Chapter Two

A:N bear with me for the introduction chapters as I'm trying for a different effect than just jumping straight into the plot. Many of the people at the Order have things they would like to say to Harry, not least of which being Sirius. Before the story can really progress, It's pretty important for several pieces of information to be registered.

And with that happy little aside done with, on to the chapter!

'Great! I have to make one lasting first impression on someone, and I end up falling on them!' I thought furiously. 'It may work for you dad, popping wherever you want at any time, but I'm not buying into it!' Still staring up into the boy's eyes, I quickly put my hands up in surrender to try and explain myself. Sensing that he was on some level aware that I was not a threat, I grinned slightly as he lowered his wand.

(Exit Holly POV)

Harry looked at her. Funny, he thought, the notion of simply looking at someone, but then again, what do you expect when she bloody lands on my bed in the middle of the night! he half expected it to be Dudley with his "toy" taser again, or Uncle Vernon tossing the ever increasing list of chores onto my sleeping body. 'Even Riddle,' he reflected, 'would have been more expected than this girl.

Thoughts of Death Eaters and Voldemort slowly chased themselves out of his thoughts as he looked at her again. This girl didn't scream "Die Potter!" or "Alright there Scarhead?" so instantly she was above Bellatrix and Malfoy in his books. There was nothing in her appearance that suggested anything other than the average sixteen year old girl, other than her eyes.

Where most eyes would be blue, brown, or even green, she had, in Harry's opinion, the most mysterious orange eyes he had ever seen.

Deciding to at first take a chance to hear out what she had to say, he sheepishly lowered his wand.

The girl grinned at him. Harry let out a sigh

"Did Tom send you to kill me?" he asked resignedly.

With a tinkling laugh, she replied "No, I was sent by a far more troublesome old man".

Harry started. "Dumbledore!" he gasped.

"Right in one, though I can't imagine why, you seem like you're rather settled in well, beside the fact that you look a little ruffled".

Harry snorted. This was rapidly turning into one of the most bizarre talks he had ever taken part in, topping many of the conversations he had had with the Headmaster over socks.

"You sat on me" he said wryly.

The girl ducked her head, apparently fighting off a laugh, to which he had a sudden urge to smile about.

"Technically" she stated, looking him in the eye, "I fell on you. You're rather comfy though so don't think I'm complaining, it's better than that awful perch"

Inside the thought processes of Harry James Potter, furious debates were crisscrossing at light speed, leading to certain mayhem and headaches. 'Perch…' he mused. 'Why am I worrying about a perch? I don't even know who this girl is or even her name!'

Drawn back to the present he looked toward the girl again, who was absentmindedly playing with her low shoulder length light brown hair.

"Why don't we start over then" he said "I'm Harry Potter, what's your name?".

The girl let out another tinkling laugh. "I thought you'd never ask!" she snickered. "Holly Talon, at your service! To tell you the truth, I was sent here by Dumbledore and-"

Harry never found out what she was sent for, as the smash of a plate downstairs brought him and Holly back to awareness. Quickly they both pointed their wands at the bedroom door, awaiting any outcome. The next moment, a purple haired young woman, a tired looking man and a one legged figure wearing a trench coat had filed wearily into the room.

"Again Nymphadora?" asked a wearily smiling Remus Lupin, half admonishing, half taking in the sight of the bedroom.

Harry was shocked for the second time that night as the purple in the woman's hair rapidly changed into a vivid crimson. Grimacing, the woman glared at Lupin.

"Don't. Call. Me. Nymphadora" she growled, "I've told you lot time and time again, it's Tonks".

Glancing around at her surroundings and the wands pointed at her and her companions, Tonks slowly raised her hands, mumbling "Wotcher…"

The cloaked figure at the back of the room stepped forward. "Now that disaster's over and the three of us have been foiled by two teenagers, can we finally get on with the blasted mission?"

Springing back into action, Harry leveled his wand at what he could only envisage as an imposter, given that the last time he had stared into the eye of Mad Eye Moody, the man staring out through them was none other than Bartemius Crouch Junior.

"Right" he said slowly "Prove to me who you are and give me a reason not to hex you"

Lupin stepped forward. "I, in my youth was better known as Moony" he said softly "And in your third year we discussed the grindylow tank in my office among other things".

Appeased, Harry lowered his wand, and for the first time Lupin and the others caught sight of Holly.

"Now then, Miss Talon, what are you doing here, so far from Dumbledore and your father?" queried Moody, twisting his cane in his gnarled hands.

Lifting her chin, Holly replied "As a matter of fact, the Headmaster sent me and my father could not care less about my actions provided I follow the Natural Rules".

Nodding, Lupin turned facing Harry again. "Does Harry here know about the-"

"No" interjected Holly, "And just for now, I'd like to keep it that way thanks."

Smiling and nodding, Lupin held out a ballpoint pen. "We were supposed to get to HQ via broom flight, however I feel as if the size of our party would now be a little too great. This Portkey will take us directly into our destination, as although it is protected by Fidelius, the key was made by the Secret Keeper."

Grunting tiredly and sticking his hand forwards, Harry barely felt the telltale tug at his navel as the small group were whisked away into the unknown.

(Entrance Hallway at Grimmauld Place)

With a crack, Harry found himself face down on a musty carpet with a familiar weight upon his back. Twisting and looking up, he saw the sheepishly grinning face of Holly as she got up off him. "We really need to stop making a habit of this, Mr Potter" she laughed.

"Friends call me Harry" he replied, "and at least you got a soft landing, I hate this infernal transport system."

Quickly, Lupin clapped his hands over the pair's mouths, much to their silent protest. "I'm sorry" he said, looking at a musty pair of curtains shiftily "but if you woke her, he'd never forgive you".

As he released them, he threw open the door to the kitchen, where a gathering of people seemed to be waiting for them to cross the threshold. Before they entered, Holly doubled back and began to walk up the stairs behind them. Looking behind her, she met his eyes.

A familiar voice sounded in his head, tinged with a nostalgic trill. "It was nice to meet you Harry, though I never really finished my own introduction. If you want to talk to me, meet me at midnight in my room, as it's the only room without anyone to share it".

Eyes widened, Harry nodded, then stepped into the warm embrace of his godfather, smiling at those around him. Sirius pulled away first, staring at Harry with joy in his eyes.

"I've got something for you" he whispered, ushering Harry to sit at the enormous wooden table "but not now, I'll show you later"

At that moment Molly walked in, and thoughts turned to food as she brought the finest feast Harry had laid eyes on.

"I'm home" smiled Harry, to the laughter of those around him.

"So tell me Harry, have you seen the Prophet recently? there was a Quidditch special on it and I couldn't resist"

Smiling, Harry regarded the enthusiastic visage of his best mate. Whilst a little tactless and forgetful, Ron Weasley was tremendously loyal and would fight to the end for his friends.

"No" he grinned to understanding laughs around the table "I don't really read the Prophet much after what that Skeeter cow did to me last year, but tell me, what happened?".

Ron laughed and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Says here that the entire Hogwarts Gryffindor team have been requested for an interview some time this school year! Good on you Harry, they even invited Wood to come along!"

Grinning, Harry thought of his experiences under the fierce captain. "At least I won't have to talk much" he reasoned to Ron "If Skeeter tries anything, Angelina and Wood will tear her apart!"

Tearing into a chicken leg, it took a moment for Ron to respond.

"I don't envy you there mate" he said "The papers are vicious places, and after being there for most of last year, I'd never really read one again"

Nodding, Harry turned back to his plate but stopped when he noticed the expression of Hermione sitting next to him. She had gone red with concentration and was valiantly biting her lip trying to stop saying something. After being friends with her so long, Harry smiled at her and simply said, "Fire away"

With an explosive breath, Hermione launched into a furious but gentle interrogation.

"What do you think of the Order? Why haven't you responded to Ron, Ginny or myself? Have you spoken to Dumbledore? What do you think of Holly… come to think of it do you know who Holly is?"

Stopping for air, she looked expectantly at Harry, waiting for his response patiently

Harry stared.

"Hm. As for the first one, I've been here about 20 minutes, and I apologise for the second because my relatives and the Headmaster don't like me sending mail." he said, biting into a roast potato slowly, savouring a change from his food at the Dursleys.

"The third and fourth, I'm not really sure about. Holly seems really nice but the only thing I know is she was sent by the Headmaster."

Hermione humphed. "Well" she started "I guess I can wait for the first, but I'm surprised you don't know more about Holly given she was with you. If the Headmaster sent her she must be important. Remember to fill me in ok?"

Harry laughed, finishing off his plate. "I swear Hermione, anything changes with me, and you, Ron and Ginny will be the first to know. Where is Ginny anyway?"

It was Ron who answered, quietly whispering "She's sick, a touch of dragon pox, luckily Mungos have an overnight cure for that which Dumbledore paid for. She'll be back tomorrow though, she really wanted to see you."

"I'm sorry about that" said Harry "She probably got it toward the end of the year when the Durmstrang students left, I heard one of them saying something about being sick"

Getting up, the trio set off toward their rooms after excusing themselves.

"Best get an early night" said Ron, falling onto his mattress. "There'll be a lot of things to do with a lot of people tomorrow".

Shutting off the light, Harry shuffled over to his bed. As he lay down Ron sat up.

"Mate" he said quietly, twisting a little under his sheets.

"Yeah?" replied Harry slowly. "Thanks." said Ron. Confused, Harry sat up. "For what?" he said, puzzled. Ron however, did not respond, having seemingly fallen asleep during the exchange. Rolling over, Harry drifted into a half sleep so that he was not tired for his meeting with Holly.

At midnight, Harry slowly got out of his bed and crept to the door, where two voices were quietly conversing.

"It's bad luck it is, her being here with him" said the first husky voice.

"It is necessary. The two children of fate must meet for the end goal to be met. If not then the world would certainly fall to ash and dark." replied a crisp female voice.

As Harry began to open the door to see what was going on, there was a soft glow of light, and the two figures disappeared with a whoosh.

bending down, he saw something that caught where the light had been. A grey feather with flecks of black and white lay nestled on the floor. Pocketing it, he noted some similarities, but to what eluded him.

He realised that he would be late if he waited longer, so with an extra bit of speed, he crept to the final door before the attic. Before he could even knock, he felt two warm hands grab him and pull him through, door closing with a muted thud behind him. Drawing his wand, he found himself face to face with a smiling Holly.

"Well hello there stranger" she smiled "Take a seat and I'll tell you why I've asked you here"

Sitting, Harry looked around the room. It was decorated with warm colours which even in the musty room stood out. To his embarrassment, he saw Holly had left her underwear on the dresser, which the blushing girl quickly stowed away in the drawer.

"That's not why I asked you here" she giggled "Though they do look rather dashing I must say"

Sitting down on her desk, she turned to him with her smile diminished somewhat. "Can you promise me that what I'm about to tell you will not be told to anybody but the Headmaster and the senior members of the Order?"

Shocked, Harry mulled things over in his head. On the one hand he would be alienating Ron and Hermione, but on the other he would gain new information and a new friend. Resolutely, he stared at her.

"If it's something that will hurt Ron or Hermione, then I'm not interested" he began, twisting his hands together.

The smile had returned full force.

"No worries there, I admire your loyalty" whispered Holly "I'm only going to tell you something about myself, and then I'll let you go and get some sleep. I heard something would be arriving tomorrow so you might want to rest for it"

Crossing the room, Holly sat next to Harry, staring out the window into the starry sky.

"Have you ever wondered about the stars?" she asked "and just how far away they are from us?"

Humming, Harry looked at her. Her eyes seemed to be misting over, lost in thought. With a shallow breath in, she met his gaze again.

"I didn't wish to tell you my secret, but at the same time I never thought I'd see that wand you carry with my own eyes" she said reverently "It means so much to me for so many reasons."

Puzzled, Harry stared at her "Why would my wand interest you?" he queried "I got it like everyone else, from Ollivander in Diagon"

With a tinkling but wistful laugh, Holly took his wand from him gently and held it up to the light. The polished wood resonated a little in her hands.

"This wand would not work for anyone but you, me, and Voldemort" she said softly. "It interests me Harry, because my father gave it its core"

Gasping, Harry's gaze shot to the feather on the desk, just as his mind remembered the flash of heat he felt as she dropped on him from Privet Drive

"Your father-" he started

"Yes Harry" she whispered, handing him the shaking wand with her gaze averted "I am Holly Talon, daughter of Fawkes."