DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or anyone else from the books/movies, I'm just gratefully borrowing the idea with a little of my own creativity thrown in just for the heck of it.
Warning: Half Blood Prince spoilers!
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Strangers from Aruba
As Harry turned to leave he noticed a solemn figure standing in the middle of the row, people didn't really seem to notice that anything was unusual, they were all to over come with grief, but something wasn't right it was a hot sunny day and this person was wearing a dark purple cloak. Harry looked around thinking 'this is so weird, how come nobody notices?'. Then he spotted more people wearing cloaks scattered on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, none of their faces were visible, including the stranger in purple.
He looked to Hermione and Ron. Hermione was also looking at the purple stranger, "Odd isn't it," she said in her matter-of-fact tone, mouthing what Harry thought. "What?" asked Ron, apparently unaware of anything peculiar. "Strange to be wearing a cloak in this weather, isn't it?" said Hermione. Harry nodded and Ron looked around to see what she was talking about, his gaze fell on the cloaked stranger. "Look, there are more!" Ron pointed out as some of the other cloaked strangers stepped out of the sanctuary of the shadows the Forbidden Forest provided and started walking towards the groups of people surrounding Dumbledores grave.
The first thing that Harry thought was that they were Death Eaters, here to kill the unsuspecting people while they were unaware and unprotected. 'I have to stop them!' he thought and without thinking he charged towards the one in the purple cloak who was clearly the leader on this mission. The 'leader' had his head bowed, seemingly in respect for the dead but Harry knew that it was to conceal his true identity until the attack was set in motion, so when Harry, who wanted to cause every single Death Eater pain, ran at him from his right side, he was unaware. Or at least that's what Harry thought.
Only a few feet away, Harry reached into his waistband to pull out his wand. Without showing any indication that he knew what was about to transpire, the figure threw off the purple cloak and while there was an indistinguishable shout from a cloaked disciple somewhere to Harry's right, a sword was extracted from an elaborately jewelled, brown leather sheath that hug at the left hip of what Harry was surprised to see, was a woman. He stopped in his tracks as the woman brandished her long sword at him as if daring him to come closer. His wand was in his hand, he griped it tightly, but did not strike the stranger as he had intended to, perhaps he was in shock of the sight before him or maybe it was awe that had made him falter, all he could do was stare dumbfounded as witches and wizards all around him caught sight of this strange scene, even by wizarding standards.
The woman, as he realized was not quite a woman but more a girl, who had to be not much older than himself. She looked out of place, as she stood there unblinking, unwavering, in her ground sweeping ivory gown. The sleeves on her dress were long but started to flare out at mid-tricep giving full view of her scratched up arms and bruised knuckles and it had a delicate scoop neck that showed off her bruised collarbone and the black oddly shaped pendant that she wore around her neck, if the pendant had not glown in the sunlight Harry would have sworn it was a finely polished stone.
Her skin was pale and her hair was long and wavy and the color of fresh straw, her eyes were bright green like two sparkling emeralds and her lips were a red tinge like she had just eaten strawberries, there was a fresh cut on her left eyebrow and a light bruise along her left cheekbone giving the appearance that she had recently been in a scuffle. She wore a weird silver headband keeping her bangs off her face and had a single blood red flower tucked behind her left ear. Her sheath looked odd against her otherwise delicate and feminine features and attire, but her sword looked like it belonged in her hand as she held it steadily staring at Harry.
Minutes passed as she stared at him trying to decipher the meaning of his attack. People who had noticed the commotion were staring at both Harry and the strange girl unsure of what to do. After what seemed like ages, but was really only a few minutes, a cloaked man with his sword raised ran in front of the girl apparently trying to protect her but was already far to late, for she had already protected herself. Then one by one four others stepped in her path with the first man as others still continued to come to the girl's aid.
Harry took a step back and raised his wand in order to protect himself, as other wizards, including Ron and Hermione, came to Harry's aid. The girl looked around at everyone, then sensing danger she slid her sword back into it's sheath and stepped in front of the cloaked men lowering equipped arms as she went. When she got to the front of the crowd the first cloaked man that had come to her aid was there and him and Lupin were glaring at each other both unwilling to strike first and initiate danger for the others. Then the man said something to Lupin that neither Harry or the girl heard, but made him angry enough to curse the man and send him to the ground. The man recovered quickly and charged at Lupin tackling him to the ground, others followed suit and a small brail broke out amongst the strangers and the wizards.
The girl started going amongst the people, surrounded by a few or her men, trying to separate a few fighters as she went. She got to the man that had initiated the fight and tried to pull him and Lupin apart. The men had not noticed the girl and she was pushed to the ground. Two men were immediately at her side and grabbing under both arms, pulled her to her feet, and then threw themselves into the fight with the men that had knocked her down. She brushed herself off and looked around obviously disgruntled with a look half angry, half sad, on her face.
"ENOUGH!" she yelled, with more volume then Harry could have thought possible from such a frail looking girl. At the sound of her voice, many of the men stopped fighting and stared at her. Men who had gotten a finale curse or hit from the wizards, did not strike back but gave them a venomous glare before looking back to their lady. She tried to pry others still fighting apart, with the help of some men, including wizards. Some did not give up so easily; including Lupin and the strange man who Harry just realized had a large scar across his right eye.
When everyone had been stopped, she turned to her men and said, "put away your weapons," they did. Then turning to the wizards, who still had their wands raised, she stated what seemed like a plea, "Please stop," for the wizards were cat-calling and trying to instigate a further fight, "we did not come here to fight," she paused trying to let her words sink in and hopefully end any violence that she sensed was close, "I am sorry for my actions, for that is what started this. I thought I was being attacked by a young man, but it seems that he means me no harm." 'Yes I did' thought Harry, as a few people looked at him.
"As for my men," she continued in a calm, kind voice, "I am sorry for their actions as well, though they were only trying to defend me, so I stand by them." she noticed that most of the wizards still had their wands raised, "please we mean you no harm and we have put away our weapons, it seems only just that you would do the same." she said, not unkindly then waited for their response. A few wizards cautiously put them away, most just lowered them to their sides and a few, including Lupin and Mad-eye kept theirs raised.
" Who are you? What do you want?" asked Mad-eye, wanting to get to the bottom of things.
" We are here to pay our respects for Dumbledore and if it is possible, find out what has happened," the girl told them as if it were the most obvious reason.
"You knew Dumbledore?" asked Lupin.
"Yes,"
" Who are you?" Mad-eye asked again.
She held her head high and answered, " We come from the village Aruba. I am Vada from the Minoto clan and these are my men."
"Liar," somebody shouted from in the crowd, "they are death eaters, they have come to kill us while we grief!"
After that out burst people started voicing their agreement and another fight broke out among the strangers and wizards, while professor McGonagall pushed her way threw groups of students and wizards. Once she was at the front of the crowd she searched out for the woman she had heard, she spotted a very well protected young woman whom she thought couldn't be much older than maybe 20. 'Dumbledore said she was young but I had no idea she would be this young' she thought to herself.
She stopped as she spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione ganging up on a beefy looking man in unadorned clothing and a black cloak. She scowled at them for muggle fighting and put a curse on the man and he quickly stiffened and fell over unmoving, then she continued on her way over to the young lady who was quickly being ushered away by the men surrounding her. She was putting up a bit of a fight but they were ignoring her, trying to get her to safety. As McGonagall approached a few pointed their swords at her and warned her to stay where she was. McGonagall was annoyed and displeased at being threatened and had a mind to teach them a lesson, but before she could do anything Vada stepped forward and beraided her men for threatening a woman who had showed no signs of aggression. 'She's as kind as Dumbledore said she was,' McGonagall observed.
Vada held her hand out to the professor, "my name is Vada," she offered.
McGonagall took her hand, "Professor Minerva McGonagall," she said back.
Vada's eyes opened wide and she looked kind of shocked for a minute before, her face changed into a look of compassion for she knew that today must be a sad day for the woman that Dumbledore had loved. "I am sorry for your lose," she said kindly. McGonagall forced a small smile, for it was hard to smile these days, and thanked the girl for her condolence.
"Are your really Vada from Aruba?" she asked.
"Yes I am, I take it that Albus told you about me."
"Yes, he has but what are you doing here?"
"I came to warn him...but I see that I am to late."
McGonagall bowed her head and nodded.
"Tell me, when did this happen?"
"One week ago, it is most tragic," she told Vada, tears welling in her eyes.
Vada touched her arm and looked sympathetically at the woman.
Not wanting to waste time Vada said, "I need to talk to the person who is in charge now, as soon as possible, there are matters that I wish to discuss."
"That would be me," the professor stated, returning back to business.
"Is there some where we could talk privately?" she inquired, "That is after I stop this of course," gesturing to the fighting crowd.
"We can talk in my office."
"Good," she simply said, then was on her way into the crowd breaking up fights, while McGonagall assisted her.
It took them awhile but they finally managed to stop the fighting, mainly because nobody wanted to cross McGonagall. Then Vada got her men together to follow her into the castle and McGonagall got people from the order to come along to. As they were making their way to the front doors Vada spotted the young man who had tried to attack her, she stopped. "I would like that one to come along too," she told the professor, "I have questions for him."
"Very well," she said and sent two men to get him.
They continued to the front doors where Vada told her men, except for the scarred man and three others including a woman that nobody had noticed before, to wait outside and out of the way. She also stated that there was to be no fighting or they would have to answer to her. They walked through the castle, everybody glaring at each other especially Lupin and the scarred man, until they got to two gargoyles in the wall and they stopped as McGonagall uttered the password and Harry, along with Ron, Hermione and the two men, caught up with them.
Once in the office that use to belong to Dumbledore, McGonagall took her seat behind the desk and offered a chair to Vada, which she politely declined.
"There are matters that I would like to discuss with this gentleman first," she said rounding on Harry.
She stared at him for a few seconds, which made him a little uncomfortable; he was now regretting his earlier actions against her.
"What is the meaning of this, why are we here?" Mad-eye asked a little irritated that he had to be in the same room as these strange people.
"That will be addressed in time Mr?..."
"Mad-eye," he offered.
"Mr. mad-eye. First I would like to hear from this boy why it is that he attacked me?" she took a step closer to him and had to look up into his face for he was taller than her, "well?" she asked.
Everyone was staring at him and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous and angry.
'Boy!' he thought, 'she's not much older than I am and she calls me boy !'
He cleared his throat, "well... I...I...I thought you were death eaters," he finally spat out, feeling himself going red in the face as he said so. The reaction he got from his words was not one that he had expected, he thought that he would be at least scolded at, but she just smiled, it was a small one but it was a smile. He was confused, he had tried to attack her and she smiled at him? Weird.
"While than I guess that I should be pleased with your fast reaction," she said kindly, "had I really been a death eater, you would have prevented me from being a threat to the people around you, well done." then she smiled again and walked back towards the desk, "By the way," she said seriously, "your shoes squeak."
'So that's how she heard me' he realized, 'funny, I didn't hear anything.' He was getting more confused with every passing minute.
"Is that all?" McGonagall asked.
"Yes, that is all," she turned back to Harry, " sorry for the inconvenience." she said to him.
"But your majesty, he attacked you!" the scarred man burst out, outraged, " you can't just let him go, he must be punished."
At that everybody looked at Vada all of them shocked at what they had just heard, all except for McGonagall who was staring at the scarred man with a look of anger on her face. 'Not in my school!' she thought.
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Oh, by the way I already know that Aruba is the name of a real country, buuuut for my story's purpose it's also the name of a village (only because I really like the word and it seemed to fit)