"Hey there! Oh, thanks for the compliment! You're pretty cute yourself~!"
Leon replied in a high-pitched, cutesy voice.
So awkward. So embarrassing…
For the sake of freedom, Leon was throwing everything he had into this.
Only at times like these did he envy house-elves—one pair of socks, and they're free.
Not like him, forced to disguise himself as a magical girl, hiding in the most dangerous yet safest place.
It was his only shot at seizing the chance to truly escape and reclaim his freedom.
As for why his locket contained a little dress and a long wig?
Don't ask.
If you must, blame it on an inheritance from Voldemort—his magical girl limited-edition skin.
Want the real story? Go interview Voldemort. Leon's as innocent as they come!
"I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley. What's your name?
"Can we be friends?
"I really like you!
"Your dress is so pretty!
"You've got red hair too—are you related to us?
"Let me treat you to some honey!…"
Ginny, who rarely met girls her age, was bursting with enthusiasm.
Like a lively little bird, she chattered nonstop without waiting for Leon to respond, then scooped up a huge spoonful of honey and shoved it straight into his mouth.
"Mmph! Mmph…"
The thick, unfiltered honey sealed Leon's mouth shut.
At that moment, the three brothers by the window finally noticed an extra person in the house.
"Hey, where'd this kid come from?"
"Ginny, who's this?"
Fred and George walked over, pulling Ginny away from the fireplace and eyeing Leon suspiciously.
"Fred, George, this is my new friend, she's called…"
Ginny paused, realizing she hadn't gotten an answer to her earlier question.
"Oh, right, pretty lady, what's your name again?"
At that, the twins' expressions grew even warier.
With the explosions and fires outside still unexplained, any unexpected situation called for caution.
George pulled his little sister back several steps.
Fred stepped forward, blocking Leon's path, his tone sharp with accusation: "Who are you? How'd you get in here? What do you want?"
Meanwhile, Leon was still wrestling with the sticky honey.
Ron, arriving a step behind, froze when he saw Leon, then said thoughtfully, "This girl… I've seen her before."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The three genuine redheads in the room whipped around to stare at Ron, startling him.
"What're you all looking at me for?"
Ron faltered, losing confidence. "You mean you haven't seen her?"
"Not every redhead is a Weasley," Fred said.
"Stay out of this, Ron. Keep watching outside—we'll handle this," George added, pushing Ron away, but he didn't notice Ginny slipping back to Leon's side.
"Why aren't you talking? Are you scared?"
Ginny sat next to Leon on the rug by the fireplace, patting him comfortingly as he frantically swallowed the honey.
"Don't be afraid. These are my brothers—they won't bully you with me here."
Leon's eyes rolled from the sickly-sweet honey. No kidding, he thought. You've already got me done for—no one else gets a chance to bully me.
Whatever. A fake redhead like him wasn't about to argue with a true redheaded little Weasley.
He still had a big performance to put on.
His acting skills, rusty from a past life, were a bit out of practice.
Leon gathered himself, and in five seconds, tears welled up in his eyes.
He raised his head, tilting his face timidly toward Ginny.
Ten seconds later, the tears came pouring down.
"Oh, don't cry!"
Ginny panicked. Growing up with seven boys and a tough-as-nails mother, she'd never seen anything like this.
She fumbled to wipe the tears from the "pretty lady's" face, then turned to glare at her bewildered brothers. "Look what you've done! I'm telling Mum when she gets back!"
Leon's crying was artfully done, channeling the author's homesickness.
In a wobbly voice, he said, "N-no, it's okay, it's not their fault. I'm just… um, too emotional."
Leon casually raised a hand, as if wiping his tears.
His sleeve "accidentally" slipped, "accidentally" revealing an arm covered in scars.
Ginny gasped. "You're hurt!"
The twins, though cautious, were too inexperienced to see through this high-level play and panicked too.
This poor girl, so badly injured and crying so hard—she must have some terrible grievance!
They'd messed up, trying to do the right thing.
When Mrs. Weasley got back and heard about this, she'd have their hides.
Fred and George exchanged a glance. One of them spoke up: "Sorry, we didn't mean it. Come on, don't sit on the floor. Tell us what's wrong, slowly."
The other rummaged through a first-aid kit for a roll of bandages. "How'd you get so many injuries? Who did this to you? Come sit here, let's patch you up."
Ginny stood first, then helped Leon up.
Exhausted, Leon leaned on her for support, slowly making his way to the dining table.
The Burrow's space was tight, with the kitchen doubling as the dining room.
The table in the center made the already cramped room feel even smaller.
Ginny carefully guided Leon to a seat.
She ordered her brothers to make hot tea while gazing sympathetically at the gruesome wounds on Leon's arm, gently blowing on them.
Adorably, she said, "Hoo… hoo… I'll blow on it, and the pain will fly away~!"
Ron sidled over. "Merlin's beard, that's awful! Those injuries are bad! Did you run into some villain? Did they do this to you? Where are your parents? Why didn't they protect you?… Ow!"
Fred, bringing over the tea, smacked Ron on the head. "If you can't talk properly, don't talk at all."
Leon took the teacup, saying sweetly, "Thank you, you're all so kind."
He sipped the tea, finally warming up.
With watery, light-colored eyes, he looked at the four curious but hesitant Weasleys.
"There's nothing I can't share. Um, my name's Rowling. QQ Rowling."
Leon paused, reining in his emotions to keep from laughing.
When you're out in the world, you make your own identity.
He'd chosen a big name, one to overshadow Grindelwald and mess with his luck!
Spending years with his fortune-teller mother had taught him a thing or two.
Composed, Leon began his story: "My parents are gone. It's just me and a house-elf at home.
"My house-elf is so protective, always keeping me on a tight leash.
"So I sneak out to have fun behind his back.
"A few days ago, I was out playing and got kidnapped by a really, really bad dark wizard.
"He wanted to use me as a test subject for dark magic experiments!
"I was terrified, so I ran away, but he caught me again.
"The dark wizard hit me! Tortured me! Didn't even give me food!
"I got so scared, I didn't dare call my house-elf—I was afraid he'd get hurt too.
"Just now, when the bad guy wasn't looking, I grabbed some Floo powder and escaped through a fireplace.
"But I was so nervous, I said the wrong words and came out the wrong grate.
"Thank goodness I ran into you all! You're such good people!
"Otherwise, I'd be done for! Waaah…"
A mix of truth and lies, carefully crafted and polished.
It wasn't wrong—Leon had been kidnapped against his will and caught after multiple escape attempts.
But the sob story? That was a bit of false advertising.
By the end, Ginny was teary-eyed, and the three boys looked at him with pity.
Just then, Percy's voice rang out from the yard: "Hello, sir, may I help you?"