Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Chapter Six: A Time to Tell All

The Burrow was what Layla called a "home". This place was warm and welcoming; there was magic in it--and not just the kind that you did spells with. It was a loving and caring place that had a warm glow about it. And although it looked like a mess when it came to the human eye, you could sense that this home was full of happiness and love.

Her childhood house had been cold and frightening; it was everything short of pleasant. Oh, it had plenty of magic in it, too--just not the kind of magic you'd want your kids around. It was always so great when, as a little girl, she'd walk into a room, just to run out of it shrieking her head off because of something in there. Layla shook her head at herself, remembering the time she'd gotten attacked by robes and held hostage in a wardrobe for six hours before her father could "rescue" her.

Truthfully, Layla was not looking forward to doing this to the Weasley family. They'd already had their share of problems and tragedies (she knew that Molly's brothers, Gideon and Fabion Prewett, were both murdered by Death Eaters). Why did they need this on their shoulders with everything happening around them? They were actually one of the few Pure-blood families that were nice--and even more than that. It didn't make sense to Layla.

As she walked up to the door, Layla could hear a lot of laughter from the inside. She smiled to herself. She was very happy to see that they were enjoying themselves. She knocked on the door, hoping that they could hear her over the mess.

"Fred, don't you dare--argh, go away--ah, no, get that thing away from me!" That was definitely Ginny's voice. There was a loud roar of laughter and a lot of noise. The doorknob appeared to be moving so Layla took a step back. Ginny, her red hair rumpled and in her pajamas still, was the one at the door. A smile spread across her face.

"I didn't know you were coming, Layla!" Ginny squealed, and she threw her arms around Layla. She smiled faintly and hugged Ginny back. She was still taller than Ginny.

"Layla's here?" Hermione popped up from behind the couch, brown hair everywhere more than usual. There was a glow in her brown eyes. Layla saw that Hermione was holding a white pillow in her hands. Fred and George were standing at the stairs, also holding pillows, but they had their wands out, too. Harry was under a table, three pillows surrounding him. Ron was nowhere to be seen.

"Come in, come in!" Ginny said excitedly, pulling Layla inside. Warmth immediately spread throughout Layla's body--and it wasn't the temperature kind of warmth. Tears stung her eyes for some unfathomable reason; Layla knew it was because she had never had such a lovely home when she was a child--she had never had such a caring family.

"Is Molly here? Or Arthur, for that matter?" Layla asked quietly. Hermione and Harry glanced at each other automatically. "I need to speak with them about something."

Fred nodded his head. "Um...yes, mum's in the kitchen, fixing breakfast--"

"--and dad's in his workshop out back," George finished. Layla nodded her head. If she was going to talk about Ron's Advanced Leglimency abilities, she was going to have to talk to both Molly and Arthur.

"Do you want me to go get dad?" Ginny asked. Layla nodded her head.

"I'll go get Mr. Weasley," Hermione declared, dropping her pillow and walking out from behind the couch with her head held high. She shot Fred and George a glare, daring them to hit her, but they just grinned cheekily at her. "Ginny, you need to teach those two prats a lesson."

"Oh, Hermione, you know it's impossible for them to learn anything," Ginny said with a mock sigh. The twins shouted at her and the pillow fight was back on. Layla smiled and walked into the kitchen where Molly was, indeed, wiping up a storm by cooking breakfast. She was so busy that she didn't notice Layla walking inside.

"It smells lovely in here, Molly," Layla stated. Molly squeaked and spun around very quickly from being startled. Layla grinned and leaned against the wall. "What're you cooking?"

"Oh, Layla, you scared me half to death!" Molly exclaimed, hand over her heart. She was now taking deep breaths.

"I seem to be doing that an awful lot lately," Layla sighed only half-jokingly. At that moment, Arthur walked into the kitchen, wiping his grease-stained hands off with a rag. He was fiddling with yet another Muggle item, of course. She didn't know why he just used the Cleaning Spell, but she supposed that he would go right back to working in his workshop after this.

"You've never come around this neck of the woods before, Layla," Arthur said. He sat the rag down on the counter and Molly gave him a stern look. He took the rag back in his hands. "What is it that you wanted to talk to us about? Hermione said it was important."

"It is," Layla sighed. "Let's sit down, shall we?"

Molly and Arthur looked at each other and hesitated. They had become used to bad news. They sat down beside each other at the table and Layla sat on the other side. She knew that Arthur was holding Molly's hand underneath the table, comfort for whatever she might tell them.

"Is something wrong?" Molly asked immediately. Layla wasn't too sure of what to say. On one hand, this discovery was great, but on the other hand, it was sorrowful for Ron and his family. It didn't seem right for him not to be with them, especially now.

"Ah...sort of."

That was about as smooth as sandpaper, Layla thought dryly.

"What do you mean?" Arthur questioned. Layla sighed; this was going to be hard to explain, much less talk about. She was not good at talking to people other than Remus and the children. If she was lucky, she could even strike a sour conversation with Severus, but he wasn't much of a talkative person. Everyone else was just...too darn happy, she decided.

You're an evil prat, Milan; you truly are. No wonder none of those Death Eaters or Voldemort thought you were a spy; you were coldhearted to begin with.

"Well, it's about Ron," Layla said hesitantly.

"What about Ron?" Molly demanded very edgily. There was a fire in her eyes now and Layla felt as if she had done something very bad. Something was wrong, she could tell, even without using her powers. Something was wrong with Ron.

"I--he--well..." Layla wasn't sure of out how to say this. She rubbed her left arm. It was sore. She was sad at the reason why. She didn't know why; there was nothing to feel guilty about, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't become one of them for herself; she'd become one for the Order of the Phoenix and for the safety of everyone. So why did she feel so guilty about it?

"Ron has the ability of Advanced Leglimency, like me," Layla blurted out. Well, that didn't turn out the way she hadn't wanted it to. She had wanted to make it sound light, but she had just come across very frank. And although she was a blunt person more often than not, she knew that this was nothing something to be blunt about. Molly gasped whereas Arthur paled.

"W-what?" Molly stammered, sounding confused and worried. "Are you telling me that m-my youngest son had...can read minds?"

Layla nodded her head cautiously. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you, Molly," she said softly, hoping that she could regain control of the situation. She disliked when she had no control over situations like these and fights; she supposed it came from never being able to have control of her life before.

"I don't--I mean--oh, wow." Arthur seemed genuinely stunned.

"Wow is right," Layla said coolly. "I thought I'd be the only one forever, but I guess I won't be after all. It's a truly amazing thing. Ron didn't know he had it; and I wasn't able to find out until the night of that fight. I told him at the hospital after an...incident." Layla paused to let this sink in. Molly and Arthur glanced at each other. "But, there is one problem that is inevitable, as much as I hate to say."

"What's the problem?" Molly asked.

"You do realize that Ron must sharpen this skill to the max, don't you?" Layla said. Arthur and Molly nodded their heads. "Well, Ron will not be able to polish his ability here. There's too much noise and too many distractions. It will get to his head and--"

"Are you saying that you're going to take my baby away from me?" Molly demanded with narrowed eyes. She looked quite frightening and Layla felt very threatened sitting her now with Molly right in front of her. Layla knew that Molly was very protective of her children, which included Harry and Hermione. And after everything that had happened, Layla wasn't very surprised.

"I don't want to, I assure you, but it's for his own good, honestly," Layla replied quickly. She didn't want to get hexed to France and back again by Molly, but Layla was being honest; she really didn't want to take Ron a way from here. She wasn't sure if he was fully healed yet or not, which could prove to be very dangerous.

"For his own good?!" Molly blurted out, outraged. Layla shied away in her seat; she suddenly felt very small. Molly was a very tough woman when it came down to her family. She jumped out of her seat, too, and towered over Layla, even though Molly was short. Layla sank down in her seat even further.

So I'm an evil wimp. That's a good combination. Go me, Layla thought, sliding down in her seat.

"Do you know what my son has been doing these past two weeks?" Molly demanded. Layla shook her head after a moment's hesitation. She pointed at the door from the kitchen. "He's been taking care of Ginny; he's been goofing off with Harry; he's been teasing, laughing, and even reading with Hermione; he's been talking to Arthur; and he's been helping me so much! For all the time that he has been here these two weeks, he hasn't done a single thing for himself because he believes that his friends and family are much more important than himself!

"He's never done this. He's taking after Bill even though he's the youngest boy. He's seen Bill do it so many times and now... And you know what he does when he's alone? He cries. He cries very quietly, hoping that no one will hear him, but I do. I don't even know what's wrong! He won't tell me anything and he won't tell Arthur either. It hurts me."

Molly sniffed and shook her head. Layla felt very despondent; she could feel sadness radiating from Molly, but the older woman would never admit a weakness to her right now.

"And now, you want to take my Ron away from me when I haven't even begun to help him recuperate?" Molly was furious. "I don't think so! If he must train, Ron will train here."

"You don't understand, Molly," Layla said meekly, sitting back up as Molly returned to her seat. Layla did not want to be hated by Molly, but there was no other way. "Ron just simply cannot hone his skills here; it's too dangerous. It could kill him."

"What do you--?"

"It's obvious that Ron deeply loves and cares about you all; and it is also obvious that everyone in this house is strained and worried a lot. With the ability of Advanced Leglimency, any emotion or thought cannot be hidden--and any hidden emotion will be tenfold compared to him. He can literally feel your pain. Now that his power is surfacing, this complication will only get stronger and get in the way of his normal life. If he doesn't do something about it, he won't be able to live here anymore and he won't be able to go back to Hogwarts."

Molly's jaw dropped. Arthur's eyes widened tremendously. Layla knew that this was a very large shock to them. It hadn't been much of a problem when she was a child. There had been not been very many hidden emotions at her house--just extreme dislike maybe. Hogwarts had been very difficult for her. In fact, she spent the first week in a separate room in the Hospital Wing because of the pain. She didn't want that to happen to Ron.

"You mean...just staying here is...hurting him?" Arthur asked quietly.

Layla nodded her head. "I imagine Grimmauld Place was very hard on Ron," she stated calmly. She'd regained most of the control now in the conversation. "He probably just had bits and pieces of the ability show up here and there, but Grimmauld Place is a horrible place and when Sirius...passed away, it jarred something loose in Ron's mind--I think."

Layla didn't like to admit it, but Sirius's passing made a huge impact on her, more than she would like to admit. It had hurt her deeply. Regulus had looked a lot like Sirius as he got older and it had been refreshing for her to see Sirius again. They had had so much alike that it was uncanny. She hadn't wanted to make friends with him, but his sour mood and late nighters had beckoned her to help him. Everything about him had made her want to help him; and everything good in her had forced her to do it. Now, all that had happened between them seemed pointless.

"If Ron tries to train here, he'll feel and hear everything every single one of you are feeling and thinking and because he's so close to all of you, it will tear him apart. It could overload his brain and do some permanent brain damage," Layla explained. "And if it's terrible enough, he could die. It's very hard to sharpen this skill. I had not been used to strong emotions so I passed out as soon as soon as I was sorted into Slytherin. I don't want that to happen to Ron."

"No, no, I don't want him to get hurt," Molly said.

"Molly, you do understand that you won't see Ron again until a week before school starts back up again, don't you?" Layla told them quietly. Arthur was staring down at a burn in the table that Charlie had made when he was seven. Molly nodded her head. "You can't see him because, well...um...because you love him so much. But by the time you see him again, it will be like he doesn't have Advanced Leglimency; he'll be able to hide it and control it."

"May we write to him?" Arthur asked. Molly didn't seem to want to speak. "I daresay, Ginny will be in an uproar if she is not allowed to owl him constantly."

"Of course," Layla answered, nodding her head, "he'll be encouraged by any letter he receives from any of you. It'll make this go a lot smoother and faster."

"So...you will be taking him? You will be training him?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Yes, that's the only way; I'm sorry." And Layla truly meant it. "I have a little flat in Perugia, Italy; it's a Muggle city, but there's a Wizarding community there, too. It's a nice place. The city has never been attacked by Death Eaters before. Although they're starting to travel out of country once again--yes, I heard about the five simultaneous attacks in Germany--I'm sure everything will be alright."

"I--just...please, keep him safe," Molly whispered with tears in her eyes. Layla could tell that Molly didn't want to let Ron go--that she didn't want to let Ron grow up--but there was nothing she could do. This was out of her hands; this was out of everyone's hands, really. There was nothing anyone could do about this.

"I will," Layla said and then she added in her mind, I wish I could promise. "I'll go tell Ron now and then I'll come back in two days to pick him up. I'm truly sorry, but Ron has an amazing gift that will help win this war--and that will help Harry greatly. Good day."

Layla inclined her head slightly and stood up. She could feel sadness coming from both Molly and Arthur, but tried to shrug it away. Their thoughts disappeared from her mind as she entered the living room. The pillow fight immediately stopped.

"Is Ron in his bedroom?" Layla asked no one in particular. Harry and Hermione shot each other troubled looks again. Ginny sat down on the couch.

"No, he's outside, sitting under the oak tree, I think," Harry answered. "At least, that's the last place I saw him."

"He had a headache," Ginny explained quickly. "He"--she looked down at the ground--"he didn't want to participate in our little pillow fight because his head hurt."

"Migraine," Hermione muttered.

"Thanks," Layla said. Well, they obviously knew something was up. She hadn't read their minds, but from Harry's and Hermione's reactions, it appeared to her as if Ron had already told them of his Advanced Leglimency abilities.

Layla walked out of the Burrow and then around the side of it. When she peered around the corner, sure enough, she saw Ron sitting under a big oak tree, just as Harry had said. He was just sitting there, looking up in the blue sky with a dazed look on his face. She walked over to him and stopped when she stood next to him under the shade of the tree. He was still looking up in the sky; he hadn't noticed her.

"Ron?" Layla prompted. Ron yelped and jumped, spinning around with his wand pointed at her. She pulled her hands up in surrender and took a few steps back. He lowered his wand and his head, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. She'd scared him. She couldn't read his mind--he was keeping her out--but she knew. "I'm sorry, Ron."

For taking you away from the people you love and the place you love; for growing up in a Dark world; for constantly worrying that you might see someone you care about die; for countless nights of missed sleep; and for placing such a burden on your shoulders. You don't know how much I regret when it comes to you--when it comes to all of my past and present friends--when it comes to--

"When it comes to Regulus?" Ron asked out loud, ending her thoughts perfectly. Layla closed her mouth and blinked at him. He'd been reading her thoughts. She looked down at her feet and nodded her head.

Ron didn't know much about her; Layla knew that much. No one knew much about her, but that was what she had always aimed for. Only a handful of people knew anything about anyone in Layla's past. Only a few people knew that Layla had been close to Regulus--and Ron, up until this point, had not been one of them.

"Regulus Black, Sirius's little brother...was he a friend of yours?" Ron sounded curious. Layla looked at him and blinked again. He looked so...innocent. Or, at least, he had a reminder of innocence on his face, as if it was fading slowly. Over the years, he'd probably been robbed of most the innocence in him. Things weren't what they were five or six years ago.

"Yes, my best friend," Layla replied quietly. She bit her lip and looked back down at her feet very quickly. Regulus was a difficult subject for her still. He had been the last thing she'd had before he was killed by Death Eaters--his own comrades.

"I'm sorry, too," Ron mumbled, and she looked at him, "for bringing up the topic." He wasn't looking at her anymore. "I'm so stupid when it comes to these things--"

"Please do shut up, Ron," Layla sighed, tired with his constant putdowns of himself. He didn't think very highly of himself, which saddened her. He was a smart boy; he was a brave boy; and he was turning into a great, loyal young man. His lack of confidence and self-esteem drove her to the brink of insanity because she really wanted to comfort him--or smack him and tell him that he was everything great and good in this mess of a world. Instead, she stood stock still.

Ron gaped at her and blinked. He wasn't used to her bluntness. It was sometimes a great pain to be Layla Milan. Actually, it was normally a pain, but she'd quite obviously gotten used to it by now. After living a life in a wizard-kill-witch world all her life, she had grown accustomed to be rude, aggressive, cold, and sardonic. It had been difficult to regain her nicer, better emotions.

"O-okay," Ron stammered, taken aback.

"I talked to your parents about it," Layla said softly. Ron bit his lip and nodded his head. He turned away from her. "You told Hermione and Harry about it. Why not your parents? Why not your family?"

"I don't want to trouble them," Ron mumbled. "I knew mum would get worked up about it and dad wouldn't know how to act around me. Everyone else decided to stay at the Burrow for the first weeks--lucky for me. Bill would try to act all...big brotherly on me; Charlie would try to be optimistic; Percy would get all technical about it and ask me questions; Fred and George wouldn't be themselves around me; and Ginny would be astounded and amazed and... I don't want that."

"So you told Harry and Hermione instead?" Layla queried.

"I didn't tell Harry," Ron muttered, snapping a twig in half he'd picked up moments ago. He dropped the two pieces. "I didn't want to tell Hermione either, but she weaseled it out of me because she said that I was 'acting odd as of late'. I told her not to tell Harry because he's already got enough on his shoulders and mind as it is, but she went ahead and told him anyways. I knew she would, but I had hoped, you know, that she'd keep her mouth shut."

"Right," Layla sighed. "How did he take it?"

"Pretty well, I guess." Ron shrugged his shoulders. "He hasn't mentioned it at all--out loud anyways." He smiled weakly at the ground, but the smile soon faded away. "I hate being able to read everyone's minds. I hate knowing what they're thinking when they just look at me--how I can tell what's behind the words they say. I make everyone worry. Even Fred and George worry about me a little. All of this gives me a bloody headache."

Ron rubbed his head and groaned. Layla sighed and bent down to his level. "Is that why you didn't join in on the pillow fight, Ron? Your head hurt?" she asked quietly. He nodded his head slowly. "In two days, I'll come back to pick you up, okay? Do you need me to explain why you can't train here?" He shook his head mutely. "Alright, now, if your head hurts too much, go to a quiet place and try to empty your mind. After five minutes or so, you can join in on anything that is happening, okay? You're going to be fine."

"Fine, okay," Ron grumbled. "Goodbye, Layla."

"Goodbye, Ron," Layla said. He waved at her, but he wasn't looking at her. She sighed sadly and walked away from him. Ron was a wretched-looking boy right now. She truly hated seeing the boy she'd once usually see run and laugh loudly now look so miserable and downcast. She shook her head. Once you hit a certain age, humor and happiness was hard to come by.

Layla poked her head through the front door right as a pillow hit her in the face. There was silence until the twins started to laugh. She bent down and picked up the pillow, looking at it calmly. A thought came to her and she grinned wickedly. She looked at the twins. They looked at each other and gulped.

Layla began chasing them around the living room, beating them over the head with the pillow. Harry was rolling with laughter, still hiding underneath the table; Ginny fell onto the couch, giggling like mad; and Hermione smiled brightly. Layla needed a little laughter medicine now.