Disclaimer: I don't own Potter but Aurora is mine.


"So what's Surrey like?" I asked, hands cupped around a goblet of pumpkin fizz.

It was hard to picture his home, the sprawling streets, the square houses, the gardens prunned to perfection. Yorkshire was nothing like that, even with a small village like Upper Flagley. Instead you could see the purple heather that sprawled across the moors, ivy clung to nearly all the cottages and it wasn't entirely odd for farmers to walk their cattle through the lanes, blocking Muggle transport.

"Boring." Harry summed up with a grin. The Leaky Cauldron was quieter than normal, most of the customers had moved beyond the wall to see the famed Lockheart, leaving a handful of people for Tom to serve. They looked somewhat creepy, in the far corner, an old wizard sat shrouded in darkness, his drink stirring itself. A small group of cloaked men sat hunched over a table, with no drinks and speaking in whispers. Every now and then, I caught them passing items under the table. Something told me whatever they were doing, it wasn't strictly legal. Remus was with Hagrid, discussing centaurs at the bar. The Wealseys had spread themselves out, the twins sat bent over a product I recognised from Gambles and Japes. Mrs Weasley was with Ginny and the others, the Grangers like Remus was with me, sent their daughter looks every now and then. I felt sorry for them and the inquisition Mr Weasley was forcing them to endure. A glimpse in his mind told me that he was Muggle obsessed, making this a golden opportunity for Mr Weasley. "And the Dursleys are awful, so nothing to report there. What's it like living with wizards? Ron's house is the first wizard home I've been too and it's brilliant."

Ron's house did look amazing, even if a little shabby but I couldn't say nothing. Our cottage was falling apart, faster than Remus was able to repair it.

"We live in Yorkshire just outside Upper Flagley." I said, grinning. I loved it there, the farmers were not awful, and there was space that even a werewolf could roam without harming someone. If he picked off one of the animals, the blame was shifted to the foxes. That wasn't the only benefit to Yorkshire, sometimes if you were lucky you got to see the Quidditch pitch hidden in the moors in use, wizards from the village making an event of it. "Remus works in the village when he can, but mostly he followed in his dad, Lyall's steps. They hunt down dangerous creatures, mostly Boggarts or out of control Grindylows in the area, but they haven't come across anything really dangerous in years."

Harry looked impressed and all three of them gave Remus a long look as if trying to picture him taking down a rather ugly troll. I'd seen the look on most people faces when they heard of Remus' once in awhile job. It was understandable why as Remus always looked like he could do with a long nap, or just recovering from a serious bout of illness. But it was mostly down to magical knowledge and how to deal with the beasts than brute strength, something not many people knew.

"You don't sound like you live in Yorkshire," said Hermione curiously, which was entirely truthful. I didn't but I was almost sure that was because I was pretty much a recluse. I may not be as famous as Harry where I was noticed on the spot but it was common knowledge amoung the wizard folk that Lily and James only daughter lived in the village which meant I was often subjected to pitying stares. It was also harder to deal with their minds, something about the accent muddled me up and made it harder for me to interpret. I hated that more than the staring.

"I pretty much stick myself and I think it helps that Remus and Lyall don't have one either." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't exactly the truth. I didn't entirely feel comfortable with Harry's friends, like I was stepping in on something I shouldn't. I had to remind myself that, essentially, I was a stranger that happened to share the Potter name. They had been friends since the school train and from what I'd seen, followed him towards possible death last year. There was no way I could compete with that.

"I bet you know loads though, more than I did." Harry said, I heard and tasted the envy in his tone. "It was because of Hagrid that I learned why I was getting letters, I didn't know anything. The Dursleys hate magic so they kept it all a secret."

The reminder of what the Dursleys done to him made my blood boil a little but mostly, it reminded how selfish I was. I had a loving home, my own belongings and never once had I gone without, even when Remus struggled to rub two Galleons together. Yet, I felt like I was still missing a huge part of me. I would give it all up in a heartbeat to turn back the time and have our parents sitting in his friends places, chatting without a care in the world just like the Weasleys were across the room. Or even to have Harry by my side through it all, the Dursleys forgotten.

Shaking myself mentally, I knew that there was no point in wallowing in the past; I wasn't Remus and it wouldn't change anything. Lily and James Potter would still be dead, Harry would still be The Boy who Lived and stuck living with those Muggles and I would still be myself, Legilimens and all. No amount of self-pity could undo that.

"I know a few things." I admitted after a sip of my pumpkin fizz. "But I don't think it'll be much help at Hogwarts. You don't start Magical creatures until third year and Hagrid says the Potions Master can be brutal."

The three exchanged a knowing look and I saw a man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and cold unforgiving eyes.

"Snapes awful." Ron said, grimacing. "Favours the Slytherins, hates Harry, mind."

I had heard the name Snape before, in some particular horrible memories of Remus'. He was labelled in the ever growing list of things Remus felt guilty over but it surprised me that this Snape hated Harry.

"Are you awful at Potions?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the thought. Remus was sure my love of the subject came from mum, but in truth, it came from wanting to help him with his monthly issues. The recent discovery of the Wolfsbane potion was a huge break-through but it wasn't enough. It helped the drinker keep their mind when otherwise they would turn into a complete beast. With it, a Werewolf could curl up and sleep until the full moon waned, with their mind intact. They still felt everything, their bones snapping and reforming into a wolf - worse than torture really. That wasn't the only problem with the potion but the price of the ingredients and the complexity of the potion itself was daunting to most. One slip up and the potion was poisonous.

"Its not my best subject." Harry admitted sheepishly. "Defence Against the Darks Arts would be good if we had a decent teacher. I hope Lockheart will be better than Quirrell."

"Lockheart is the new Defence teacher?" Everyone knew that the Defence post was rumoured to be cursed, every year a new teacher came and something usually happened before the year was up. It explained why most of my book list involved his entire collection. It was a good way to sell his books, sneaky almost.

"Yeah, he said it as handed me his autobiography. I wish he hadn't noticed me," Harry grimaced and flattened his impossible hair down over his scar. It didn't stay put. "You don't think it'll make the front page?"

Ron shrugged, looking unsure.

"I think it will, Harry.." Hermione said biting her lip but she went bright red as she continued in the same breath. "He'll be much better than Professor Quirrell, I mean he's a professional, he's written the whole book list!"

I frowned, he had set everyone the same books? I smirked, mentally calculating his intake from the students alone. He was definitely smart, clearly a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin. It didn't matter if he was a fake, he had set himself up for life.

"I think he's a fraud." I said bluntly.

Hermione seemed to choke on air. She gaped at me, like I'd just confessed to skinning live bunny rabbits. Harry frantically shook his head at me, looking strangely panicked. I already knew why and resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Hermione was a model student, top of her class in every subject and with good reason, she spent most of her life bent over a book and clinging to the facts she read, always remembering the text word for word; which I found rather unintelligent but mostly, she was close-minded. She didn't challenge what she read and she didn't believe in something unless proven with a book.

"Haven't you heard of all the great things he's done? All the awards he's gotten?"

"Read his books, ignore what he looks like, then try and say that again." She was just like every woman and girl that looked at him/ I could see into her mind so it was clear to me that her admiration was because of his looks, not because she was a true fan. Not wishing to continue the conversation in fear of a disagreement, I glanced at Harry and decided to extend him an invitation to our house. As long as it wasn't around the full moon, Remus would be fine with it. I just hoped Ron didn't mind.

"I should be going but if you wanted, you could come over sometime?" He looked disappointed that I was leaving but I felt his surprise at being invited to come over. A grin stretched across his face. "Our fireplace is connected with the Floo Network so you can drop by anytime."

"Sure, that's if its alright with Mrs Weasley and Remus." I rolled my eyes.

"So long as its ok with your friends. Remus won't have a problem." I said with a smile.


Author note: I'd love to know what you all think, even if you despise my story. I hope you like this chapter, it sort of just wrote itself so if you don't like it, then opps.. Thank you for taking the time to read, both Aurora and I love each and every one of you!