Title: Anywhere, pt 3
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The train ride was the same as it had been on the first go round. Ron, Hermione and Harry talked about their summers, well sort of. Harry found about Ron's little sister having a bit of a crush on him and how it had been 'bloody annoying' to hear about Harry all the time.
Harry on the other hand, had chuckled at Ron's lack of concern with his sister's liking of a boy. Soon enough they were at Hogwarts, arriving in the horseless drawn carriages. The feast was an interesting affair; Ginny – Ron's little sister – was sorted into Gryffindor, making the Weasley's happy.
Soon enough they were back into the full swing of school, their new teacher – whom Hermione and most of the girl population and some of the guy population were smitten with – Gilderoy Lockhart was teaching dada.
After, of course, Lockhart fawned over Harry's status as the 'boy-who-lived' Lockhart placed a surprise quiz in front of everyone. Harry gagged at the questions that were all about Lockhart before writing stupid answers just to pass the time.
This would surely be an interesting year.
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Christmas came and went. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and most thought Harry had done it because of his ability to talk to snakes – which was definitely a shock to him and Andralyn. He hit the books, trying to figure out what exactly pertained to the CoS – as he dubbed it.
Then Filch's cat got petrified. And naturally most blamed Harry. But it didn't stop there; Colin Creevey was also petrified right after Harry nearly was off-ed because of a possessed Bludger. Sir Nicholas had been smoked but protected Justin Finch-Finnelly, but not before Harry found a diary in moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
The secret of the diary had shown him about the girl who had died when the chamber had been opened before. It posed a lot of questions, which continued to be unanswered. Then Hermione and Penny Clearwater were both petrified and finally Ginny Weasley had been taken into the chambers.
He and Ron found a sheet of parchment within Hermione's hand answering all the questions that had been unanswered. "Don't you see, Ron?" Harry asked. "It's a basilisk. Spiders flee from its presence and only the roaster's cry can kill it. Why didn't I see it?"
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"Aunt Andralyn." Harry greeted, with a large hug.
"Harry." Faith echoed. "Hello Hermione."
"Hello Andralyn." The girl greeted.
"How was your year?" Faith asked, hearing about the Basilisk and the horrors, which is why the Headmaster had declined Harry's trip home.
"Terrifying, though you'll never hear me telling my parents." Hermione answered.
"Must be the freak-out type parents." Faith mused.
"She means the type who worry about everything." Harry muttered seeing Hermione's confused look. "I suppose I'm lucky, I have to worry about Aunt Andralyn."
"I worry about you Harry." Faith said. "I just know what it's like to have a destiny." Remus had come by the house to explain everything in toe-curling detail. "Plus, you survive living with me, which says a lot." She added jokingly.
"Hermione!"
"Mum, Dad!" Hermione called rushing into a hug. "Come meet Harry and his Aunt."
"Hello." Mr. Granger greeted. "I'm Richard Granger and this is my wife Rachel." The pair was lovely with their brown hair and brown eyes. Richard looked as though he was beginning to gray but still handsome and Rachel looked very lovely.
"I'm Andralyn." Faith greeted. "This is my nephew, the Runt known as Harry."
"I'm nearly taller than you." Harry reminded.
"Shut up." She mock grumbled, but had a smirk on her face. A beeping noise reached the slayer's ears so she turned to Harry. "We've got to go. It was nice to meet you."
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Harry and Faith sat at the table eating dinner when Faith inquired about whether he knew the story behind his 'title'.
"Sort of." Harry answered. "I now know there was an actual wizard that killed my parents. His name is Voldemort, though hardly anyone likes to say it."
"Remus visited me while you were in school."
"Oh?"
"He told me everything I didn't need to know about your previous life and you're parents." She said before adding, "And Harry I mean that in the nicest way possible."
"I know." He nodded. "It is pretty horrible, isn't it?"
"Not so." She countered. "It could always be worse Harry."
"How?"
"You could be dead."
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The pair packed their things for the next ten months, Faith because Remus asked for her to join him in teaching DADA and Harry because it was time for his third year. At the precise time they grabbed their things and the portkey, like they've done countless times.
They were staying at the Three Broomsticks, like they've done the past two years, though this year was different. It seemed darker somehow. "I'm going downstairs, Aunt Andralyn."
"Alright." Faith called from the bathroom. Faith looked into the mirror, as she wore the robes that Harry insisted she get. They were dark red in color and looked very nice on her but she still wasn't used to the robes thing. Finally she turned and exited the room heading down the stairs, pausing to see a large red haired family talking to Harry.
"Hello Harry." A man greeted.
"Hello Mr. Weasley." She heard Harry say.
"Can I talk to you?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Sure." She watched them walk towards the stairs, but the pair went underneath. She was about to go back up the stairs until she heard.
"Andralyn."
"Hello Hermione." Faith greeted turning to face the brunette witch. "How are you?"
"Fine." She smiled. "Come meet the Weasley's."
"Perhaps I shouldn't." Faith glanced nervously at the members of the family.
"Hermione, who are you – " The woman from the train station stopped what she was saying, having seen who Hermione was looking at. "Oh, you must be Harry's aunt. Come lets have a look at you."
Faith put on a smile and went down the rest of the stairs, hearing Harry say something that alarmed her, but before she could find him, the woman began talking.
"I'm Molly Weasley, these are my sons; Percy, Ron, Fred and George and my only girl Ginny." Molly introduced forcing Faith to pay attention.
"Hello." Faith greeted. "Andralyn Black at your service."
"Black?" Molly inquired.
Faith inwardly rolled her eyes. "You'd think I were my brother with the way everyone reacts."
"I apologize, Andralyn." Molly said. "It's just that no one's heard of you."
"There's a reason for that." Faith said. "I was taken away from my family when I was two years old."
"That's awful." Hermione commented.
"It's my life." Faith shrugged. "Listen, I know that the Black name isn't the best surname to have, but I'm not my family."
"Aunt Andralyn, can I talk to you?"
"Sure thing, Runt." Faith commented following the young man she'd cared for.
"Your brother escaped."
Faith's eyes got wide. "I thought that prison was top notch." She paced the small space they had that was underneath the stairs. "How?"
"I don't know, but Mr. Weasley thinks he's after me." Harry informed her. "I'm worried, Andralyn."
Faith stopped her pacing and turned to Harry, opening her arms so he could find comfort. "It'll be okay, Harry. I won't let anything happen to you." She whispered into his hair, as she was a little over a head taller than him.
"I know."
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The train ride was interesting, especially with Crookshanks and Scabbers – Hermione's cat and Ron's rat – as Crooks tried to eat Scabbers. Faith felt something was off with the animal, but she didn't say anything.
Remus was sleeping or so everyone thought, but Faith knew he was just pretending. Suddenly the air on the train changed, it became colder. They could see their breath; the window froze around Ron's hand as he looked out the window and the bottle with water turned to ice.
The train halted suddenly, jerking the occupants forward. "What the heck?" Faith exclaimed in hushed tones.
"Perhaps we're there?"
"I don't think so." Faith said during the quiet moment. "Something's not right." She stated standing next to the door shielding the kids. A shadowy figure approached their door and opened it. Faith stepped back just a bit at the recollection of her watcher's piercing screams of pain.
She pushed back her painful recollection, which seemed to multiply focusing on Harry, who appeared to be spazing and a white light was coming out of his mouth.
"Expecto Patronum." Remus called, bringing forth a force that drove the dark shadow out of their compartment.
Faith dove and caught Harry before he could fall onto the ground. "Harry?" She called brushing his hair off his forehead.
"Put him here." Remus suggested.
Faith nodded and picked Harry up and laid him on the bench, before picking up his head and sitting so that he could use her lap as a pillow. "Are you guys alright?" She asked glancing up at Ron, Hermione and Remus.
"Fine." Hermione said a bit breathlessly.
"What she said." Ron added, his brown eyes still wide.
"Here." Remus handed the two students a piece of chocolate. Just as they finished Harry stirred.
"Andralyn."
"I'm right here." Faith said, helping him sit up.
"What was that?"
"It was a Dementor." Remus answered handing Harry a piece of chocolate. "It's a guard from Azkaban, he's looking for Sirius Black." He explained. "I'll be right back and eat that, you'll feel better."
"Who was screaming?" Harry asked.
"No one was screaming, Harry." Hermione said glancing at Faith and Ron.
"The thing came in and looked at you two before singling on Harry." Ron explained.
"You sounded like you were chocking." Hermione added. "What happened?"
"Did you hear screaming?" Harry asked Faith who was really quiet.
Faith looked away. "I heard my watcher." She murmured. She felt Harry move so that he was kneeling in front of her.
"I heard my mom."
Faith chuckled humorlessly, "We're quite the pair, aren't we runt?"
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"Welcome new and old students to another year at Hogwarts." Headmaster Dumbledore began. "We'd like to extend a welcoming to Professor Remus Lupin who has taken the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts and his assistant Andralyn Black."
Applause floated throughout the room, but Faith could tell it was mostly from the Gryffindor table from people who really knew her. Harry grinned proudly and sent a small wave in her direction, to which she lifted her hand a bit to show she saw it.
The meal went without problems and Faith remained silent watching the students as they looked up at her and Remus before returning to their gossiping. Once it was over Faith stood and walked towards Harry. "Hey."
"Hi." Harry greeted. "Where are you staying?"
"Don't know yet." Faith shrugged. "But you'd better get to your rooms."
"Okay." Harry said hugging her. "Night."
"Night, Runt." She laughed ruffling his hair.
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Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor
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"Go Harry!" Hermione and Faith cheered at the Quidditch match. This was the first game she'd ever seen and it was cold and raining, causing Faith to wonder how Harry could see. Out of nowhere they saw Harry's body falling quickly towards the earth.
"HARRY!" Faith screamed her eyes glued to his falling form. When he landed she turned and practically flew down the stairs, rain hitting her in her face stinging her skin before she skidded to her knees at Harry's side. "Harry?" She whispered brushing his hair off his face.
"Mobilicorpus." Poppy Pomfrey said lifting Harry of the ground.
Angry Faith turned her glare on the place where Dumbledore was banishing the Dementors and walked towards them. Remus stepped in front of her. "Faith, Harry needs you now more then ever."
"They nearly killed him." She angrily spat. "They should be destroyed."
"They're here to protect the children from Sirius Black." Remus reminded.
"Sirius is not HERE, Remus!" She glared, her eyes darkening a bit from the anger she was feeling. "He's NOT HERE!" She broke down. "I swear if he hurts Harry, brother or not, I will kill him." She cried as Remus pulled her into his arms.
"Shh, Andralyn." Remus whispered.
He'd been trying to guess what kind of person Andralyn was. He knew she was stronger than others knew. Taking on raising a special boy, while living and training slayers on the active Hellmouth. He remembered how she was at the beginning, fighting it until she met him before opening her arms to the boy.
"Come on, lets go check up on Harry."
"No go ahead." Faith said running off in one direction away from Remus.
Remus sighed. "She's more protective of Harry that I thought she'd be."
"What did you expect Remus?" Albus asked. "If you hand a woman a child, she'll love him above all else."
"I suppose you're right." Remus sighed. "Like always."
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"Hello Andralyn." Rosmerta greeted.
"Hey Rosy." Faith echoed. "Firewhiskey."
"Are you sure?" Rosmerta asked concerned. The barkeeper knew that Andralyn was Harry's guardian and wondered if she should be drinking on a night like tonight.
"Please." Faith muttered.
Rosmerta sighed and put the bottle in front of the slayer. "How was the match?" She asked conversationally. The woman before her was someone she liked because she got along well with the students and you could tell they liked her.
"Hufflepuff won." Faith said after taking a long swig. She wasn't much of a drinker, hating the smell and taste, but she really wanted to lose herself. She couldn't help but be worried about Harry, but she didn't know if he wanted her to be an all out parent.
"I thought they were playing Gryffindor." Rosy said cleaning the glasses with her wand. "Harry's never lost a match."
"Well he did." Faith snapped grabbing the bottle and moved away from the bar. "Nearly lost his life because of those blasted Dementors." She spat pacing the floor. "And here I am, drinking." She threw the bottle against the wall in disgust over her actions.
"Andralyn!" Rosmerta exclaimed rushing towards the slayer. "Harry's a tough sort." She tried to reassure the slayer.
"I know." Faith smirked. "I taught him everything I know." She mused. "And look what it's done for him. He never stops fighting, whether it be here or at home, to stay alive."
"You're not making sense." Rosmerta faltered.
"It doesn't matter." Faith shrugged reaching into her pocket and pulling out a sickle to hand it to the barmaid. "For the drink." She said before walking out.
She wondered about for a bit longer before heading back to the castle. Halfway there she felt a pair of eyes watching her and glanced around the area. She shivered but whether it was from the weather or being watched, she didn't know.
A growl was heard and she turned her head in the direction of the noise. There she saw a large black dog that looked a bit underfed with haunting gray eyes. Her eyes narrowed in inspection of the dog as it slowly approach.
Lightning lit up the skies as the rain came down harder than in previous moments. Neither broke the eye contact they shared until they were close enough to make out the smallest detail of the other. Slowly Faith knelt down so that she was on the level of the dog.
"Those eyes." She muttered. "Come on." She gestured towards the castle while standing up slowly as to not frighten the animal. The dog followed Faith up the stairs and towards her room. "Hellmouth." She whispered to her portrait.
She gestured for the dog to enter, following behind and moved towards her bathroom to grab a towel for the dog. "C'mere." She patted her leg. She quickly dried the dog before moving into her small kitchen and asking for something for her to eat and for the dog.
She placed the food in front of the dog, before moving towards her table. They watched each other, as they ate, neither looking away for long. Soon enough she was yawning and stretching. The dog made use of the towel in her common room as she climbed the steps to her room. Once there she changed into her pajama's and crawled into bed.
When she woke, the dog was gone.
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"Hey Harry." Faith greeted walking into the infirmary. "How are you feeling?" She asked gesturing for him to follow her. It was a cloudy day but it was no longer raining. The pair walked out through the gardens.
Harry forced a smile saying, "Okay."
"Harry." She sighed.
"I heard her again." Harry snapped. "How am I supposed to feel?"
"Angry." Faith suggested. "Sad." She added. "Annoyed."
"All the above." Harry muttered. "We lost."
"I nearly lost you!" Faith hissed. "I drank Harry. And you know how I hate drinking."
Harry's eyes got wide, knowing how Faith got when she did drink. She was, in a word, violent. "I'm sorry, Aunt Andralyn." He replied. "I guess everyone's wanting for me to win has gotten into my head."
"You did fine, Runt." Faith sighed. "People who want you to be someone you're not puts a lot of pressure onto your shoulders." She suddenly had a thought. "Do I do that to you Harry? And be honest."
"You're the one person that doesn't expect me to be anything more than a thirteen year old boy." Harry stated looking at her. "I love being around you because I'm just Harry. Not Harry boy-who-lived Potter. Just Harry."
"I'm glad, because if you wanted I'm sure that I could give you a better home."
"I like living with you." Harry insisted.
"Mr. Potter-Black, what are you doing out here?" Poppy's voice echoed in the courtyard.
"I'm sorry Poppy, he was talking to me." Faith said. "We had something's to talk about in confidence."
Poppy sputtered for a moment before nodding. "Mr. Potter-Black needs to rest now." She replied in a way that said there was no room for argument.
"See you later, Harry."
End pt 3