Running From Lightning

I woke up the next day to a glass of pumpkin juice and toast.
"Ah, you're awake Ariana," Madam Pomphrey said, hurrying over to me. "How are you doing? Well rested?"
I nodded in reply.
"Some of your friends came back this morning before classes. They dropped off some things for you. I put them at the foot of your bed. I also noticed you had a bit of homework, so I gave you a quill, ink, and some paper. Just remember not to stress yourself too much." she started to walk away.
"Wait!" she turned around and looked at me. "Uh... can I...?"
"Yes?"
"Er..." I wanted to ask for a mirror, but the more I thought about it, the more upsetting my thoughts became. "... never... never mind."
"Alright dear... just remember that I'll be here if you want anything." And then she walked away.
I turned my attention to the foot of my bed. Dropped off a FEW things? There was a whole pile of gifts. One that I noticed in particular was wrapped in paper with my name handwritten all over it. I picked it up and looked at the card attached to the top.

I made the wrapping myself. I hope you like my present. Please get well soon.
-- Luna

I unwrapped the present and found a painting of me and Luna. We were sitting on a log in a forest. It took me a moment to realize that the painting wasn't moving, but the realization made me smile even more than I already was. I set the painting down delicately on the bedside table. I guess that was the "something" she was doing the day before.

An hour or so later, Madam Pomphrey walked over to my bed, looking a little flustered.
"Fred and George are standing just outside. They said they wouldn't go to classes until they saw you."
My face flushed red. I felt panic rise in the pit of my stomach, but I knew I couldn't avoid them like I had before. They would see me sooner or later.
"O-okay... let them in."
Madam Pomphrey walked away, muttering something angrily under her breath. I heard the door open.
"Finally!" I heard a twin say.
I had about ten seconds to prepare myself.
"We brought something... for... you..."
The stood there gaping at me for what felt like an hour. I felt my face grow hot. I forced myself to focus on my covers.
"Uh... w... what?" The twins walked over to the side of my bed.
"What exactly happened... to... you?"
“Well, you know how Albus raised me and all… well, he was keeping the philosopher’s stone for a while, and… well, when I was little, I sort of messed with it. It screwed up my body’s clock, and made me physically age very slowly. Because of this, I couldn’t really go outside or meet many people. No one was supposed to know that Albus was keeping the philosopher’s stone safe for Nicholas Flammel. So, when I finally looked eleven, he allowed me to come to Hogwarts…”
I continued to explain to them about how I made the potion to make me look older, and as I went on, I kept expecting them to look at me in a reproachful kind of way, but they never did.
"And it worked the first time? That's some serious luck." Fred said.
"Yeah, we could use that type of luck. We've made a ton of mistakes while making our products." said George.
"How's that going, by the way?" I asked, trying to act casual. I still was very aware of them looking at me every now and then in disbelief.
"Better. We got some people to help us out by testing the stuff we make."
"Yeah, I heard Hermione rant about the signs you posted on the Gryffindor notice board a while back."
"And you didn't sign up? I feel betrayed."
I laughed a bit. "What, and let you guys feed me those 'sickeningly sweets'?"
"'Sickeningly Sweets'? That's not a bad name. We'll definitely consider it." George said.
"Oh, almost forgot! This is for you." Fred handed me a wooden box.
“This isn’t a box of those sweets, is it?”
“Yeah, Fred, what is that?”
I was shocked. George didn’t know?
“I wouldn’t waste any of our precious products on you. I was just sort of messing around when I made this…”
As soon as I opened it, mini fireworks shot up from it, dancing above my head. A giant smile spread across my face.
“I thought that you could use something like this. We would've visited this morning, but... well, Filch was getting awfully suspicious of us. He saw us walking back to the common room a couple of nights ago from the seventh floor. We've been working quite a lot lately." Fred explained.
"Thank you so much," I said. I turned back to the fireworks. "This is brilliant."
Fred and George sat with me for half an hour longer. I listened to them as they explained to me the plans for their joke shop. Even then, they kept looking at me now and then like they couldn't believe it was me.
Just before Madam Pomphrey came over to send them to their classes, they were asking me for advice on inventing spells and potions. They left reluctantly, but I figured that was just because they didn't want to go to class.
"We'll visit again," they said as Madam Pomphrey pushed them out.
As soon as I heard the door close, I laid down, hugging the wooden box close to my chest.