No. I'm not J. K. Rowling and none of HERS characters are mine T-T, but i do "play" with them sometimes = P

""Speech

Thought

4 Lies and friendship

Serena took a peek out of her bedroom door to make sure the coast was clear before taking a tentative step into the corridor. It had been three weeks since that day, if you don't count the time with the time-turner, she thought amused, the day that had changed all her life, still now she could hardly believe she was actually a witch and was learning how to cast spells. The memory of her failed attempt to cast an Incendio, which ended in a slightly burned and piss off potions professor, was still able to put a smile to her face. But, although her father did everything he could to help her adjust to her new life and tried to keep her occupied so she didn't feel too agitated for being in bed for so long, the truth was that her until now outdoor life didn't help at all. Finally making the decision to get some fresh air, she had decided to get out, not only of her room, but also, from that gloomy place her father had referred to as Grimmauld Place. So, although it was in the middle of the night Serena didn't relent in her idea of sneaking out from the mausoleum like house. Pausing to make sure she didn't hear anyone else, Serena pursued her goal, the front door. Arriving to her intended destination Serena released her breath, she had made it.

Finally, all these changes, this new way of live, it's too mush in such a short notice, all this is bound to make me go bunkers.

She had barely put her hand on the doorknob when she was suddenly jerked backwards, she twisting herself to be able to turn around. The unexpected movement caused her to lose her balance and clash against something hard and unyielding.

Wait this isn't something!Already dreading whoever had caught her. Serena raised her head only to find herself face to face with Professor Snape. He had been the one responsible for ripping her off the door, if his hand clenching her in a vice-grip over her head was of any indication.

"What in the name of Salazar you think you are doing, you stupid girl?"

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Idiotic girl, did you even stop to think about what you were about to do at all? Just wait until your father gets here; you're in big trouble now. The headmaster should have taken my advice and made you stay in whatever place you had been until now, and for good," a pacing Severus Snape thrown at her ever once in a while, always presenting her with murderous glances to complement his caustic remarks.

Serena let herself slump on of the many armchair scattered around the Blacks' Library, he had cast a silencio around them before starting lashing out at her quite some nasty remarks regarding her try to get out from that spooky house. What made Serena wonder was what would happen first, his yelling braking his spell and awaking everyone in the middle of the night or if, instead, his head would blow up. But that line of thinking was easily crushed when Serena heard the last sentence from Snape. Could it be that Dumbledore was going to return her to the orphanage? A pang of fear made Serena twinge and squirm in her seat. Was that it? Was the man she had started to see as a father going to simple get rid of her as if she was nothing more than a nuisance. As these and other scary thoughts took over Serena's mind she started chewing her lower lip, a nervous twitch she had. A noisy POP made Serena jerk out from both her dark musings as well as the chair she was on.

"Severus, my boy, what was so important to need my presence at this early hour?"

Serena would remember that day for years to come, in that moment she was sure her heart had skipped a beat.

"Your irresponsible daughter was trying to get out of the house; I see the little time she passed in that menace of a boys company was more than enough to turn her into an as much of a trouble maker as him."

And then Serena caught her breath, she was already seeing it, Dumbledore would be angry about her thoughtless action and would tell her how disappointed he was with her because of what she had tried to do. Finally he would say it was better if she got back to the orphanage were she belonged in the first place.

The stoic face of the elderly sorcerer didn't reveled any leads to the direction of his thoughts. Eyeing the couple in front of him Dumbledore ended the silence, saying with a serious face.

"I see. Is anyone up for a slice of chocolate cake?"

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"So, do you like it?"

"It's great!"

Serena couldn't be happier, she didn't know why, but her father didn't make any mentions of returning her to the orphanage, in fact he had ended up deciding to spend the rest of the night (or rather early hours of the morning) with her. So, now she was sitting in one of the two comfy armchairs her father had summoned, in front of the burning fire he had made from the remaining embers that were in her room's fireplace eating a rather large piece of chocolate cake, chatting happily with him.

"Do you think he'll be mad for too long?" she asked the elderly wizard suddenly concerned, she still remembered very clearly her lesson with him the days she had put him on fire, definitively notgood memories.

"Who?" He asked as he brought another piece of cake to his mouth.

"Professor Snape, he was very angry because you didn't punish me at all for my actions," Serena replied, also a little surprised by that fact. Serena was sure she was seeing a mischievous glint in her father's eyes when he simply responded, "he did get out quite hastily didn't he?"

"There was some truth to what he said; I did put everyone at risk," the blond girl said downcast, she needed to stop thinking only about her needs. Now she had responsibilities towards other, it wasn't just her anymore. The thought didn't make her pout as she had thought; it made her feel she was part of something. She smiled, like she belonged.

"My dear Serena, sometimes things are just meant to happen," Albus replied with a sad smile.

"What?" She asked getting out of her reverie, she wasn't sure but she felt as if her father was hiding something from her, she frowned.

"So, would you like to spend some time with the others teens?" He asked her, changing the subject.

I would love to, the problem is; would they want it?She wondered as a worried look came to her face.

"I'm not sure if that is a good idea," she said, looking her father in the eyes, the little feeling of belonging she felt growing in her chest, she wasn't prepared to see it squashed if the teens didn't welcome her the two adults had done, well, my father at least. I'm really not in the mood to be picked on.

"Later…maybe?" she asked tentatively; if she could stall long enough, maybe her father would simply forget.

"Serena you can't simply let your bad moments in life stops you from living. Each obstacle you outrun will only make you stronger. Believe me, I know," Dumbledore said to her as if he had known exactly the thoughts around her head.

Serena couldn't stop from feeling reassured by her father words, if he thought it was the best for her she would do it.

Here goes nothing.Serena thought with a forced smile on her face.

...

After a considerable amount of time and effort, with Serena begging and whinnying and Dumbledore reassuring, they finally managed to convince Poppy (whom Dumbledore had called to Headquarters after Serena's agreement in passing some time with the other teens) to release the girl from her imposed enclosure. Of course, the fact that the Medi-witch had appeared in her sleepwear (Serena had suspected the older witch had come to the wrong conclusion about the reasons behind the Headmaster's convocation so early in the morning. Poppy probably had thought her condition had shifted for worse) certainly had contributed for the Healer sour mood about their request.

That obstacle overcome, Serena found herself tense at leaving the safety of her room behind. She wished she could do this at her father's side, but reluctantly, he had left shortly after Poppy, leaving her to deal with the situation by herself. She didn't resent her father's actions, he was a very busy wizard and the time he managed to spend with her, in spite of that, was the only thing she needed to know how important she was to him. Taking a deep breath, she righted her back. If it didn't turn well she could always lock herself in her bedroom for the rest of her stay. With her nervousness in check, she steered herself to the kitchen.

"Harry, you must see…" A read head said.

"Our new products," an identical wizard continued.

"They aw…" The two had started saying together before their eyes fell on the blond witch everyone was gossiping about lately.

Serena had just been spotted by two identical red heads from the place she had chosen, to hide from the crowd of people she had seen at the table. When she accepted her father's challenge she had only expected to have to present herself to the Weasley family, the boy she had already known and his friend Hermione about whom her father had already told her everything about, but to her suddenly risen anxiety she found herself confronted with not only them but also, what Serena thought to be, half the Order members. All of them seemed to be longing for the Weasley matriarch's cooking.

Just snap out of it and move everyone's staring at you. Serena berated herself as she discovered her incapacity to just move.

"Oh sweetheart, you arrived just in time for breakfast."

The bear hug she received from the ginger haired lady caught Serena of guard, only now she really understood how much she needed that.

Feeling the frightened girl starting to relax Molly whispered so only the two of them could be able to hear, "it's okay, darling, it's okay." Ending the hug, Molly gently chastised her, "now, now Serena, what are you doing at the door? Come along or your breakfast will get cold."

Fast and efficiently the Weasley matriarch cast a spell enlarging the seemingly overall full table putting the chair she just summoned in the, now existent, empty place on the side of the green eyed boy Serena recognized as the boy she had met two days earlier. Him being the only one she could say she knew (sort of) she tried to end the awkward silence that had taken over everyone by tentatively starting a conversation with him.

"Hi."

"Hello, are you better?" The boy asked in a worried voice.

"Yes, thank you," she said as a small smile graced her features as the kindness the boy was showing her was beginning to make her relax.

Noticing her nervousness and the fact she simply forgot to serve herself he replied, "here, taste this eggs they're great," the boy said as he served her some of the scrambled eggs.

After making sure the young girl was eating enough (seeing as Harry barely left her to finish whatever she had in her plate to start filling it up again) Molly drew back, noticing how Serena animatedly talked with Harry.

Dumbledore had asked her, before leaving that morning, if she could keep an eye in his daughter; she was yet to fully heal and she was very shy around too many people. Ms. Weasley had understood what he meant when she saw how uncomfortable the girl had seemed at the door, but her fears ended the moment she saw Harry and Serena speaking to each other. Harry was a good boy; he would take good care of her.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Back in her room, Serena was putting some quills and parchment in her new satchel, her father had provided everything she would need and more for the start of school year. The breakfast had been great. She had made friendship with not only Harry and his two inseparable friends, but also with Ron's twin brothers and younger sister. When the breakfast had ended, Serena found herself saddened by that. She could have stayed with the teens, but she didn't want to impose herself on them. It was true they had been more than welcoming towards her, but that didn't mean they were all the best of friends, she was sure they wouldn't like to have her trailing behind them and besides she had still much to learn, she though as she spotted her unfinished books neatly settled on her desk.

So now, again in her room, she had decided to go to the library and do some study. Her father had told her all about the Black library and all the diversity of tomes encompassing a seemingly endless variety of subjects and she was dying to get her hands in some of the rare manuscripts she was sure to find in there. After all, according to the magical families' genealogical books she had been reading, the Blacks were one of the most ancient families from the magical world possibly even having ancestors that were Merlin's blood relatives. With new ideas popping every second in her head and hope shining in her eyes Serena grabbed her satchel and left her room behind without even noticing, that for the first time since she had arrived, she didn't felt a little bit worried with the possibility of meeting with someone.

…...

Letting off a defeated sigh, Serena let herself fall back into the armchair she had been occupying for the last four hours. It seemed that she was doomed to fail in her attempts to help Harry.

When speaking with the boy it had occurred to her that she could help him greatly with some of the protective spells she had read about in one of her father's books, the problem was it only mentioned them in a superficial manner, not even specifying how they were cast. She had hoped to find some answers on Grimmauld Place's library, but to her dismay the little she had found only served to crush her hopes. The blood link Harry now shared with Voldemort was more than probable to interfere with whichever shield or protective spell she had found that could serve of any help to her new friend.

As tiredness started to take over her, Serena tried to unsuccessfully stop a yawn. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stretched herself in feline pleasure before jumping off the armchair. It was almost lunch time and she was sure Ms. Weasley would search every inch of the house if she was late for lunch. Putting everything back the way she had found it, she left the library behind going towards the kitchen. She reached a dead end with her research, but she'd be dammed if that was going to stop her from doing what she wanted. She just needed to do it the hard way; she would create new ones that wouldn't pose the same problems. She just needed to start from scratch. It really is unfortunate I'm no longer in possession of the time turner.Her father had taken it when he was sure there was no need for it anymore, Serena was sure it would have been of great help in the numerous nights she wouldn't sleep because of the herculean work she was about to get herself into.

…...

Ms Weasley looked worriedly over to the blond teen she had been in charge of, ever since she sit down to have her lunch, Serena haven't done anything more than poking at her food as she absently looked at it. Could she be having a relapse? "Serena, dear, is something wrong with your food?" The mother of seven asked, concern showing in her voice.

"Hum." Being caught completely by surprise by the Mrs. Weasley, Serena looked to the barely eaten food in her plate. "Oh no, no, it's fine Mrs. Weasley; I guess I'm just not all that hungry." She said hoping to lighten the worried looks she could see in the faces of all that were at the table.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Mrs. Weasley said in a disinterested tone, "well then, I suppose you won't want a slice from the chocolate cake I made for dessert!" The adult witch said hopping that apple hadn't fell far from the tree.

"Chocolate cake?" Serena asked with shining eyes and eager smile. "It would be rude for me to refuse a 'little' slice, wouldn't it?" The teen said grinning.

Laughing to that Mrs. Weasley taped her wand on Serena's plate, changing its contents into something more to her liking. Seeing the large slice Mrs. Weasley had left in her plate, Serena didn't waste time to start eating the appreciated desert with gusto.

I guess the apple really didn't felt that far away from the tree with her.Mrs. Weasley thought amused, noticing how the girl didn't seem to have any problem in munching down the gigantic slice of cake.

...

Night came, bringing silence to Grimmauld Place as all its residents retired to their respective rooms in search of a reprieve from the passing day. In one of the many rooms a green- eyed boy fought his inner turmoil in hopes of catching some hours of sleep, something that had become more and more difficult for him in the last few months. The constant nightmares were slowly undermining him, he felt it, but every time he tried to rise from that state of mind the guilt pushed him back down.

As the horrible visions passed again through his mind's eye, he sensed a flicker of light somewhat hidden among them. Something in him told him he needed that, whatever it was, to win this fight he was having with himself. He turned in his bed facing the ceiling and tried to concentrate in that feeling, nothing, every single time he tried it simply seemed to slip away like sand through his fingers. Maybe... If he closed his eyes? But if he closed them then...the visions... they would invade his mind again!

Harry tiredly sighed, would it be any different from what was happening now. Even with his eyes wide open he could clearly see the lifeless eyes of Cedric, accusing him of failing, of being not only unable to stop Voldemort from returning as but in fact, being the most responsible for it.

Harry felt as the now customary heart squeezing feeling took over him again and when he was just expecting the dreadful feeling to consume him completely like so many times before, the little fleck made itself known again, stopping it from happening.

With a racing heart, the-boy-who-lived almost jumped off bed at this turn of events. What was this … thing and more importantly why and how was it helping him? Determined to get to the bottom of this he firmly closed his eyes and concentrated. Again, the ghostly appearance of Cedric Diggory made itself known to him, but now Harry brushed the feeling of failure aside and thoroughly scanned the inside of his mind. For a moment he thought all his efforts would be in vain until the little flick of light seemed to appear from nowhere and clash with him.

Before his mind could even register what was happening a sudden rush of love and tenderness enclosed him making him feel loved and protected like he never remembered feeling before. With his mind finally at ease his tired body let itself be claimed by the long earned sleep.

In his foggy mind, already half way asleep, Harry saw as the little flick of light inside his mind steadily grow until he was able to know what it really was. A memory from a long time ago. He was in his mother's loving arms, contentment in his small baby's heart. His mother was speaking to someone, but it was of no importance to him he was with his mummy and that was all that mattered. Unexpectedly his mommy ended his little piece of heaven when she passed him to another's arms; before he could start with his crying protests the person holding him now started lulling him with as much tenderness as his own mother. With curiousness blooming in his infant heart little baby Harry slowly cracked his eyes to be met with green eyes as intense as the ones of his own mother.

"Hello little lion." The pretty lady with the same eyes as his mother said to him smiling adoringly. "It seems your mother wants for me to be your godmother, what do you think, little one, would you like that?"

The pretty lady was kind and smelled good; too, if his mummy had let her pick him up she should be a friend. He smiled to her.

"It seems little Harry likes the idea, Lily; I'd love to be his godmother then."

"Oh Helena, I'm so glad you've accepted."

The cherished memory seemed to end as baby Harry fell asleep cradled in his godmother's arms, fading again into the deep recesses of his mind, where not even he could find it, to be again forgotten until all would be revealed.

…...

Serena awoke with the day's first sunbeams kissing her eyelids. Jumping off the bed, the teenage witch made a bee-line towards the bathroom. She had started her research yesterday after lunch and had found some very promising charms, they still couldn't be used as they were now , but with a little tweaking who knows, they could end being very useful. Not only that, but also, a large amount of ideas were popping in her head non-stop and she was impatient to start.

Only minutes later, Serena got out from the bathroom ready for the new day. Intent on skipping breakfast, the girl snatched her satchel from where she had dumped it last night and directed herself directly to the library. She had much to do.

Humming lightly Serena came to a halt when she found herself face to face with Hermione one of Harry's closest friends, looking her interested from the table she was occupying on the library.

"Hum, hi."

"Hello, are you looking for someone?" Hermione asked confused with the other girl sudden appearance. It was more than a little unusual for her to find anyone out of bed so early in the morning and in the library no less. "Are you lost?" she asked the blond girl, who seemed to be rooted to the spot barely inside the door.

Blinking away her surprise Serena shyly responded. "No... I... I actually was coming here."

Hermione didn't even try to hide her surprise. "Here, that's a little unusual!"

"Why is that so unusual?" Serena asked intrigued.

"Well normally I'm the only one even remotely interested in burying myself in books and parchments on a school break. So are you looking for something in particular, if that's the case maybe I can help you. I've passed almost every day since I arrived here in the library so I know where most of the books are."

"Thanks, but I already know what I'm looking for." The green eyed witch timidly said smiling in thanks as she directed herself towards the shelves where she knew the object of her interest was located before turning again to Hermione. She had thought in doing her research, in the library, but she didn't want to disturb the brunette, well she supposed she would return to her room then.

But Serena wasn't able to do it before Hermione asked her when noticing she was preparing to leave. "Don't you want to stay? I promise not to be a bother. "It hadn't passed unnoticed by the Gryffindor know-it-all how, although unintentional, all the attention from everyone seeking to befriend Dumbledore's daughter was uncomfortable to her. Hermione's little proclamation made Serena lightly chuckle, it seemed Hermione had misunderstood her, but she was glad the other girl had asked her to stay so she daintily directed herself to the table before sitting in the chair in front of Hermione.

"I think I will stay then." And putting down the books she had retrieved from the bookshelf, Serena took what she was going to need from her satchel before starting to take notes in a semi-full parchment.

"Sorry for interrupting you, but what kind of spell are you referring to in your notes? I don't seem to know it." Hermione felt a little embarrassed by interrupting Serena especially after had promised notto do it, but...the curiosity had been stronger than her politeness.

Looking from Hermione to the paper she promptly responded.

"It's just some spells I'm working on. Nothing important really, I just had to do something with my time. I really can't remember a time when I felt as bored as the days I had spent in bed." She wasn't sure she would be able to pull it off so she didn't see why she should give false hopes to the brunette; it was too soon to talk about those charms.

"They look very promising, do you mind if I take a look at them?"

"No, I don't mind at all," Serena assured passing her the parchment.

"These are fantastic." Hermione said excitedly. "This could be very helpful to Harry." She continued almost to herself.

"Do you want to borrow the parchment?" Serena smiled to her kindly.

"Really, are you sure? I don't want to hinder your work."

"You want it to help Harry I assume." As Hermione nodded affirmatively Serena continued. "Then, you can take your time with it."

Flashing a bright smile the brunette said to her, "please, call me 'Mione. I think we are going to be best friends."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

An inviting fire burned in Grimmauld Place's living room's fireplace and Serena was seated comfortably on the sofa in front of it. Her thoughts momentary wandering why the house was so chilly even in the peak of summer. With a book raised to her face in one of her hands she softly patted Hermione's cat Crookshanks, whom had settled himself on her lap, with the other. The soft purr the only sound heard except from the occasional crackle coming from the fireplace or the sound of a turning page. But her mind wandered from the book in her hands again, the last week had passed as quickly as her friendship with the other teens solidified.

Ever since her encounter with Hermione that day in the library the brunette was her best source when she did a research or when she wanted to exchange ideas on any issue (Mione not only had said she thought the spell she was creating was a great idea, but also had encouraged her when she had expressed her will in trying to create others).

Ginny was the best in giving tips on everyday life and customs of the magical world (Serena had quelled Ginny's suspicions about the fact she didn't know them by simply saying her father had been careful enough to completely isolate her from the magical world until now to keep her safe).

Ron was the best to take her head out of problems with his always present cheerfulness, but whom Serena felt closer to was undoubtedly Harry. When she simply needed silence or to be alone he knew and when she was assaulted by memories of the past telling her she wasn't capable she only needed to look into his eyes to know it wasn't true.

But Serena was killed by the fact that for the first time in her life she had friends, real friends, and she lied to them. Every single one of the members of the Order were been told that she was the biological daughter of Dumbledore and the love, friendship and confidence that any new character to whom she was presented as Serena Tayla(1) Dumbledore only made her fell even more like a fake.

Albus had assured her that there was no other way to protect them and so she had done what he had asked of her, but his reasoning did not make her feel any better, she truly didn't understand his insistence of making her pass as his daughter. To speak the truth she still hadn't understood why Albus decided to adopt her in the first place, it's true that he seemed very interested not only in the fact that she was an undetected sorceress, but also because her name didn't appear in the book of names (2) in Hogwarts or the fact that she never, have shown any fitness for magic, except the day the Dementors' attacked.

Serena didn't remember anything after she had blacked out, but according to Harry, after he rid himself of two or three of them five more had appeared they were too many to Harry. His Patronus was very powerful, but consumed too much energy besides that Harry was always very affected by them. Harry had told Dumbledore that the Dementors where about to attack and an intense light had emerged from Serena. When it disappeared she had become a Unicorn, feeling this new presence the Dementors remained far away, but hadn't given up from their prey, seeing that they weren't going to leave, the Unicorn raised herself in her rear hooves and her horn shot a silver light beam with the form of a sphere that gradually had enlarged itself. He closed his eyes for a moment because of the intensity of the light and when he had opened his eyes again the street was completely normal and Serena was out on the pavement.

Albus made Harry promise that he wouldn't comment on what had passed with Serena for her on security, to which he had agreed. Albus thought that someone should have bound her powers and erased her name from Hogwarts' records, but to be able to do something like that it had to be a very powerful sorcerer, from Albus' point of view that sorcerer was much more powerful than him.

An annoyed meow made itself known, making Serena turn her attention to Crookshanks, in her reverie she had stopped petting him.

"Sorry, Crookshanks, I was a little distracted."

The half Kneazel rubbed itself against her as if asking to be petted again. Smiling, Serena did as her little friend asked and returned her attention to the book. The past was just that, the past. She should let it alone and concentrate in the future and that meant she needed to stop daydreaming and get on with her work.

A.N. I hope this chapter takes some of your doubts, don't forget R. and R., thanks.

(1) Tayla is the Portuguese derivation of the English name Tyla.

(2) Supposedly, when a child is born with magical powers his/her name appears in the Hogwarts records book.