this time, but she was terrified to be around people who she didn't know were safe or maybe even Death Eaters in disguise. Yes, she had become much more accepting and not so terrified of everyone she met. But there was something in her brain that second guessed everyone that wasn't part of the Weasley family or trusted completely by the Order. She still hadn't even dared to look at Albus Dumbledore after his interrogation that had ended with her in tears for the countless time.

"Does Molly know you two are doing this?" she sighed and peaked up at their expressions through her fingers.

"Merlin no", George nearly laughed but stopped when Sophia's glared harshly at him. "She'd have our heads if she knew we were doing this. And that's why you are going to become Secret Keeper."

"George, I know you think you're helping but you're not," Fred hissed over his shoulder and made the younger twin seal his mouth shut. Fred sighed at this and turned back to Sophia with shifting eyes. "I know it sounds risky but we've got it all-well most of it down packed! Just look at what Barty Crouch Jr. did a few years ago! The man had us all fooled!"

"Are you really taking inspiration from the Death Eater who threw me in a chest?" Sophia hoped he was joking but knew he wasn't when he visibly cringed at her words.

"I hoped you wouldn't remember that bit..." he quietly murmured.

"Nice one Freddie."

"Shut up George."

Sophia groaned again and shrunk to sit on the box of goods that had been left unopened next to her. She leaned her head back against the shelf behind her and breathed out a sigh of defeat. She did want to experience the shop while it was in its element. She would love to see the excited children running around and playing tricks on their friends with the boys' products, and she definitely wanted to see how happy Fred and George looked while seeing their ideas come to life. But her own social and physical incapabilities put too much doubt in her mind to go through with the barbaric idea.

"Soph, listen-" Fred appeared in her vision as he crouched down in front of her, taking hold of her hand just to be that extra bit affectionate. "-All we wanted was for you to have that bit of freedom that I know you've been wanting for ages now. Unfortunately you have to be unrecognisable but at least you can see what it's like here. I've wanted to show you ever since we opened and now that I can, I really want you to see it. I promise I won't let anything happen to you that shouldn't-"

"And might I just add that Polyjuice Potion takes a month to make so please don't throw all of MY, that's right, MY hard work-"

"George."

"Ugh, I'm just saying," George walked away up to what Sophia presumed was the upstairs flat and shut the door with a dramatic bang. Fred resisted the urge to chuck a hex through the ceiling to where he knew his brother would be standing but refrained, turning back to Sophia with a pleading yet understanding look.

"I understand if you really really really don't want to do it, but then again, I don't understand why you would want to offend me so much," Fred joked with a grin creeping on to his face. "So love, do you really want to offend me?"

"You're the worse."

"I know."