Title: Harry Potter - A Different World - Book 5
Author: Carya Black
Category: AU, General, Romance
Pairings: HP/HG, DM/GW, will be TMR/OC too
Rating: T (might change later)
Disclaimer: Carya and the plot changes belong to me, the rest belongs to JKR. I do not make any money with this. It's just a story written from one fan for all the others to read. I got some Ideas from other stories as well. I only use them because I loved them! Please don't get mad at me if you find something copied from the books *apologetic smile*. Flames will only be used to heat my room and to roast marshmallows *evilgrin*.
Notes: Since this is an AU fic some things are different. Ginny is the same age as Harry and Carya. Ron is almost a year older but hadn't been able to attend Hogwarts earlier. Snape behaves different sometimes too.
Summary: Basically the twins fifth year at Hogwarts. Some story twists and slightly new plot because of Tom's presence. Read, review and enjoy.
Warnings: There's a reason for Carya and Harry being in Slytherin. It's not just for the fun of it. But this isn't exactly a Dark!Carya, Dark!Harry story. Although Carya was always the darker one of the twins and her relationship with Tom brings this side to the surface.
Author's Notes: I know it has been a looooooong time since I last posted something. I am very sorry for it but Real Life got in the way of things. We lost some family members and I hadn't felt like writing anything new or typing this up from my hardcopies for quite some time. Well, here it is, the fifth instalment of my Harry Potter version.
~...~ = Parseltongue
/.../ = Telepathy between Harry & Carya (in italics)
' ... ' = thoughts
~*~*~ ... ~*~*~ = Flashback or changing POV
~ Parseltongue ~
# Phoenix language #
$ Animal Language as animagi $
Chapter 01 - Birthday and Revelations or Phoenix Egg and Startling News
Tom and Carya for once didn't go working in the girls potions lab. They made themselves comfortable in Carya's rooms and just talked. It was one of those few talks when they would openly admit how they currently felt.
Both were very careful with their feelings normally and this was another indicator for the trust they had for each other. Carya was worried about the weird things she felt around them nowadays. A sense of foreboding and she didn't like it at all. She told Tom about it that night.
"How come you are worried about this now, love?" the boy added in afterthought.
"I don't know. I ... since I felt being followed I have had those weird feelings. It's not like with Quirrell or Moody. It's further away but something big is going to happen and I certainly won't like it, of that I am pretty sure.
I only hope that you, Harry, Draco, Moony, Padfoot and our friends are safe then," she sighed heavily and leaned into his embrace.
That was how the two fell asleep. It wasn't uncomfortable because the windowsill was broad and comfy. Carya's favourite spot inside her rooms. When Harry and Draco looked for them they found the couple asleep. Harry quietly took a blanket and draped it over and around them.
The two boys smiled. It had taken a long time for these two after the second task to get this close again. Both Harry and Draco were happy that it had worked. Seeing either Tom or Carya in distress broke their hearts.
The two boys had started to think of Tom as their brother by then. The 'Slytherin Six' were as close as siblings could get. They shared almost everything and hardly had any secrets. The friends were determined to reach their goals in life and they would help each other.
Harry thought about the third day at Privet drive when he had talked to Tom like he had planned since the third task.
~*~*~ Flashback - Privet Drive, July 1st ~*~*~
"Tom, can I talk to you for a bit?" Harry asked the other boy while Draco and Carya just looked at them oddly.
"Of course Harry, do you want to go somewhere else?" Tom inquired.
"No, it's okay. They can hear this too. It's ... when I was in that graveyard after the third task I ... I realised something. While Voldemort was talking to his Death Eater's, I was thinking about the situation.
I saw him and how he acted and well, ... I wanted to apologise to you. I could clearly see that you are completely different from that monster, Tom. I'm sorry I treated you like I did even after Carya had made clear that she trusted you. I usually listen to her on those things.
I found out that I never hated you and that I merely despised what you'd done in the Chamber of Secrets. I could never hate you and I consider you my brother now," Harry explained and Tom was speechless.
"Your brother? Harry, I ... thank you. That's means very much to me," the crimson-eyed boy said and smiled at his new family.
~*~*~ End Flashback - Privet Drive, July 1st ~*~*~
He had apologised to the other boy and they had been a true family since then. To see his sister with Tom didn't make him feel uneasy anymore. Harry knew now that she'd be safe and happy as long as Tom Riddle was with her.
He'd do the same things for Hermione as would Draco do for Ginny. They all knew that they were heading into difficult times. He and Carya were on top of Voldemort's hit-list. Draco was close to that too since he 'betrayed' his biological father.
Tom would be put there as well should the Dark Lord find out that he was only loyal to his friends and wouldn't consider changing sides ever. Hermione would be a target since she was a muggle-born and his girlfriend. Ginny was with Draco and that alone made her a target as well.
Not to mention the fact that Malfoy Sr. had a personal vendetta against the Weasley's for some reason. They had to stick together to get through this all and they would. They might not be able to fight alone but when the 'Slytherin Six' added their talents they made a damned good team.
Almost every branch of Magical Arts was covered in that case, including the Dark Arts. Both boys went to bed soon after they discovered their 'siblings' and fell asleep. Neither of the four children noticed when Sirius and Remus returned in the middle of the night.
When they woke up it was already ten in the morning. Tom and Carya wanted to go shopping in muggle-London for a change and since Sirius and Remus had to get something done there too, they accompanied the kids.
Harry and Draco stayed at home to fly and talk about Quidditch or rather to talk to their girlfriends without anyone looking. Sirius left the group as soon as they reached the 'Leaky Cauldron'.
"I have something to do. I'll tell you later kids, no questions right now, okay?" he said to them.
Remus stayed with the teenagers though. Both got some Muggle-money to spend on something they liked and they looked at several small shops that day. Suddenly Tom found something interesting in one of the shops. It was a small wooden chest with intricate carving.
The carvings looked like vines, snakes and other beautiful plants. Tom made sure Carya was busy and asked Remus for his opinion about the object. The werewolf secretly made sure that it wasn't hexed and told Tom what he thought.
"You want this one for Carya's birthday, right? It's really beautiful but the key's are missing. You would have to get a new lock and keys for that. But that will be no problem. I'm sure Arthur Weasley has something old fashioned that fits with this," he told the boy and Tom smiled.
Remus made sure that Carya was occupied as Tom paid for the chest.
"Ah, yes, that'll be three pounds then. It's a low price because the key's are missing and it just doesn't open. Are you sure you want this, mister?" the clerk asked.
"Yes, it'll be a birthday present for my girlfriend, sir. I know she'll like it. Even if she can't open it," Tom replied and gave the man the money.
The boy quickly put the box away and he, Carya and Remus left the old shop. Two hours later they met Sirius at the 'Leaky Cauldron' to floo back home. Once they had arrived Carya went for a shower. Tom and Remus settled down in Remus' rooms to have a look at the wooden box.
"I see, a simple Alohomora didn't work. Let's try something else then, shall we?" Remus asked and Tom nodded.
"Aperio Claustra!" Remus said firmly and the lock snapped open, "Well, I guess it worked. Be careful when you open it Tom!"
The boy used a stick to pull up the lid of the wooden chest but nothing happened. When he had pulled it open completely he could look inside. There on a cushion lay something that looked like an egg.
Remus gasped and Tom recognised it too. It really was an egg but not just any kind of egg. This was a phoenix egg.
"Do you know if its okay?" asked the boy in a whisper.
"Wait, I'll check," the werewolf said and murmured a few spells. A warm reddish blue glow surrounded the egg for a second and the man smiled, "It's perfectly alright. It has been under a constant heating charm but it wasn't enough to let it hatch.
"Remus, tell me I'm dreaming. This means ... I can give this to Carya right? She can try to let it hatch and have a phoenix familiar?" the boy inquired anxiously.
"That it does Tom. I'd gave it to her soon though because it needs warmth now. You still have the chest for her birthday," Moony soothed the young wizard.
"I'll do that and I'll do it now. Don't tell anyone Remus. Sirius, Harry and Draco will know but no one else, please!" the boy pleaded. And his guardian nodded.
Meanwhile Sirius and the others were waiting for them in the study because the Animagus had to tell his family something. Tom carried a small basket when he walked inside but they didn't think anything of it.
"Sit down all of you. You remember that I told you about the summer homes of the Black family right? Well, we found out that the house in London is still in existence and I'll try to make it habitable again when you're back at school.
Right now I've started getting rid of the pests that have made themselves a home in there, pixies, doxies and the like. So don't wonder if Remus and I are away occasionally. I know you want to help but you'd better study for the next year.
If you really want to have a prank war with the Weasley twins, you should better get started planning something. Yes I know about that. Those two hardly do anything but plotting pranks just now!
You have to work hard to get them this year. Arthur told me when I met him today," Sirius explained and the kids looked surprised.
"Eh, if we are to become pranksters we do need proper nicknames, don't we? And a name for our group ... ah, scratch that, we are the 'Slytherin Six' that's enough to know!" Harry blurted out.
"Nicknames would be useful, you're right. But which ones?" asked Draco.
"Ours were linked to the animagus forms we had. Why don't you do something like that too?" suggested Padfoot.
"Hm, that means Tom's is pretty easy. What do you think about 'Snake' Tom? Would you like that?" Carya asked her boyfriend.
"I'd lie if I said no but isn't that a bit obvious?" he remarked.
"That's the trick. It's too obvious. No one will think anything of it," grinned Moony.
"Okay then. I'll be 'Snake'." Tom said happily, "What about Draco and the twins?"
"They are wolves, what names match them best?" mused Draco.
"I think we should call Harry 'Lightning'. He's just that. What do you think?" Tom wanted to know.
"I like the name. Good suggestion Tom!" replied Harry.
"I know one for myself too. See what you can come up with though," Carya smirked at them.
"No idea, sister. What do you have in mind?" Draco queried after a couple of minutes.
"You're no fun. I will call myself what I practically am. My name will be 'Shadow'," she told her family.
"Fitting, not only for your hobby's but also your personality," mused Sirius and Carya smirked a bit more at that.
"What about Draco though?" asked Harry.
"That's difficult. Wait, what do you think about 'Sneaky'? His form is small and he's very cunning and clever," said Remus.
"That's a good one. I'll take it. So Harry's going to be 'Lightning', Carya's 'Shadow', Tom is 'Snake' and I'm 'Sneaky' right? Now we only have to find names for Hermione and Ginny. But they should be allowed to think of some themselves," the boy summarised and everyone laughed at that.
"You know, I just noticed something. Harry and Carya's names are more than fitting. Look at them, wherever there's lightning there is a shadow. They belong together and can never be separated!" Tom threw in and the others nodded in agreement.
It was true. Even if the twins went different paths in their lives they would always be connected to each other by their twin-bond. Tom remembered what he had wanted in the study in the first place though.
"Oh, eh ... Carya, I was looking for a birthday present for you today when Remy and I stumbled over something. I need to give it to you now though, to make sure it will live," Tom murmured.
"What do you want to give me, Tom?" she asked soothingly and a bit surprised.
"This!" the boy said and handed her the basket. She lifted the sheet and gasped before carefully picking up the egg inside.
"Tom ... that's ... that's a phoenix egg. Where in Slytherin's name did you find this?" she gasped.
"It was hidden in the other part of your present. We found this by accident but it's good we did. The heating charms are fading and without us it would have died. The egg's still active. You can try to make it hatch," the Riddle boy explained.
"I will. Are you going to help me with this Tom?" she asked him and he nodded happily.
The other four occupants of the room who hadn't known could only stare in disbelief. Carya Potter had just gotten a real phoenix egg and if she made it hatch she'd probably have one of the most loyal pets known to wizardkind.
Over the next few days she rarely left her room and Tom was with her all the time. Both kids made sure that the temperature around the egg was okay and that nothing would interfere with the process.
The other boys were now constantly talking to their girlfriends and both girls had found their own nickname. Hermione wanted to be known as 'Storm' since she was a bird and a falcon at that. Ginny just loved her paws because they were different from the rest of her dark red fur.
Her paws were white and that was her reason to opt for the name 'Whitepaw' or 'Paw' for short. Draco thought it was quite cute and made Ginny blush furiously but he then reminded her of his first full transformation and the girl shut up before an insult left her mouth.
On the night of Thursday, July 20th the Potter twins had the first vision since the end of term. They found themselves in a house that they knew all too well. It was the Riddle-house and Voldemort was currently talking to his assembled Death Eaters.
~*~*~ Carya and Harry's Vision POV ~*~*~
"Tell me Lucius, why has your son defected to Dumbledore's side? Did you not train him well enough?" the snake-like creature asked one of the masked men.
"I really tried, my lord but the Potters influence was greater than I originally thought," Lucius Malfoy answered bowing his head so much that it nearly touched the floor.
"I see, since when do Gryffindors have much influence on a Slytherin? Your son is a Slytherin, is he not, Lucius? How come Harry Potter has more influence on him than you?" Voldemort inquired with much venom apparent in his voice.
"He is my lord but ... Harry Potter is a Slytherin student too. He isn't in Gryffindor. I thought you knew this already since it has been in the papers for weeks," the kneeling man tried to apologise.
"Interesting, though you still disappointed me, Lucius! And your son will pay for his betrayal just as much. Crucio!" the Dark Lord shouted the last word and then turned his attention towards the figure that was already lying on the floor, " ... Severus, what news do you have aside from your return?"
"My lord, the Potters are indeed in Slytherin. Not only the boy but his sister too. ... They've surrounded themselves with a group of four ... close friends," he managed to say and to Carya it was obvious that he was in great pain,
"One of them is a Ravenclaw. But they have alliances outside of their house as well, my Lord, in Gryffindor!" he told his Master.
"And who would that be Severus?" the snake-lord asked, narrowing his eyes.
"The Gryffindor's are the Weasley twins, ... Fred and George. Their sister Virginia Weasley has managed to get into Slytherin somehow. She's one of the Potter's closest friends. The other's are Hermione Granger, a mudblood Ravenclaw and ... Draco Malfoy from Slytherin," Severus said while glancing at Lucius.
"And the fourth companion?" Voldemort inquired impatiently.
"A boy their age by the name 'Tom Riddle', my Lord," Severus said looking as unsuspicious and oblivious as he could.
"What did you say, Severus? Tom Riddle, hmm? Interesting, indeed. I want you to find out more about this boy! Now go back before the old fool suspects anything," the Dark Lord growled and Snape crawled out of the room.
Once the Hogwarts Potion's Master was gone Voldemort addressed Malfoy again.
"Lucius, I want you to keep a close eye on dear Severus. I highly fear that he has abandoned us. If you find any evidence, you know what to do," he said icily and started laughing.
That laugh startled Wormtail who had just brought in a tray with teacups. The rat dropped the tray and started whimpering. Voldemort was highly displeased and cursed the rat-animagus.
"Wormtail, you disappoint me, Crucio!" the man snarled and Wormtail screamed.
~*~*~ End Carya and Harry's Vision POV ~*~*~
This woke the twins up. Both were lying in their beds, drenched to the bone and hurting everywhere. Harry immediately grabbed the vial from his nightstand and downed the potion. He instantly felt better but was too tired to get up.
He decided to tell his friends and guardians in the morning. In the other room a pain-filled cry woke up the boy sleeping next to Carya. He blinked a few times before he realised where he was and noticed the shivering girl next to him.
"Carya, love, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" he asked but she shook her head, "A vision then?" Tom continued and she nodded looking miserable.
Tom searched the table next to them and soon found the two potions she would need now. One against the aches from the curses and the other to relax her muscles. After she had taken both the boy gathered her into his arms and whispered soothing words into her ear.
Five minutes later Carya had calmed down enough to talk to him.
"You were right Tom. I think you were right. It was a meeting, a Death Eater meeting. Snape was there together with about ten others. Malfoy and Voldemort were talking just then. Snape lay on the floor and his robe was torn and bloody.
Voldemort wants to hurt Draco. He wants to hurt all six of us. He ... Snape told him about you but I think that he couldn't have hidden that. He didn't tell that he knew who you were though. Just your name.
The bastard knows that we're Slytherin's now but it seems he didn't get to know about us being Parselmouths. He doesn't follow the news as it seems. You know, I hate being woken up by the Cruciatus Curse.
I'll find something to stop the pains we feel near him. Will you help me?" she told him and Tom nodded deep in thought.
Suddenly a soft cracking noise startled them.
"Carya, love, don't fall asleep! Your phoenix is hatching!" Tom told his girlfriend and her eyes shot open.
"Really?" she asked suddenly wide-awake and looked at the cushion on their right.
Tom had told the truth. The little bird tried to get out and had halfway managed that. She picked up the cushion and carefully sat it onto her lap. Tom sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
Only five minutes later a small naked bird sat in front of them and made a few sounds that were feeble but unmistakably coming from a phoenix.
"Hi, little one. Welcome to the world. Do you want to be my friend?" Carya asked softly and the baby-bird cooed at her before settling down for sleep.
The two teenagers talked about the possibility of Snape being Dumbledore's spy a bit more and they were sure that they didn't know all facts when Carya reported Voldemort's suspicions against Snape. Both of them contemplated if they should tell the adults or not.
In the end they agreed to let Harry do that if he wished to. Only if their brother didn't say anything, then they would tell Sirius and Remus. What they didn't know was that after getting hit with the Cruciatus Curse, Lucius Malfoy forgot what he'd initially wanted to tell his Master.
He didn't get the chance to report the three strange sets of twins from Knockturn Alley that time but he would certainly remember them in the future. The next morning everyone admired the little bird. The children forgot to tell about their vision though.
As the days passed all inhabitants of Black Manor grew somewhat excited. July 31st was drawing closer and the preparations for Harry and Carya's birthday were almost finished. Harry and Draco were happy that they'd get to see their girlfriends again in a few days time and then spend two weeks with them.
Suddenly it was July 31st, Carya and Harry's fifteenth birthday. They got books and clothes as usual. Hermine gave her boyfriend a new bookbag with his initials on it. It was dark green and the writing was in silver. From Draco Harry got a book called 'Intermediate Transfiguration for Advanced Learners' by Emeric Switch.
Ginny gave him a new case for his broom. Tom had also bought a book for his brother. It was about the same topic as Draco's gift. 'Human Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch was it's title and it was a rare autographed copy.
From Fred and George the twins got some articles of Zonko's and even a few of their own inventions that had already been published throughout Hogwarts. Sirius and Remus got the two clothes and they made sure that the twins could get a weapon made especially for them when they finished school.
Draco and Hermione gave Carya a book each. They were titled 'The Dark Arts Outsmarted' and 'Self-Defensive Spellwork'. The adults chuckled at that. They knew that Carya and Tom would devour these as soon as they got the chance.
From Ginny Carya got an auror's wand holster. She wouldn't tell how she'd come to that but it was custom-made and especially designed for her wand. The Potter girl suspected that Ginny had talked to Ollivander about that since each wand had to be measured for such a device.
She was most surprised at Tom's present though. The phoenix egg had been magnificent but the wooden chest was equally intriguing. It was made of Yew and Holly, two of the most powerful woods known to wizardkind.
The carvings showed snakes, vines and various flowers. Some runes were embedded too and Carya loved it. The young phoenix that had been named 'Yue' stayed hidden in the girls bedroom. They didn't want everyone to know about the bird as long as she wasn't fully grown.
The twins and their friends had a wonderful birthday but they just knew that it was the calm before the storm. The peace they currently experienced wasn't supposed to last long. The next day Fred and George went home early in the morning.
The Slytherin Six asked Sirius and Remus to the study. They finally wanted to tell their guardians what they had meant at the end of last term. But before they told anything they made Sirius and Remus swear to keep an open mind and not to tell anyone else regardless what happened.
"We swear on the Marauder's honour! Go on kids, what was so important that you couldn't tell us in Hogwarts?" Remus and Sirius told them.
"Well, it's something about mum and dad and even about Tom and Snape you know?" Harry began carefully and now the two canines were really curious.
"When we asked you about family heirlooms we were really serious about it. We needed one of mums family to try out the family tree charm we asked about. We finally found an incantation to help us with the search and we used the spell in one of the caves near Hogsmeade.
The item that appeared it a beautiful long dagger. We were really surprised when we read what was engraved on the blade. It was the name 'Salazar Slytherin' written in Parsel. Don't interrupt! Well, we were really curious but forgot about it with all the commotion in school.
That was in November during our third year. We didn't remember the charm until the second day of last schoolyear. On September 2nd, 1994 Harry and I performed the 'Arbor Familiaris' Charm and it drew out our family tree.
I know it wasn't botched because I repeated the procedure two times. This, ..." she explained and handed over a parchment, " ... is our family tree. I don't know why no one told us that we are heirs to Gryffindor through father's side of the family but Mums side is more interesting anyway.
Mum's dad was a squib and descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw which explains the feelings I always have. I've inherited her empathic powers and from what I heard Mum had them too. Grandpa Evans married twice because Aunt Petunia's mum died giving birth to her.
Mum's mother was the youngest heir of Slytherin until we were born. We are of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin blood. That really did surprise us. Draco is actually our cousin through both mum and dad's sides of the family as you can see.
But the weirdest thing is that James Grandfather was the brother of Professor Snape's Grandmother. We are related to Snape and don't you dare yell at us Padfoot! It's true, he's Dad's second cousin and would be an uncle of sort's for us.
Our cousins Freesia and Lily are witches too. Aunt Petunia was pretty shocked when they showed their first accidental magic. We know now why mum never reacted to the term 'Mudblood' she was actually a pureblood and she probably knew it too.
You cannot tell anyone though. We don't know why they kept this a secret from us and I'm pretty sure the old meddling fool of a headmaster at least knew about dad's heritage. We'll see what comes from this first," Carya told her godparents and waited for a reaction.
Sirius sat there speechless while Remus tried to form a coherent thought.
"You are related to Severus Snape?" he asked confused and the kids nodded, "That explains why you look so much like a mixture of Lily and him. And it explains your love for potions."
"So you're telling me that 'Slimy Snape' is a descendant from 'Gryffindor'?" Sirius ground out.
"Yes, why?" Draco asked innocently and Sirius burst out laughing.
"I ... I can't believe it, old Snapey-pooh, a Gryffindor by blood! Wait until he finds out!" the animagus laughed and crumpled on the floor. Only Tom, Remus and Harry noticed the narrowing of Carya's eyes.
"Sirius Orion Black! If you ever tell Professor Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin house about this without our express permission, I'll make you regret ever knowing it, is ... that ... understood?" she growled dangerously and Sirius stopped laughing.
"C ... Carya? What's wrong?" he asked a bit unsure what had just happened.
"What she means Padfoot is that you won't tell Severus if you want to avoid a conflict with the 'Slytherin Six' and a certain werewolf," Remus answered and crossed his arms.
In the end Sirius gave in and promised not to tell Snape or anger the other man in any way. Remus would make sure he kept that promise. On August 2nd Hermione and Harry departed for Hermione's home where Mister and Mrs. Granger were already waiting for them.
Ginny and Draco followed Fred and George as they floo-ed over to 'The Burrow'. The couple would spend two weeks with Ginny's family before coming back to Black Manor. Carya and Tom stayed with Sirius and Remus.
The two adults weren't around very often so the children had the house for themselves. Remus had given each couple an emergency portkey for the place he and Sirius disappeared to every now and then just in case anything bad happened to the kids.
"You can always reach us with this. It's keyed to your magical signature. No one apart from you six can use these," Remus had explained.
Carya and Tom spent most of their time in the potion's lab. They were trying out several pain relievers and looked for one that could perhaps stop the pains from the twins scars. Of course they didn't have any luck so far as they had only looked for one for two days and there were hundreds of recipes in even more potion's books.
On August 5th they went to bed early after having worked in the lab the whole last night. Sleep came easily but the night was anything but restful. Soon after falling asleep Carya started having a nightmare or rather another vision of Voldemort.
Tom who slept next to her was sucked into her vision as she once again couldn't control her powers while sleeping curled up against her boyfriend. Thankfully she could only share her dreams if the other person was really close to her body and actually touching her.
~*~*~ Vision / Dream Sequence ~*~*~
"Lucius, what is the meaning of this visit?" the Dark Lord snarled dangerously.
"My Lord, Severus has indeed been spying for Dumbledore. One of our informants saw him crawling to Dumbledore directly after the last meeting. The attack that we had carefully scheduled has failed too. He is the spy!" Lucius said trying to convince his Master of Severus treachery.
"I see, and the evidence is real? Summon our friends, Lucius and make sure the traitor gets here. We'll have a bit of fun with him before he dies tonight!" Voldemort said and laughed evilly,
"Tonight, my sweet Nagini, tonight you'll have him!"
~*~*~ End Vision / Dream Sequence ~*~*~
In the same second Carya woke up and gave a startled cry and Tom who had seen the entire vision sat up in bed abruptly.
"Tom, he knows! We have to warn Snape! We have to find him," she cried helplessly and Tom wordlessly fetched their robes not bothering to change what they were wearing beneath them.
Carya's phoenix sung for them all the time, trying to soothe the two scared teens and she succeeded partly. Both had calmed down enough to consider their steps and look for their guardians.
The two teenagers looked for Sirius and Remus only to discover that they were gone and left a note telling they'd be back by breakfast. The kids hoped they'd be available at the location where Remus portkey lead to.
Carya activated it with a tap of her wand and both of them where whisked away. They landed in an unknown house and listened for voices. Someone was downstairs and it sounded oddly like Remus. Once again Carya was glad that her animagus form was a wolf. She could also smell them.
Remus was there as were Sirius and Snape. He was still with them and that was a good thing. Remus who was currently sitting in the kitchen of said house hadn't noticed the alarm going of. He would have if he hadn't left his cloak in the hallway.
They two children followed the voices and finally reached their destination. It seemed as if Dumbledore was present as well. Suddenly a small pain-filled hiss could be heard before Snape started talking.
"He's calling Albus. I have to go!" the Hogwarts professor said and was preparing to leave.
This little sentence was enough conviction for Tom and Carya that Snape was at least pretending to be on their side. Gathering all their courage they opened the door, only to be met with the ends of thirteen raised wands.
But the wizards didn't even have time to react since the female intruder started shouting immediately,
"No! You can't go professor! He knows! Headmaster, you have to stop him! Voldemort knows and if Professor Snape goes there tonight he'll die! Lucius Malfoy told Voldemort something about a failed attack and they are convinced that Professor Snape is a spy.
I should have told you earlier but Sirius and Remus have known all the time. We've had visions about Voldemort the whole last year. Just like at the third task. Remy, please, tell them! If he goes, he'll die!
I can't let that happen, I won't loose another member of my family to that monster!" she burst out and realised too late what her last sentence implied.
Chapter 02 - Traitor's, Tales and Discoveries or A Surprise and A Meeting
"What are you talking about, Potter? I'm certainly not of your family!" Snape snapped but he didn't leave the room either which was a good thing in Tom's opinion.
Carya was beyond worrying right then and started telling the assembled a bit of what they knew about their relation to a certain Potion's Master.
"You're wrong, you are related to us! You are fathers second cousin. We know this because we used the family tree charm which professor Flitwick told us about! Your Grandmother on your father's side was Erica Potter, she married Salvarius Snape!
Erica was the sister of James Grandfather! If that's not telling you we are related I don't know what would ..." Carya nearly shouted in desperation to explain everything before she faltered.
"Please don't go. Just stay here," she whispered and looked at him pleadingly when a dark red and blue phoenix swept into the room.
Severus Snape didn't know what to think about her look just then and he didn't move for now. The bird circled above the rooms occupants before hovering in front of the Potions Master. The animal looked at him for a second before tugging at his robe with its beak.
"Yue, what are you doing here?" Carya whispered barely audible.
The birds intentions were clear though. The phoenix tried to drag him back to the table, away from the door. The tugging didn't stop until Snape had sat down again. The bird flew over to her owner and settled down on her shoulder before rubbing her head against the girl's cheek.
"You don't want him to go and die either, don't you girl?" she asked her friend smiling slightly but everyone heard.
"Where did that phoenix come from?" Dumbledore asked utterly surprised.
That brought the attention back into the room and everyone out of the shock about the scene that had just transpired.
Tom shifted behind his girlfriend and gently took her right hand into his. She started explaining after giving a small sigh though.
"She's my companion. I got the egg from Tom this summer. He accidentally stumbled over it and gave it to me. She hatched a week after I got it and I named her Yue. That's Chinese and means 'The Moon'," Carya explained while Remus just smiled at the two kids.
The rest of the group looked at the children suspiciously so he decided to speak for their cause, "She tells the truth Albus. Siri and I knew about the phoenix and we've known about their visions too. Everything they saw until now has indeed happened," Remus said defending his kids.
Dumbledore regarded the children with a curious look before his face turned very serious, "Carya, Tom, you are aware that you just stumbled over one of the biggest secrets regarding the resistance against the Dark Lord, aren't you?"
"Eh, ... I think so. Sorry about that but we had to tell Professor Snape about the vision. I couldn't let him go and get hurt even if we don't like each other. I'm just a tad bit too much of a Gryffindor or even Hufflepuff for that, I guess," she said blushing slightly.
"Remus, didn't your alarm go off when we activated the portkey?" asked Tom confused.
Remus blanched, "Oh no, I left it in the cloak and that's in the hallway. Shit, Albus, this is my fault."
"Well, what's done is done but how do we proceed from now on?" asked a witch with pink hair.
"I don't know what you adults think about this all but I absolutely refuse to have my memory altered. I'm still pissed off with someone about something that happened during the Tournament last year," Carya murmured while glaring half-heartedly at Dumbledore.
Sirius smiled at her antics. Trust Carya to bring that up just now.
"This is a real mess. Does someone have an acceptable idea? I know we can't tell anyone but how am I supposed to keep this a secret from Harry and Draco? They are my brothers. Or Ginny and Hermione?
The last three would work if we tried hard enough but Harry? Nope, not even if hell froze over. I ..." she began but didn't get further as the door burst open and Molly Weasley came storming in.
"Albus, what's wrong, someone used a portkey to get in, sorry that we are late. Bill and Charlie are upstairs they make sure no one's here. ... Oh, what are you two doing here?" Mrs. Weasley asked Tom and Carya after she got over the shock of seeing them.
Carya took the opportunity to go one by answering Molly's question, "We accidentally bumped into a meeting, Mrs Weasley and now we have a problem of secrecy as well as security. Headmaster, the six of us, we know each other too well.
We practically shared everything over the last two years. Everyone of us can tell if the other is lying or hiding something. We can sense each other's feeling since we are so close. I think that if you can trust Tom and myself you can trust the rest of us as well.
But that's up to you. I dare say that no one could get some information out of us without brute force. You could ask Professor Snape about that. He tried to find out things I was unwilling to share with him," the girl told them and now everyone looked at Severus.
Molly Weasley rescued him from answering by responding to Carya's explanations.
"I see, despite from you two being here when you clearly shouldn't, I gather that Ginny, Draco, Harry and Hermione are the problem, right? Well, if you two know then not even Albus can prevent the other four from finding out.
They'll know you're hiding something. The six of you are practically one person," she said and after a short pause added,
"Albus, if these two know you can as well tell the other four. I believe they have some knowledge that could be useful if I heard Fred and George right last night. Something about invisibility which even Alastor's magical eye couldn't break through."
"They did what?" Carya exclaimed before growling under her breath but loud enough for everyone to hear, "These little shits, I told them to keep their mouths shut at home. Just wait until I meet you again Fred and George Weasley, arrrgh. You'll regret ever finding out!"
"What is this about Miss Potter?" asked Albus seriously and even Remus and Sirius looked truly guilty now which on the other hand intrigued Snape.
"You know Siri, this is all your fault! If you hadn't slipped on our birthday Fred and George would've never known!" Carya grumbled at her godfather.
"Miss Potter, I just risked my life by not answering the call, so do yourself a favour and tell what you know!" Snape snapped and she returned his scowl and glare in an equal fashion.
The fact that she managed to look just like him sent Sirius and Remus into small laughing fits.
"Alright, you have a point there, but it's still Tom's and my achievement!" she replied sulking, arms crossed over her chest.
"In fourth year, no before fourth year even started I decided to pursue a potions project. Tom came into it soon after school began. I had accidentally overheard Moony and Padfoot talk about something but was caught because Moony could smell me," she admitted grudgingly.
"I hate getting caught and this didn't exactly go well with my pride. I knew that one can turn invisible with a cloak, a potion or a charm, you can even mask your sounds and footsteps by those means but I didn't know how to hide my scent from someone like Remus or Siri for that matter.
Every animagus with a good sense of smell could find me easily. Sure, there are potions for every of the three but they can't be mixed. That was the problem we tried to get around. And we did just that.
By christmas, after endless hours of research, we knew how to make the first two to work together perfectly. The third, the one to mask your scent, couldn't be taken together with them though because they cancelled each other out.
We had to find out why and find a way around the problem. I was distracted through Ron's return and the egg-clue though and after figuring the egg out we were busy with helping Harry for the second task," she explained.
"So you told him about the Gillyweed then? And I'd bet the two of you prepared it. Your brother couldn't have done it, despite his being capable at Potions brewing in general," Snape asked a bit surprised but thankfully didn't ask where they had gotten the plant.
"Uh, yeah, we actually did but back to the topic. We didn't get very far until the middle of March when we found the reason's why we had problems. We had managed a combined recipe for silence and invisibility but the third one was still not compatible.
If taken together they would turn into poison regardless which one you took first. Naturally we needed to find out why that was. That reason was found quickly. One of the ingredients had to be replaced but we also had to find a substitute that would work like the original ingredient.
As you might remember, on April 2nd we had another Hogsmeade weekend. It was then that I remembered my detention from December 31st, sir!" she told them smirking at Snape now.
Snape looked dumbstruck. It seemed that she really had kept her promise to put that knowledge to use somehow.
"I saw one of the ingredients I'd prepared in the apothecary and remembered it's properties. I just knew it would help us to combine the two remaining potions into one. That was also the day when I found a particular book that you did look at oddly at dinner, professor!" she continued.
The girl smirked at Severus. He knew exactly what she was referring to as did Dumbledore but the rest was left out of this private joke. They could only listen to the girls tale as unbelievable as the story sounded.
"The major breakthrough came in the middle of April during Easter holidays when Tom and I worked in my lab at home. ... Don't look so shocked, Professor Snape, you're not the only person in the world with a private potions lab!" she pouted and then went on with the tale.
"Anyway, we found that the potions could be combined now but that they'd still react strongly and probably cause quite some pain if taken. I found a reference about this reaction in two books, one was in 'Natural Poisons in Potions'.
The other one was in the book I bought at Hogsmeade's bookstore in April, 'An Extensive Guide on Storage and Handling of Potions Ingredients'," the girl said but was interrupted.
"Who'd write, let alone read a book like that? Pretty dry stuff I'd say. Nothing I would want to read ever," said the young witch with pink hair and Severus scowled darkly.
Carya chuckled and everyone watched her now. "I'd be careful Ma'am, the writer is in this very room!" she said and the woman paled when she made the connection to Snape.
"Oh, and it's not dry stuff or boring. It's quite interesting but most people just don't appreciate the given information much less understand the whole thing either!" the girl added to everyone's astonishment.
Severus had to suppress a smile. He had the vague impression that she was amusing herself as much as possible after she had practically been forced to tell one of her secrets. She certainly took everything she could get out of the situation.
Even if that meant embarrassing the assembled wizards and witches.
"With a pinch of moonstone we would be able to combine the two brews without violent reaction but that would lessen the effects so much that it would be almost useless. There had to be a solution to that too. How to enhance the potency again without reversing the moonstone's effects?
After another three hours of going over our notes and looking through the various books on ingredients, their properties and effects as well as their reaction with others, we found something that looked quite promising. It was actually quite simple in the end but it took some time to find out.
We just had to add two strings of fluxweed before adding one drop of belladonna-essence. That made the potion work like it should without harming the drinker. Some finely chopped daisy roots made it possible to take the brew without getting a severe stomach-ache.
After that we tested it on several rats and mice that were provided alive by our snake familiars ... I for one would have preferred a certain special rat for experiment but he was unfortunately unavailable," Carya ended with a scowl and paused for a second to take a deep breath.
Most of them knew who she was referring to. The aurors hadn't found a trace of Pettigrew after his escape and it was common knowledge how much young Carya Potter hated the mans very being.
"Later in the holidays we took the potion ourselves once we'd figured out how much needed to be taken by humans. It works well enough but it has some downsides like every compromise. If you drop your wand for example the object becomes visible.
The magic creates some kind of invisibility skin around you. You can even pull another person under it but that shortens the duration period of the potion. It depends on how much weight or mass is put under the potion's magic.
You can still see yourself though. Not in a mirror but to yourself you appear slightly transparent and greyish like a ghost. Other's under the same potion can see you too. As I said, there are some downsides.
Communication is impossible because of the silencing part. You'd either have to use something like the muggles do or you have to be skilled at telepathy for that," she finished her explanation and everyone gaped at the kids.
"You two figured all that out? Alone?" asked a witch from the back of the room in a disbelieving tone.
Carya started scowling but remained mostly polite. Although Tom couldn't suppress a jest into Snape's direction.
"Yes, we did. Mind you, we have a good and inventive teacher who never spares us a challenge when he finds one," Tom grinned and looked pointedly at Snape who glared at them in return.
"How long does it take to make a batch of that? And how do you know that it really works during battle?" Moody inquired.
Carya blushed bright red to her own annoyance and bit her lip. A glance at Tom showed that there was no way out, she had to tell about the third task. She sighed deeply and told the assembled people what they'd hidden until then.
"It takes a bit less than three hours to brew and we always have some at home now. It can be stored successfully for about three month when stored cool and in a dark area. A temperature about 4 to 8 degrees centigrade [°C] (39 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit [°F]) seems to be most effective.
As for usage in battle, well, eh, ..." she hesitated a bit before throwing all of that overboard, "Ah, sod it all, we know that it'll work because it's already been tested in that area."
"How so?" asked Dumbledore looking quite curious.
"Can't you guess? Harry did it, he used it to escape from Voldemort after the third task. He didn't only run towards the cup and grabbed it, he took the potion and carefully dodged the curses to get there without too much risk.
He's not an idiot, you know? Survival had top priority. It is working fine and the antidote to the potion works just as well. We made one in case you need to reappear before the potion wears off.
I know for a fact that Voldemort was anything but pleased when Harry disappeared without a trace right under his non-existent nose," she told the adults and everyone was stunned into silence.
A man in Auror's robes was the first to recover.
"You are telling us, that you, two fourteen year olds at that time, combined three potions that couldn't be combined before into one with a minimum of downsides and side effects, actually made it work, tested it and created an antidote for it, all by yourself?
Excuse me but frankly, I don't believe you," he said not believing the kids at all.
Severus was quite impressed though. He had known they were really good students when it came to potions but this was very much surprising.
"You would do better to believe Miss Potter and Mister Riddle. I have to admit that they are quite skilled at potions. Naturals if you wish a description. They nearly managed to brew Veritaserum at the age of fourteen and only stumbled over the last few steps since their timing was off.
Their potion had full potency but would have made the drinker horribly sick the moment someone took it. I dare say they are skilled enough to do all this by themselves. Had they not, they never would have been able to give a description as accurate and detailed as they did just now,"
Snape told the group of adults coldly and then turned to the couple, "Listen you two, if this ever gets to anyone but your four extensions I'll make sure you fail your potions Owls, is that clear?"
"Of course, Professor! But it was good to hear that we aren't as bad at potions as you tried to make us believe since we started our schooling," she said smirking at the last part.
Snape just shook his head and grumbled something unintelligible. This girl was infuriating. He had been unable to get any reaction other than sarcasm out of her at all lately. It really seemed that her temper was under better control nowadays.
"So, what now?" Tom and Carya asked in unison.
"Why didn't you tell us in June that Harry used this, Carya?" Albus asked carefully.
"I think you know why, headmaster. You should remember what you did or rather didn't do the day of the second task. We never really trusted you again after that, I for one still don't do so. But circumstances have changed slightly so I had to tell you now," she said coolly before shrugging,
"As for the rest, the six of us rarely trust anyone apart from our guardians. It's simply safer that way. Had I trusted that Death Eater impostor last year I don't want to think what could've happened.
I felt it from the beginning that there was something wrong with that man and my suspicions were confirmed when he was angry at me for being good at defensive magic.
"Why did you think that? And what do you mean by feeling it?" asked the curious pink haired woman.
"I broke Crouch's Imperius on the first try and when he asked for a second go he most likely tried his best as every of my fellow classmates could see and it didn't affect me at all," Carya replied smirking proudly,
"And my shield charms didn't break once when he tried to curse me during defence class. Mister Moody should be able to confirm that my shield is fairly good for a fourth year student. They tested them as part of the practical exam," she continued smiling.
Everyone looked at Moody for confirmation and he simply nodded.
"So you say that you can break 'Imperius', eh? Care to prove that, Potter?" he then asked, challenging her and she regarded him warily for a second.
Carya looked around, glanced briefly at Snape, Moony and Padfoot who looked at her reassuringly before she nodded.
"Sure, why not!" the girl shrugged.
"Good," Moody said before suddenly pointing his wand at her and speaking the curse, "Imperio! ... Jump onto the table, Potter."
Everyone could see her surprise at being attacked that quickly but Carya only blinked once and started grinning. The blinking was all that was visible of the fight she did internally.
"I really don't think so. That would be a very stupid thing to do now, wouldn't it!" she replied smirking and sat down on Tom's lap.
"I have to say, I'm impressed Potter. Really strong will you have there," Moody answered.
She had every reason to be proud now. And that showed on her face as well. She knew that she and her friends were powerful just not to what extent.
"About the potion, Carya, would you show Severus your recipe and research," asked Albus.
She frowned before answering. " I suppose I could do that, but ... if anyone claims this as his or her work, they'll be very, very sorry!" she growled in a menacing tone while narrowing her eyes dangerously.
Her tone was what shocked all those who didn't know her. She was scary when she did that and the small wave of her power was still in the air. In addition to that not many people knew that she could change moods in a heartbeat for no apparent reason all the time.
"Carya, don't do that, they don't know what to think about you. No one will claim your work and research, promise!" Remus Lupin tried to soothe her.
She looked at him for a second before relaxing a bit, "If you say so Moony, I'll believe it."
"You two should get home now. Here, that's a portkey home. We'll talk tomorrow. Please keep this to yourself until we've talked it through, okay?" he continued.
"Okay, night Moony, night Padfoot! Come Yue, we're going home," she said and to her guardians surprise kissed both men lightly on the cheek.
The rest stared at her in disbelief. This girl was definitely strange. Partly young child like just now and partly a grown-up teenager with more skill at some parts of magic than most adults ever had. Her temper was also a force to be reckoned with.
She was suddenly engulfed in Tom's arms and the children portkeyed back to Black Manor.
"Very powerful little brat" the auror who hadn't believed them said.
"That she is, Kingsley. That she is and she knows it. She is very much aware of her powers just not of their actual extent. I suspect that she is an Empath as well. It would explain why she feels it when something is going to happen soon.
Although her powers are more apparent when she is angry, she has developed a good control over them. Not like during her second year when she didn't know how to handle the flow of magic," the headmaster told them thinking about the two students.
"Albus, you are aware that by making them show Severus the potion, you are directly involving both children in Order business, aren't you?" Remus remarked a bit worried.
"Yes Remus, I am. I know they are very young but especially these two are really powerful. You can see that if you take a look at their wand core. I trust everyone here knows about Harry Potter's wand and it's brother? "Albus asked and everyone nodded.
"That type of wood is difficult to control when combined with Phoenix feathers. Yew, Holly and Black Cherry are the most powerful woods for wands next to ash. Harry's wand is made of Holly while Voldemort's wand is of Yew wood. Miss Potter also carries a wand made of Yew and Mister Riddle's wand was made of Black Cherry.
All four have a core of a single phoenix feather. The feather is what connects Harry's wand to Voldemort's since Fawkes gave both of those feathers. With Tom and Carya the feather is from different birds but an addition to the cores makes them brother wands and even more difficult to control," the old wizard said.
"What is it Albus? What makes them so difficult to wield?" asked an excited looking wizard in funny robes.
"What makes them special Dedalus, is the following. Both children share this addition as it comes from the same magical creature. The same part of it to be exact," the headmaster said beating around the bush.
"Spit it out already, Albus!" demanded Alastor Moody.
"The feather's in their wands are coated with powdered Basilisk fang," interrupted Severus.
"What? How can they even manage a single spell with such a core?" Molly wanted to know.
"Who of you knows about Tom Riddle?" Albus asked and about half of the hands were raised.
"The boy you just saw is not to be judged by what I'm going to tell you as they are completely different from each other!" he said making sure that everyone swore not to act upon the information.
"Voldemort's birth name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He attended Hogwarts from 1938 to 1945 before changing his name by using an anagram. This Tom here whom you just saw has the same past as the Dark Lord until the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts.
Until then he was just a pretty smart orphan boy with an affection for the Dark Arts in general. Sometime after that he changed. The Dark Lord stored a memory of his barely fifteen year old self in a diary before he opened the Chamber of Secrets and killed a student.
Our Tom is said memory. He has been revived during the Potter twins third year with the help of Fawkes. Soon after the encounter he became friends with Carya, Harry and their companions. These children now build a group that is called the 'Slytherin Six' among the student population.
He is very different from Voldemort but they have the same past up to a certain point of life. Both Tom and the twins are, as you might know, Parselmouths. Though no one knows where the Potters got this skill. We have theories but they cannot be proven.
Tom got his from his Slytherin ancestors as he is the heir of Slytherin. This may be the reason why the two children are able to control such a wand at all. The six friends are inseparable and anyone who tried to do anything to them until now got into big trouble.
I wouldn't worry about Carya Potter though. She has quite a temper most of the time and from a certain point one should better not tease her any further but she still has a good heart and wouldn't harm anyone seriously unless her life was in danger," Albus explained the others.
"Although she can be quite infuriating at times," grumbled Severus.
"Oh come on Sev! You're just pissed that she liked those two detentions with you," grinned Sirius momentarily forgetting that he was forbidden to tease Severus Snape in any way if he wanted to avoid the wrath of Remus and the 'Slytherin Six'.
"I'm warning you, this is the last time I say this. Don't call me Sev! You have no right to!" the Potions Master growled and was ready to lung at the dog-animagus.
"Siri, stop baiting Severus. You do know that only one person ever gained this right. You remember our 'argument' about the kids plans for easter? And the one a few days ago? ... Good, if you don't stop this instant you'll get the same treatment again!" Remus threatened and Sirius shut up immediately which got them several raised eyebrows.
Sirius Black shutting up like that was a first. No one had ever been able to accomplish something like that without much yelling.
"What was so special about the detentions?" asked the pink haired woman whose name was Nymphadora Tonks.
"They were about potions, storing and handling of Potions ingredients and cleaning cauldrons, Tonks. Carya's obsessed with that subject. You hardly find a book not based on potions or her other hobby in her room. Some about pranks too but mainly those two groups," explained Remus.
"What's the other hobby, Lupin?" Moody asked but everyone was curious.
Severus Snape just snorted. He had a good idea what this 'hobby' was. Ever since they'd tested the students reactions to Veritaserum he had watched them closely. Albus though was quite curious as he didn't know the teens that well.
"You should not know this but since you'll know anyway because Severus already does after the little session during survival class. ... ," Remus said and when Snape raised an eyebrow he went on,
"Yes Severus, they told me about that. She and Tom have developed a lively interest in the Dark Arts. They are very objective on that matter though and study both sides.
Curse and Countercurse, Poison and Antidote. They don't take it lightly either. I was shocked when I found out but they are very careful. They know what can happen if they aren't. Carya has shown us every book in her possession to make sure we know about it.
Her shelves aren't hidden either. I hope you don't betray the trust she has in me by assuming things about the couple. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone and if she finds out I'll surely be yelled and screamed at if not worse."
"No child should be allowed to study them at all," Molly Weasley threw in angry at Sirius and Remus for allowing such a thing.
"Carya and Harry never really were children, Molly! They had their first contact with dangerous dark magic before they could walk and talk properly. They have seen their parents being killed, what do you expect? I can understand her desire to understand what ruined their lives," snapped Sirius.
"She's not only concentrating on those thing, that you know it. Carya only had three exams that weren't 'Outstanding' those were History of Magic, Arithmancy and Astronomy. She also loves playing pranks with her friends.
And she's capable of something most fallen dark wizards aren't. She is capable of love! I won't have anyone assuming otherwise," he continued hotly defending his little girl when Remus put a hand on his friends arm.
"Siri is right. She might belong to the snakes house but she has the heart of a true lioness. I wouldn't want to cross them. If those six stick together nothing can stop them. They are practically one person by now. They share everything," the werewolf said.
"I have to agree with Lupin. The group is very secretive and does not trust strangers. Only a selected few have ever gained their trust. Not many have their respect. Not even all teachers have that.
I do remember what they did to Lockhart in their third year. Not that he didn't deserve it," Severus admitted with a smirk at the last part.
"We can trust these children. They won't disappoint us. I believe that they still hide some things about the third task and about themselves but they never outright lied. They are very strong willed and open-minded young wizards. They add up their abilities as well.
We have never had as many good Slytherin students as this year. Through the help of these children some inter-house couples have developed better than expected. We even have a Gryffindor-Slytherin pair right now," Albus explained further.
"Really? I'd never thought that would be possible. Do we know the kids, Albus?" asked Tonks.
"I don't know about the girl which would be Miss Blaise Zabini from Slytherin but you know the boy's parents. It's Neville Longbottom, the son of Frank and Alice. He finally shows what he's really capable of now that he has found a girlfriend.
As you might know his Grandmother was fearing he might be a Squib when she took him in and it seemed that way for the first three years of his schooling as well. Last year he started showing his skills in all subjects.
By now he is an at least mediocre if not better student in most subjects. His best are Herbology and History though. Oh, and young Miss Potter has a scary sense of humour sometimes so don't be offended.
I remember a day when they had to test their colour changing potions. You should remembers those from your own time at school. They made one for eye-colour that day and Miss Potter chose red.
She really looked a bit scary like that and frightened some of the students and even a few of the professors when she started smirking. The girl was fully aware of the reaction she caused within teachers and students alike," the headmaster said calmly.
"That reminds me Albus, did you have them followed when they stayed at Privet Drive? Carya mentioned that she felt being followed by someone the whole time. But it didn't feel threatening, merely curious and wary, she said," asked Remus.
Albus looked surprised as did some others. That was truly unexpected.
"You are right Remus, we did watch them and it proved to be good when those Dementors appeared. She felt them before they got to the children, didn't she? That's why they could get away long before we were able to help," said Dedalus Diggle.
"Yes, Carya often listens to her feelings and they have never betrayed her since she was five," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"She's quite clever and Albus is right. She must have some empathic powers at least. I didn't think the kids would notice that they are being watched," said Tonks with a hint of surprise and awe.
"Severus, you'll let the two children explain their research to you when they're back at school. We don't want to worry them to much before the term starts. We do have a problem though. This year's defence teacher!
Fudge is interfering more than I'd like and there's nothing we can do since the board of governors already agreed to his plans, ..." Albus said and the other thirteen wizards and witches listened to his worries.
~*~*~ Meanwhile at Black Manor ~*~*~
"I think we should just get back to bed, Tom. Snape didn't go to that meeting and if old Snake-face gets angry tonight we'll know it. I'm really looking forward to our visit in Diagon Alley. It'll take my mind of this," Carya told her boyfriend.
"You're right, love. Let's head back to bed. Don't worry, we'll be fine. Harry is safe with Hermione and Draco is with Ginny. Nothing will happen to them!" the boy soothed her knowing fully well what she was thinking about.
The two soon to be fifth years went back to Carya's rooms and settled down for the rest of the night. It was already half past five in the morning when they were woken up by another nightmare.