Chapter two

I so did not pick this outfit

...

...

Pushing the doors, open Téa felt her heart drop. Right away the maze began, it's imposing twenty something foot walls of bushes towering over her, casting shows that were only slightly lightened thanks to the lanterns that floated in the center of the maze paths. The ground under her boots was old cobblestone mixed with moss and grass.

Overall, it looked to have been made centuries ago and was continuously well kept.

"Right you can do this Téa, you did it once before you can do it again now, overcome your fears and you'll be stronger for it," She told herself before looking back into the room.

With a final goodbye, she took the first step out and instantly the doors vanished. Spinning around she found nothing but a solid wall of bush behind her. Oh, this was just going to be beautiful.

...

It was late at Number 12 Grimmauld place. Two days had passed since Téaleon had been brought into the house and no response had been received from the teen. It was with a heavy heart that the Headmaster called in one person he trusted to keep everything a secret, Poppy Pomfrey.

"Poppy I am sorry to have to bring you here," Albus, sighed while leading the school Healer up the steps.

"I don't understand why I was called Albus, but I can certainly try and do my best to help," She remarked slightly worried not only had the amount of secrecy surprised her but also the fact that she had been sworn to secrecy for everything. It was clear that there were very big things happening in this house that were of large importance.

"She was found two days ago and hasn't responded to anybody. We are worried and the signs all point to one thing, but I simply wanted your opinion on the matter." The Headmaster told her as he arrived on the floor and finally led the woman to what would be her patience room. At the doors, though he stopped and turned to her. "Inside there is another person that might alarm you Poppy, but I can honestly inform you that he will not harm you, he is completely innocent of all crimes he was accused of, and I trust him completely?"

"Albus I trust your opinion, please allow me to see who my patient is." She sighed tiredly and somewhat annoyed.

Giving a nod, Albus gently opened the door, slipping in and allowing her to follow before closing it. Once inside it took Poppy a moment to adjust to the dark room yet when she did, she was taken aback by what was inside.

The room she found herself in was a beautiful room, not overly large but a good enough size to host a queen size bed before a large fireplace. The room was decorated in reds and gold's while the bed was covered in pillows and blankets. Sitting beside the bed on an armchair was a single figure. He was tall, not overly young, but younger than she was. His hair was black and went to his shoulders yet was neatly trimmed. Dressed in somewhat older attire he looked rather well although it was clearly he was not. The man was somebody she swiftly recognized and one look to the Headmaster told her that she was indeed seeing Sirius Black in person.

"Sirius I've brought Poppy," The headmaster greeted tenderly making the man gaze up showing a slightly gaunt appearance and shallow eyes filled with grief.

"Sirius Black... I can honestly say that you have looked better," she greeted somewhat taken aback by the man's appearance.

"Yeah well when my goddaughter's health is on the line I don't take well to it," He grunted before turning his attention back to the bed.

Hesitating only a moment, Poppy moved towards it and instantly was greeted with what appeared to be the slumbering figure of Téaleon Potter, a young witch she often found in her Hospital wing for one injury or another. Still at this moment she looked pale, almost ghostly so, and although she was breathing it appeared as though she was sleeping.

"She's not responded to anything, we've tried to wake her, and when her eyes are open she only stares into space, as though not seeing anything," Sirius told her, voice low and empty. "It's as though she... she isn't there."

"How was she found?" She questioned more than a little worried by the man's description.

"Remus Lupin found her in an alleyway, unmoving and also unresponsive." The Headmaster answered clearly worried. "Poppy please tell me it is not what we dread it to be,"

"I have one way to find out," She murmured before approaching her young patient and gingerly running her wand over her. With shaking hand, she watched as the young witch glowed a dark grey color.

The moment she saw it her shoulders slumped and she felt the tears building in her eyes. How could this happen? Téaleon lived nowhere near any location where those foul creatures should be, she lived in a muggle town far from any magical community.

"Poppy…" "The spell I just performed was invented by a man known as Albert Potter, yes he was Téaleon's ancestor," She stated interrupting the aged Headmaster before he could continue. "It was invented to discern if a person was kissed or not. I'm afraid to say that Téaleon Potter has indeed been kissed by a Dementor."

Her words seemed to have an immediate effect as the escaped convict's shoulders slumped while his head fell down between his shoulders. His grip on his goddaughters hand tightened and she knew by the soft shaking of his shoulders that he was holding in the sobs that wanted to escape. Beside her, the Headmaster's entire figure grew tense and she saw him take a deep breath while closing his eyes.

This changed everything, she thought, if He Who Must Not Be Named had indeed returned to life, then things were vastly different. When he made his presence known, everybody would look towards Téaleon only to realize that she would be unable to save them. That she could not be the savior anymore because nobody had been able to save her.

"But she… she can fight them!" Sirius whispered. "She can produce a Patronus, Remus taught her, why didn't she do it! Why didn't she conjure one to defend herself against the Dementor!" Now he was shouting, his eyes filled with a flicker of insanity as he looked at them.

"I don't know Sirius, I do not know." Albus murmured sounding every bit his age. "But I do know one thing; Voldemort cannot learn that this has happened to her. Nobody can learn that she has been kissed until the last possible moment. It is absolutely necessary."

"What will you do Headmaster; she's to return to Hogwarts for her fifth year, if she doesn't arrive, people will talk, some will accuse her of being a coward…" "I do not know Poppy, but I will come up with a something to tell the wizarding community until then this does not leave the house."

Approaching Sirius, the Headmaster placed a ginger hand on his shoulder before squeezing it. After soft words, he led Poppy from the room and back into the hallway.

"What will be the best ways to treat her for now," He questioned making her sigh.

"The life of a person who has been kissed by a Dementor is not truly known. Some have last days, others, weeks and some months but nobody has ever made it past a year. All you can truly do is make her as comfortable as possible. Keep her hydrated, soft foods because she won't be able to chew, move her legs and arms a bit to keep her from getting bed sores. Apart from that Albus it will only be time before she fully passes away." Pomfrey answered before taking a deep breath and brushing the tears from her eyes. "Poor thing didn't deserve this; I hope you find out who did this Albus, who sent that beast at her."

"We will do everything we can to find the truth Poppy, for now I cannot stress how much this has to be kept silent. Nobody must learn the truth outside of this organization." Albus gently pushed before leading the woman down to the main level. "Thank you for coming Poppy, I am just sad that you had to confirm such a tragic diagnosis."

With a soft sniffle, Poppy gave a nod before leaving the property. As the door closed behind her, it left the Headmaster to himself. He would have to inform the Order and the children, but the children would have to be taught things to shield them from revealing the truth. Until absolutely necessary, Téaleon's condition could not be leaked at all.

"Oh Téaleon," he sighed tiredly before making his way downstairs. Upon arriving, he found the kitchen eerily silent, those gathered varied in ages and occupations still all the people inside the room were just waiting to hear the news on the young witch upstairs.

"Albus… what… what did Pomfrey say?" Remus asked, voice cracking only slightly.

The poor man had yet to truly sleep since he had found the young girl in the underpass. He was thinner and paler, he hadn't eaten quite enough as he could only stomach a few crackers. Albus couldn't blame the poor man, one of his best friends child was laying unresponsive.

"I'm afraid the diagnosis has confirmed our deepest fears. Téaleon Lily Potter will no longer face the world with her vibrancy and courage." He announced and instantly the gasp's, and cries of sorrow were instant.

Poor Molly Weasley burst into uncontrollable tears while turning into her husband's embrace. Arthur closed his own eyes as pain flashed over his features. Young Hermione and Ginny had both burst into tears, the eldest turning to hug her now only best friend while the youngest Weasley was engulfed into her oldest brother's arms.

"But she knew the Patronus charm, she had her wand in her hands. Why… why didn't she produce it…" Remus whispered voice filled with grief as he buried his face in his hands. "I taught her that spell, she can perform it… I know she can."

…

Dodging a breath of fire Téaleon cursed. She thought this maze was supposed to put her against her fears. Sure she wasn't overly fond of Dragons, but still she had faced them before and lived. Putting her against another one was just being horrible.

Things had been going really well until she had entered a circular area of the maze. Until that point, she had only encountered a few of her old fears, ones she had held when she was younger. A fear of the dark, something she hadn't feared in a long time, fear of small spaces which she had swiftly concurred. Now it seemed like she had a small fear still of dragons, which who could blame her, everybody had a fucking fear of dragons.

"Oh, I am so never going up against a dragon ever again," She grunted before ducking once more as fire was blown her way.

She needed a plan so that she could get to the exit point of the maze and get out of here, but really magic was almost futile against Dragons, considering their skin was so thick. It took dozens of people to subdue them in the Reserves.

"I just need to distract or subdue him long enough to run for it," She muttered before looking around.

The only thing that was in the area except the dragon were large stones to hide behind. She had never transfigured stone before, especially of this quantity. Still there wasn't anything else that she could use, the stone was the only thing available.

"Alright, time to make McGonagall proud," She growled before spinning and kneeling before the stone.

Taking her wand, she took a deep breath and thought about what she wanted to transfigure the stone into. It would have to be able to give her enough protection against the fire. It would have to be long enough to reach the exit point.

Slowly moving her wand, she began to morph the stone trying to ignore the roar of the dragon even as it blew fire at her. As sweat began to form she continued on even opening her eyes to watch as the stone before her, morphed and transformed into something completely different, a wall that was tall enough that she could hurry behind it towards the exit.

"Now it just has to survive," she muttered before looking towards the dragon. Instantly she noticed how the large reptile seemed even more agitated and its tail was waving from side to side. Knowing she didn't have much time, she began to run.

It didn't take long before she heard the sound of stone being broken making her run just that little bit faster. Feeling the prickling sensation on the back of her neck, she hurriedly dived, sliding through the entrance path just as fire appeared behind her. Thankfully, the fire could not pass by the entrance making her safe.

Shakily pushing herself back, she rested against the wall. Dragons were so not her thing and she really hoped never to have to face another again. She was also going to give Charlie a piece of her mind about working with them and have him checked for mental defects of sorts.

"Dragons are a pain in my ass," She muttered before shakily getting to her feet.

Looking around she looked back once before continuing the trek through the maze. As she walked, she couldn't help but think of those left behind in the real world, had her body been found? If so by whom, was it the muggle police, had she been placed in a muggle hospital or had it been the magical world that found her? Did her friends know that a Dementor had kissed her? Did Sirius know?

"I can't think about that right now, I have to get through this to get back to them," She grunted while grasping her wand just a tad tighter.

...

The Hogwarts Express just seemed a tad sadder this year. Perhaps it was the fact that their best friend wasn't with them on top of the fact that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, but everything seemed bleaker.

Already they had received numerous looks from other students all noticing the absence of their black-haired friend.

What was even more nerve wrecking was the fact that they had both been made Gryffindor Prefects.

"You both be good this year alright, I don't want to hear about either of you getting into trouble." Molly Weasley chided them making them smile weakly.

"I know this year will be very different but know that she would want you both to do your very best," Arthur murmured to them before drawing a deep breath. "I'm sure she would be very proud of her two best friends for becoming prefects."

"Keep your heads down you two, and if you need any help in your Defence classes simply send me a letter, I would be glad to help in any way I can." Remus declared making both teens smile in thanks.

"We're just hoping we'll get a competent Defence Professor," Ron grunted and as the train gave its first whistle they all were hurried onto the train.

Making their way to the Prefects Compartment as ordered they were both unsettled to find Draco Malfoy sitting in the compartment with Pansy Parkinson. Looking at each other, they heaved sighs before taking their own seats as far away from the duo as possible.

When the other prefects joined the meeting began. By the end, both Ron and Hermione wanted nothing more than to leave the compartment and they did as swiftly as possible.

Finding their own compartment was harder then thought but finally they found one that only held three people, Neville Longbottom, Ginny and another student who both hadn't personally met.

"Ron, Hermione, Téa isn't here. She must have found her own compartment." Neville remarked the three other Gryffindors tense.

"Téa isn't coming to Hogwarts this year Nev. She's... she chose to study abroad this year." Hermione announced while sitting down.

This made Neville's eyes widen clearly surprised by this information.

"She'll be learning a lot of new things," Hermione whispered while Ron stayed silent.

...

It would surprise a lot of people, after all she was a brilliant flyer, loved being on a broom and playing quidditch but, in fact, she was absolutely petrified of heights.

Yes, she Téalean Potter was petrified of heights, ironic wasn't it. Yet standing here on the edge of a cliff looking at a very narrow walking bridge that must have been at least fifty feet from the ground the thought had suddenly entered the mind.

"Oh, this is just brilliant, a fear I never even knew I could fucking possess." She grunted before looking down within seconds she straightened back up regretting the choice evidently. "Right, you have to do this. This is the only way I can get through this maze. If the tasks are getting harder then it means I'm getting closer."

Even telling herself that seemed to keep her courage at bay and really since when was she scared of heights?

"I can figure that out later, right now let's get over this extremely thin bridge wearing nothing but a pair of platform six-inch heeled boots." She moaned before taking one shaky step forward.

Taking another, she gulped as rocks slipped off and fell into the empty abyss. Trying not to look down she looked a head yet that didn't seem to help her anymore either considering the path across the bridge was a lengthy one.

"Oh I am so going to fucking die," she moaned and before she could look back, she began to walk, arms outstretched to try to keep a sense of balance she went as slowly as she could.

Half way across the bridge a loud cracking noise had her freezing before she slowly turned around. What she found made her want to cry. The stone bridge she was ever so slowly crossing was cracking and breaking.

"I really, really hate this maze," she moaned and as she turned more crunching was heard.

Before her own section of bridge began to fall, she took a deep breath and against her better judgement began to run. As she ran though the bridge seemed to only fall quicker and just as she was about to arrive at the end she felt the stone under her feet give away. Panic racing through her heart she jumped.

Everything around her seemed to slow as she extended her arms, hoping beyond hope that she made it and as she fell, her hands grasped onto the edge of the pillar and she held on as tight as she could. Feeling her body slam against the hard stone a groan left her lips but she was still there, still hanging on.

"Holly shit," she panted while looking up at the stone pillar she was holding onto.

Struggling to pull herself up she panted with effort before finally slumping down onto the solid and safe ground of the pillar. Looking up at the completely black sky above she tried to catch her breath. This maze was getting more and more dangerous. Not to mention it was showing her thing she hadn't known she had been afraid of. She didn't know what was to come next but she had a feeling that she was most definitely not going to like it.