Chapter One: You Never Get To Ignore Something Forever

Author's Note: Just a few notes before you start reading: first, I actually don't own Harry Potter. I know, right? Who would've thought? Second, a link to the playlist for each chapter will be posted on my profile, so definately take a look at that. Finally, I'd really love to hear what you guys think, so REVIEW!! You know you really want to.

Playlist: Stationary Stationary by Anberlin

Rathien Westwood lounged against the stone wall outside of the courtroom, waiting for the case to be finished. She didn't know exactly how long it was going to go on, but it felt like she'd been here forever already.

After checking her watch she muttered, "Only ten minutes. Christ."

Turning her head to looking back down the corridor the way she had come, she felt a chill. Being here, not just here in the Ministry, but back here in London, felt so strange. It was like she was coming back to a childhood home after years having been gone. In truth, it was sort of like that. For all intents and purposes, England was more of a home to her than any place had ever been.

"But that was a long time ago." She muttered, pulling her black jacket closer around her body. "I'm not here to reminisce. I'm here for the Order. For Dumbledore."

And that was the plain truth. She wasn't here to connect with the old friends she'd had once, and left now. She wasn't here to visit her old favorite places. She was simply here to do her part for the Order. When Dumbledore had called her, she couldn't exactly tell him that she didn't want to go so she could avoid her memories. She'd just have to suck it up.

When the door to the courtroom was suddenly pulled open, and Dumbledore himself strode out, she pushed herself quickly off the wall and stepped in his path.

Before she could speak, he told her, "He's cleared, just as we predicted. You're plan of action worked just as we wanted it to, despite having to face the entire council. He doesn't realize that you'll be taking him back, so you'll need to explain that to him. Drop by Arthur's office with him before you leave."

And with that he strode off down the corridor, not leaving her a chance to speak. This wasn't like the Dumbledore she'd known in her youth. It wasn't even like the Dumbledore that she'd worked with during Voldemort's last rising. Something was wrong with him, and she didn't really understand what that was.

The door opened again, and Harry emerged. He paused just outside the door, looking vaguely concerned. Clearly he'd been expecting Arthur to still be here.

"Arthur had to go back to work, Harry." She said, walking slowly towards him. Ignoring the pang in her chest as she observed how striking his family resemblance was, she continued. "I'm here to take you back."

He still looked confused, and a mixture of apprehension and fear played across his features. "Um. Who exactly are you?" He asked confusedly.

"Oh, excuse my manners." She laughed. "I'm Rathien Westwood."

She held her hand out to him, and they shook briefly.

"Dumbledore called me in from Romania, for the Order." She explained to him, quietly as to be sure that no one overheard their conversation.

"And how do I know that's true?" He asked.

Good boy. She thought. Analyze the situation.

Her smile widened, and she gestured for him to follow her. "Because not only did Dumbledore himself just walk out of here past me, but because we're going up to see Arthur. He'll be able to find out the good news, and you'll be able to confirm my identity for you. Sound good?"

He nodded, and they set off to the lifts. As they walked she watched him closely, feeling so strange to be standing with the son of Lily and James. If anything here was going to bring back memories, he sure would. They remained silent for the ride up to the higher level, and she saw that he was watching her closely too. At least he had a good head about him. It was wise to be wary these days. Especially of her.

As they entered the correct level, Rathien led them at a sharp clip. Walking through the Auror's Office was difficult for her, and she hated to be spotted by any of them. Of course she heard sharp exclamations of surprise as they walked, and a few even called out to her. Damn me for working here, she thought.

She didn't stop however, refusing to waste her time on things that she wasn't instructed to do. Talking to them was not part of her job, and she refused to do it anymore. She'd had enough of that for a lifetime.

Pulling the door open to the Muggle Studies Office, she shoved Harry in ahead of her.

Arthur looked up from the pile of papers on his desk, his eyes startled at their sudden appearance into his office.

"Harry!" He exclaimed. "How was it?"

"Oh, good. I got off." He said quietly, relief saturating his tone.

"That's fantastic!" He cried. "Of course you did! I told you'd that they'd understand, did I?"

Harry smiled at him, and there was a moments silence. Then Arthur registered that there was another presence in the room.

Turning to look at Rathien, his eyes widened in surprise. "Rathien? Rathien Westwood?"

"Yes, Arthur, it's me." She said, trying to sound as upbeat as possible. And failing miserably. "I'm here to take Harry back to Headquarters."

"Of course!" He said, sitting back down in his chair. "Dumbledore told me that you'd be here for that, yes, I remember. I still wonder why though. Could it really be that dangerous going back?" He alluded to her reputation for defensive magic.

"No, I don't think so Arthur. It seems to me that it was just more convenient for me to bring him. I just arrived an hour or so ago, and I'll be heading the Headquarters now anyway." She explain, rather stiffly. Even after only a minute or so, she was exhausted with conversation. Perhaps she'd have been better off in Bucharest, after all. Perhaps she shouldn't have even come here.

"Sure, sure." He said, obviously getting the same awkward vide she was.

Deciding to just end this crap, she clasped her hands and said, "Well, we'll be off, then. See you this evening, Arthur?"

"Yes, of course. See you shortly." He said. "And congratulations, Harry."

With that, they left the Ministry. Rathien had carefully considered their route back earlier, and decided that it was probably best to just take the regular Muggle way. All forms of magical transportation were capable of being traced, and they just couldn't afford to take that chance. And it'll take you longer to get there, she thought privately. Furious with herself for having this discussion once again, she pounded along the sidewalk, forcing Harry to jog slowly to keep up with her long strides.

Once they had gotten through the underground, they found themselves walking across a park as a shortcut. Glancing to her right, Rathien spotted a bench and decided to give poor Harry a break. Or yourself, she thought.

"Why are we stopping?" Harry asked, sitting down with a grateful sigh.

"I just figured that we could use a break." She said quietly, sitting down next to him.

She heard the skepticism in his silence, so she figured that she might as well be honest with him. And herself.

"It might be that I'm a little reluctant to go back there." She admitted.

"Why?"

"Well, I haven't seen any of them in a very long time. Twenty years, give or take."

"And you're afraid it will be…awkward?"

"It's not just that." She sighed. "Sirius and I…well, you could say that we go way back."

"You used to date?" He guessed. "What happened? You guys just broke up?"

"It's not exactly that simple." She said, looking out across the park. "Sirius and I…we had a very complicated relationship. To say that we just 'used to date' doesn't really even begin to scratch the surface." She sighed, and looked back at Harry. "We started out as friends, you see. All of us, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter. I wouldn't say that I was part of the group, because I most certainly wasn't. Yet I was friendly with all of them. Mostly I handled them as separate friendships, and never was with them as a group. Don't ask me why, I couldn't really tell you that. Without delving into a very complicated situation, let's just stick to me and Sirius. You see, we sort of bonded early on with out familial relations…which I really don't want to delve into either. But we had certain similarities that only we could really understand. Things about expectations and feeling like an outcast in our more dark-magic loving families…that's something that we could only really talk to with each other. Sirius wouldn't go too far into that with the guys…it broke his macho reputation. As for me, well…I was friendly with several girls, but my best girlfriend was probably your mom…and I just couldn't tell that to her. I didn't…I don't know. I just never really could do that. I was embarrassed, I guess. So Sirius and I were close, but it was….well, different. To a certain extent, I felt like we had a really deep friendship, but at the same time it seemed like he and I were distant in this sort of mysterious way." She shrugged. "That probably sounds completely stupid." She closed her eyes briefly, exhausted by giving such a quick summation of such a complex situation.

"No," Harry protested, "that makes sense to me, sort of. I think I know what you're trying to say."

She laughed, shoving his shoulder. "Thank God. Because I just don't think that I really know what I'm trying to say. It's more of an emotional thing…not so easily put into words.'

'So anyway, Sirius and I stayed this way for a few years. I guess that I always felt that attraction to him, but I never wanted to go there. It just felt like we had too much in our friendship to risk loosing it all by a failed relationship.'

'So we each dated and all of that. But in our fifth year things changed. We had this Christmas dance, and things got heated. Jealousy and all that good stuff. To make a long story short, we ended up dating then. We both knew that it was this big thing…that this was really pivotal, and couldn't just be some sort of quick fling. We depended on each other too much for that, and neither of us would be able to return to our friendship if this failed.'

'But obviously, it did fail. In our sixth year I caught Sirius and this other girl in a corridor in a…compromising position." She paused. "Needless to say, I broke up with him. Things were rough for a long time, and he kept insisting that I didn't understand, but I wouldn't listen. Eventually, James made me listen. You see, your dad and I were also friends. People used to call us twins...because we were like brother and sister. So he forced me to hear what Sirius had been trying to tell me—that this other girl had slipped Sirius a love potion and he couldn't help himself."

"So what happened then? Why didn't you get back together?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

"Well…I guess that's really my fault. By then, I'd convinced myself that Sirius and I were never meant to be. I'd really erased him from my life, not really to the better, but he wasn't part of who I was anymore. I guess none of the Marauders were after that point. And Lily. They all sided with the logical point…that Sirius was right, and I was a bitch for never forgiving him.'

'But what they didn't understand was the complication that had arisen with my new boyfriend, Henry. He was a vampire, also a wizard, and had transferred into Hogwarts in our sixth year. I'd had this really strange connection to him, and things got really ridiculous. We began dating just before seventh year, and….well." She chuckled. "Henry and I…well, we had to work hard at things because most people tend to look down on vampires in wizarding society." She paused. "And after we graduated, Henry and I stayed together. I worked with the Order and became an auror and…that was my life. But I we noticed that I wasn't aging typically. I'd sort of halted, or rather slowed down, I guess. After a lot of figuring and research, we discovered that…we discovered that soul mate principle."

Harry gave her a confused sort of look and was about to question when she interrupted him.

"Basically, it's this connection between a vampire and a mortal. It's usually a muggle, so Henry and I were….well, considered sort of…well, we were looked down on. Anyway, we were connected at this most basic level: blood. My blood was the most….well, the perfect match for him. It was the blood that perfectly complimented him, and fed him best. We were connected in our minds, our hearts, everything. The soul mate principle is very complete. The mortal often ages very slowly, to match the pace that their vampire is at. So I'm physically about 25 right now, even though I'm really in my 40s."

"Wow."

"I know, right?" She asked, grinning at him. "It's a lot to take in. So let's just finish this story quickly. I lost most contact with my old friends, that is your parents and the other guys. I wasn't at the wedding, your birth, their death, their funeral, Sirius's imprisonment…not anything."

"So you've been with this Henry ever since?" He asked.

"Yes. We moved to Bucharest after Voldemort had been silenced, and have been there ever since." After a pause she added, "That is, until Dumbledore called me in for the order. Apparantly he needs me here in London." She sighed. "Time to get the old crew together again."

"So what about Henry?" Harry asked.

"What about Henry?"

"Is he still in Bucharest?"

"Of yes, of course. He's part of the governing council of the coven there. He'll probably come here soon as an ambassador for the vampires, once they've agreed to help in the fight against darkness."

"So the vampires probably will join us?"

"Well, no. Not all. But the Bucharest coven probably will. They're one of the oldest and most prestigious, so that's definitely a good thing. After they join, we're hoping that other covens will follow suit."

She stood then, motioning for Harry to do the same. "But now isn't the time or place to talk about that." After glancing around she said, "We'd probably better get over to headquarters. I'm sure everyone's curious to hear how your case went."

He stood, following suit. Something in her expression stopped him from responding. For a minute, he felt like she was much more than he had yet to see. Something about the fierce intensity of her expression led him to understand how she held her own with vampires, and just what kind of person she had been forced to become. She was definitely someone that he wouldn't want to cross, that was for sure.

"Are you all right?" She asked, looking keenly at him, dispersing all of his wonderings about her. She'd slipped right back into that carefully cultivated façade, and Harry wondered just when she ever let her masks slip. He wondered just how many masks she had…

"Harry?" She asked again, beginning to wonder about the boy. He was looking at her like…like he could see right through her. Like Sirius could. Like James. Like Lilly. Just the way she didn't want to be looked at. Not ever again. I shouldn't have told him, she thought bitterly. "Are we going?" She asked him, her voice coloring with the first hints of distaste.

"Oh, yeah….sure." He managed, still clearly wondering just who the hell this was that Dumbledore had sent him.

"Then follow me closely. Don't fall behind, because you can bet that Voldemort would love to get his hands on you. And that won't happen on my watch."

It was eerily familiar to her, taking this route to the Black house. Eerily familiar because she had taken this route before. It had been back when she was just 16, but it wasn't exactly a trip that she'd easily forget.