Sunshine

Chapter I-Sunrise

    Hot black smoke bellowed into the star sparkled night sky from the old house as neighbors scurried to investigate. Wizards had wands out trying to extinguish the fire that was blazing as they waited for help to arrive. Bobby knew how the fire started.
    A thirteen year old girl sat in the middle of the road holding onto her black German Shepherd puppy Ophillia and her Ragdoll kitten Juliet. She and her companions were covered in soot and she struggled to get the clean air into her burning lungs. She couldn't see her parents and was beginning to worry but an old lady sat next to her and rubbed her back. "It's alright dear..." she whispered in a shaky voice.
    Dawn began to cry at the realization of her situation. How could my parents not have used their magic to get them out of the house like I did? She thought as she croaked on black smoke remnants and burning tears.
    She sat there like that for what felt like hours as the fire was smoldered out and emergency services began cleaning up. Soon an older gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a handlebar mustache approached Dawn and looked down at the sniffling girl. Her icy blue eyes held an empty gaze as straggling tears cascaded down her pale cheeks. Her long, curly white hair was smudged black along with her blue night dress. "I'm here to take you to your new home." The man almost whispered as if he felt her might break the small girl with just the sound of his words alone.
    "Where? I don't have any other family..." The girls voice was hoarse and broken from the smoke and crying. It caused a pit to form in the man's stomach as he saw just how broken this little girl was.
    "We pulled the copy of your parent's final will and testament and they listed trusted guardians for you." At this the girls glassy glazed over eyes widened and she looked up at the man as he slowly extended a hand to help her up. Dawn took the man's hand and with a snap they were gone and it was once again silent as the sun began to drag itself over the horizon.

☀️

    With a snap Dawn and the man whose name she learned to be Mr. Dawson appeared in a field. In the distance a lopsided, dilapidated house in the Devon countryside stood. It had a red roof, wonky chimney stacks, and a garden full of gnomes, chickens, and Wellington boots. The house seemed to only be standing by magic and has seven floors, with add-ons built from architectural salvage. Dawn knew the burrow well as she'd spent much time there as a child. She remembered playing with the several children as their parents talked and sipped tea.
Memories arose one after another of the twins Fred and George playing pranks on their younger brother Ron and their older brothers Charlie, Bill, and Percy. Dawn had really looked up to Charlie and they spent hours looking at books on dragons and imagining what it would feel like to ride such a beast. Afternoons spent next to the fireplace as Ron tried to teach her how to play chess and exploding snaps as a quiet Ginny sat playing with a child's broom that only hovered a few inches off of the ground.
Now here Dawn was, an orphan. All those memories with her mother and father would always be brought up as past tense, no more big plans and things to be excited about with them, no more goodnight or good morning. No more hugs or kisses. No more chuckling at her father's jokes as her mother scolded the two. No more hiding shopping from her father with her mother on their special outings. Nothing. All the memories of her parents she had was all she was ever going to have.
Dawn was snapped from her thoughts as Mr. Dawson guided her to the door of the burrow. He knocked sharply before giving Dawn a reassuring smile causing his mustache to seemingly curl more than it already was. Before she could take in any more of the man the door creaked open and there stood Mr. Weasley in a green robe looking sleepy. "Hello..." He began cheerfully until he noticed Dawn and the state she was in.
"Mr. Weasley, I suggest you call for your wife for this conversation." Mr. Dawson said grimly.
As they sat in the mismatched chairs and sofa Dawn curled up with her dog and kitten as Mr. Dawson explained the tragic circumstances. Dawn couldn't hear what they were saying because she'd sunk so deep into her own mind being tormented with flashing images of her family doing mundane things such as eating breakfast, taking a walk, cleaning the dishes, and all of the things she'd never be able to do with her family again. She hadn't even noticed the seven Weasley children looking over the stair banister or their mom calling them down and breaking the news. It wasn't until Ginny approached Dawn and gave her a hug did she finally come back to reality and break down into a sobbing mess.

☀️One Week Later☀️

"How are you so good at this?" Dawn hissed as Ron once again placed her in another checkmate. Every evening Ron played chess with Dawn and every evening she lost over and over again.
"Practice Dawn, just give it some time." He chuckled.
She got up from her spot on the rug and walked over to Mrs. Weasley who was knitting sweaters. "Mum-Mrs. Weasley. Sorry!" She stuttered over her slip of the tongue.
"It's okay dear, you can call me Mum if you'd like. We are your family now after all." She said sweetly. Dawn felt a pang of sadness in the pit of her stomach as the sharp thought of her parents loss stabbed her mind.
"I was just wondering if I could take Ophillia for a walk in the fields?" She asked sheepishly.
"Of course dear!" Mrs. Weasley chirped. "Just take one of the boys or Ginny with you." She finished with a smile.
"GINNY!" Dawn yelled up the towering staircase.
"YES?" She heard a yell in return.
"WILL YOU COME ON A W-A-L-K WITH ME AND OPHILLIA?" Dawn yelled back.
"Girls stop hollering in the house." Mrs. Weasley chitted.
"Sorry...Mum..." Dawn quietly spoke as the fitted with her hands. Before Mrs. Weasley could respond Ginny appeared at the bottom of the staircase jumper and tennis shoes in hand.
"Let's go!" Ginny said gleefully. She really was enjoying having a sister after living her whole life with brothers. They'd been spending more time together every day and Dawn had taken to teaching Ginny spells and hexes she knew from her parents.
The girls and Ophillia walked around the fields, played fetch, and gossiped about celebrities. Ginny also filled Dawn in on everything that had happened at Hogwarts since she's began attending. "So I want to be a Gryffindor?" Dawn asked as Ginny gave her the tea on the different houses.
"Yes and you absolutely don't want to be a Slytherin! All of the bad wizards come from that house. Thats where Tom Riddle was from." Ginny exclaimed still looking a little shell shocked from the incident from the previous year.
"What if the hat says I'd be better off in another house? Shouldn't give it a try?" Dawn asked.
"I'd still love you as my big sister and spend whatever time I could with you, but I don't know about the boys. They're pretty stubborn." Ginny shrugged she they returned to the door of the Burrow.
That night as Dawn laid in bed she daydreamed what house she'd fit into best. She decided she would join whatever house the hat suggested to her so she could reach her full potential. She wanted to be the witch with the top marks in the third year class.