**Hey everyone! Chapter two is up! obviously. hehee. Thanks to everyone who is reading! I'm trying to stay close to HP:HBP and trying to weave Zephyris's story as well so bear with me. ^_^ I dunno if this is necessary but here we go. DISCLAIMER: all Harry Potter characters are not my property. I didn't make them up. ....wish I did though. heheee ^__^ anyway, Enjoy chapter two.**

The next morning they were looking over their lists for which classes to take. The room was buzzing with the change in some staff.

"That can't be right…" Harry said.

"No…that's just wrong." Said Ron.

"But he made that comment about Neville and potions." Said Hermione.

"Oh wow." Said Zephyris as she sat beside Hermione. "My dad is teaching defense against the dark arts." She poured some orange juice. "good for him. He's been wanting that forever."

All three looked at her as if she has sprouted antlers.

"What in the bloody hell are you smoking?" Ron exclaimed.

"Ron!" Hermione snapped.

Harry opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"How can you be happy about that?" Ron said for him.

"Easily," Zephyris replied gently. "he's my dad."

Ron looked back down at the list. "Slughorn? Who is he?"

"The new professor, Ron," harry told him. "Remember…." He spoke through his teeth quietly. "We talked about this earlier."

"Oh yeah…" Ron looked at Zephyris then looked away.

"Honestly," Zephyris huffed. She picked up her books and her bag. "I never did anything to any of you." She said calmly as she stood. "You don't have any reason to be so cold!" Zephyris snatched her list and walked off to Professor McGonagall to get her classes in order.

Hermione looked at the two boys. "She's right." And with that, she walked off after Zephyris.

"Both of them," Ron said as he bit into a sausage, "mental." Harry nodded and looked after the two girls walking away. His eyes drifted across the hall and met with Severus Snape who was talking to Dumbledore. Harry got the feeling that Snape had seen the whole thing. Something about the look on Snape's face. It wasn't his regular look of distain. It was a deeper shade of hate. Harry held Snape's sour gaze for a moment then looked back to his food.

"What do you think you'll be taking?" Ron asked.

"You know, I think I'll continue that notion of being an Auror," Harry said to him. During the surprise in breakfast and the excitement of everything, Harry had forgotten about the E he had received in potions that had previously thwarted his chances at becoming an Auror. Slughorn would definitely take in him into the class. At least he hoped. He was jerked out of his thoughts by Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. Have you selected your classes?"

Ron shook his head, mouth full of eggs. Harry looked down at his paper.

"I..well… I wanted to take the classes for becoming an Auror but my O.W.L. score for potions…"

The transfiguration professor looked at his list. "Your score will be more than fine for Professor Slughorn." She said.

"Really?" Harry exclaimed. "I don't have books or supplied for that class though."

"I'm sure he wouldn't be opposed to lending some to you. And yes, you too Mr. Weasley." She looked at Ron who was pointing to himself as he shoveled more food into his mouth. Her attention turned back to Harry. "The required classes for being an Auror, then?"

"Yes Professor." Harry said, his stomach turning with excitement. "I think Ron wants them too." Ron nodded, still with eggs.

"Very well then." Professor McGonagall said as she tapped their schedules with the tip of her wand. "Oh, here." She said, handing Harry a tight scroll. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to give this to you."

"Thank you professor" he said as he took it.

"Right then, I'll see you two in class." She moved on to Neville who was having trouble deciding and began to speak with him.

"No Trelawney!" Ron cheered, his mouth finally empty.

"Yeah, but Snape for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry mumbled.

"Speaking of the Dark Arts, mate, Zephyris. Where in the bloody hell did she come from?" Ron asked as he began on some toast.

"I dunno.." harry said as he ate as well. "And why is she here? There must be something going on that involves her."

"Why do you think so?" Ron asked.

"Because she's here where she can be watched and not where she used to be."

"I bet Hermione will get the information out of her." Ron said. "They're getting along real well. In fact, I bet Ginny could too. You know that unless Ginny is with Dean," Ron interjected a look of disgust, "that she's with Hermione."

"Right." Harry said. "And if they're with Zephyris, they might get some information on her. But what about Malfoy?"

"What about him."

"You remember" harry said. He reminded Ron about the incident on the train where Draco had been talking about tasks set too him.

"Oh yeah." Ron said. "When he petrified you and broke your nose."

"Exactly. I need to find out what he's doing because whatever it is, it can't be good. Especially with his father in Azkaban and Voldemort, quit cringing like that! And with Voldemort less than happy about what happened at the ministry."

Ron looked at his schedule. "Hey, we have a few free periods now!" he said. "That's great! You can start planning the trials for the Quidditch tryouts! I better get some practice in."

"Don't be dense. You were in last year and I think you're better than anyone out there." Harry told Ron. It was mostly true. Ron smiled.

"Thanks harry." He finished off his food and gathered his things. "So, that scroll?"

"Oh! That's right." Harry opened it and read quietly to himself. "He wants me to come to his office on Saturday."

"Well that should be interesting." Ron said as they began to walk back to their common room.

"It should be." Harry said with a smile. The prospect of getting to spend time with Dumbledore was most thrilling. It made him feel good that someone like Dumbledore wanted him around. Even if it was for school.

When they arrived in the common room, they found it buzzing with their class mates who had an off period too. Hermione was nose deep in a book on a large overstuffed chair that was beside a very large window. On the window was Zephyris, curled up in the window seat. Her robes were splayed about as she sat with her legs slightly tucked beneath her. He looked to be reading as well as a white ferret flopped around beside her in the sun light, playing with something shiny. Neither she nor Hermione noticed Ron and Harry enter.

The two boys walked up to her and harry bend down to whisper at her. As his head sunk to hers, something caught his eye. It was a silvery photograph that laid in a large book-like locket that was in the hands of Zephyris. The man looked like…

He immediately forgot what he was going to say to Hermione and found himself jumping over the arm of the chair to her. Pen, the white ferret jumped high in the air, startled at Harry's rush to get close. Zephyris looked up just as Pen ran into her lap. Her eyes met Harry's and she snapped the locked shut with lightning speed.

"What is that?" Harry demanded.

"It's a scared ferret!" Zephyris snapped as she pulled herself into a cross legged position. "You startled her, bounding over Hermione like that!" She looked at Hermione and Ron who were looking on with confusion.

"That's a cool ferret." Ron said as he tried to get a closer look. Zephyris handed him the shaking tube of fur. "I remember that one time where Malfory got turned into a ferret. Best day of my life. I didn't know you could have ferrets."

"You can't," Zephyris said. "I had already had him when I was at Durmstrang."

"Durmstrang!" Ron exclaimed. "Do you know Viktor?" Hermione scoffed.

Zephyris smiled at him. "Actually he and I were friends."

"Blimey, that's awesome. He was her for the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"So was I."

"You were?"

"I stayed on the ship mostly though." She said disappointedly. "I mostly came to visit my father."

Harry sighed impatiently. "No, I mean, that picture thing" he said loudly, trying to break up the conversation. He looked at her, trying to locate it on her so he could point it out but it wasn't in her hand. "You were just looking at a locket or something."

"oh." She replied. "It's a photo album locket." She said as she seemed to make it appear with a flick of her hand, "and it's private." She snapped as she made it disappear with another flick.

"But…" Harry looked at her, his eyes full of intensity. Zephyris's hardened face faltered under his heavy gaze.

"B...But what?"

"You had a picture of…" my godfather "of Sirius Black." Harry said with much difficulty.

Zephyris looked away and scooped up her ferret. "I also have a picture of one of the weird sisters, a cutting of myself from the school paper at Durmstrang, And autographed picture of Ludo Bagman and a few other random things. I just have pictures of random famous people I may have met or was curious about!" She jumped off of the seat. "I'm allowed to have pictures." She put the back of her hand against his cloaked shoulder and gave him a push to clear her way. Then she walked past them and out of the portrait hole.

Ron clapped slowly. "Nice." He said. "Now she'll tell us all her secrets."

Hermione looked at harry. "Why can't you just leave her alone? Don't you have more things to be worrying about? Aside from what she's looking at."

"But she had a picture of Sirius." Harry said, looking out the window. He felt the familiar lump travel up his throat. He pushed it down. "I dunno…I guess I just thought."

Ron and Hermione said nothing. Hermione's thin hand came to rest on Harry's knee. "Hey," she said, "We're still here." She told him. "I know it's not the same as him but we're still here, ok?" Hermione waited for him to draw his arm away or say something pointed as he usually did when she appealed to his emotion but for the moment, he didn't. He just took a deep breath and casually pushed her arm off of him with a smile.

"Thanks Hermione." He said. He gave a weak smile to Ron and her then looked as if he remembered something. "I've got a meeting with Dumbledore on Saturday."

Hermione closed her book. "I wonder what that's about?"

"Well, he mentioned me taking private lessons."

"Private lessons!" Ron yelled, then quieted himself. "I mean, that's cool! I wonder what kind of awesome stuff he's going to show you! You have to show us!"

Harry nodded but his thoughts weren't' there. They were with the picture of Sirius in Zephyris's album locket. Why would she want a picture of Sirius? He shook the thought and dove back in his conversation with his two best friends.

Zephyris found herself wandering the courtyard alone in the morning hours. The air filled her lungs and her nose with smells of grass and trees. Hogwarts was so different from her old school. IT was always snowy, cold, and dark at Durmstrang. She didn't always mind but Zephyris always longed for a little spring or fall while she attended there. She sat on some stone railing that overlooked the vast country side and the lake.

Being separated from the one or two friends she may have had at Durmstrang and forced into this where the only people she really knew were a few professors and her father, who was probably teaching right now, weighted down her heart. She knew she was lonely though she didn't want to admit it. She set down Pen in the grass and the ferret took off after a few leaves. Zephyris watched for a moment then pulled out the locket book.

**Chapter three should be up shortly. It just felt better to have this chapter and the next separated. I think you'll see why when 3 is up. Againk thanks for reading!**