The Guardians

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these wonderful characters; they all belong to the magnificent J.K. Rowling. (Except for the original few that you'll be able to recognize yourselves!)

Chapter 9: Cassidy and Callaway

Professor Alixandra Callaway was the first to enter the Great Hall the next morning. She looked around the enormous room, and smiled. She hadn't been back to Hogwarts since she had left it nearly twenty years before. Much to her relief, it had not changed at all, which she could not say for most aspects of her life. Despite all of the bad things that had happened, it was still there, exactly the same as it was when she had first walked through its doors at the age of eleven.

"Hasn't changed one bit, has it Alixandra?" Came the voice of Albus Dumbledore from behind her.

"No…not at all, Headmaster." Alixandra replied, staring up at the enchanted ceiling. She turned to face him. "I've missed this place." However, there was no need for her to say it, because it was written all over her face.

Dumbledore smiled, "I'm very glad to have you back here." The expression on his face then turned to a tired one. "Not many people want this position, I am grateful that you accepted it."

Alixandra knew that the only other person who had applied for the job was Severus Snape. From what she was told, he always applied for the job when it was open, and she was also told that it was always open. "Maybe I'll be able to break the curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers!" She joked.

Dumbledore chuckled, "One can only hope. We've gone through so many Defense professors, but only one of them was entirely qualified."

"Only one?" Alixandra asked, shocked.

Dumbledore smiled again, "Yes, and if I remember correctly, you were quite good friends with him back in your school years here." Seeing the confused look on her face, he continued, "Remus Lupin."

An astonished look graced the new professor's young face, "Remus?! How is he! Where is he?!" She had not seen Remus for years. When James and Lily were killed, he pretty much became a recluse and stayed locked away in his flat. Alix was only successful at getting inside a couple of times and even then he was like a ghost of the man she once knew. Of course she hadn't blamed Remus; for she too had pretty much turned her back on the wizarding world when it had turned its back on her. As she reflected on him, she became overwhelmed with grief.

Dumbledore surveyed her from behind his half moon spectacles, "Ah, well he is doing okay. There is a lot you still don't know, but I promise you will be filled in soon enough."

The concern was visible on her face, "Why, what else has happened, aside from the return of Voldemort?" She didn't hesitate to say his name. There was no reason to; after all, it was just a name.

Dumbledore sighed, and his blue eyes were not twinkling like they had been a few minutes before. "Now is not the time, nor the place for this discussion. The students will be coming in very soon."

"I understand." She replied, still a little worried, for she had no idea what could be troubling the Headmaster. But she tried to push that thought aside, because today was supposed to be exciting for her.

Dumbledore smiled at her sadly as they both began to make their way to the staff table, as their fellow professors, as well as students, began to fill the Great Hall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cassidy Lestrange was the first to wake up in her dormitory that morning. She still couldn't believe that she was a witch; a few weeks ago, witches were just part of the fairy tales that she read when she was a child, but now they were real and she was one of them!

Over the summer holiday, not only had she learned that she was a witch, but she also learned many basic spells. Almost every day, Professor Dumbledore, or some other wizards, (some professors, some not) would come to her house to help her catch up to the level of the rest of the students in her year. She learned more than she could have imagined, although, she did realize that her abilities would not match those of her peers (who had five more years under their belts).

She got out of bed and quickly put on her uniform. When she finished dressing, everyone else in the dormitory was still deeply asleep, so she headed downstairs. When she reached the Common Room, there was only one person occupying it. She recognized this boy as Harry, the one who angrily left the feast the previous night. He glanced up at her when she walked in, but his guarded gaze quickly flitted back to the empty fireplace.

She thought about saying hello, but quickly changed her mind exited the Common Room. Cassidy had no idea where she was going, but she didn't mind. She liked exploring for herself, although a map would be useful.

After wandering the corridors and going down a few flights of stairs, she was able to find her way to the Great Hall, where several other students were heading. She went inside and walked across the vast room to the Gryffindor House table.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry sat in the Common Room, waiting for everyone else to wake up. He had hardly slept the night before, as usual. Though, this time it was not due to dreams, but to presence of Cassidy Lestrange in Gryffindor House.

Deep down, he knew it wasn't her fault. She had no idea, like Ginny said last night. But looking at her made him think about Sirius' death, which was never good for him. He closed his eyes and willed those thoughts away. "Now is not the time," he told himself.

"Not the time for what?" Ron's voice came from the stairs leading to the boy's dormitory.

"Nothing, I was just talking to myself." Harry replied.

Ron nodded half heatedly, and Harry instantly felt guilty. He knew he owed it to both Ron and Hermione to tell them what had been going on. But Ron changed the subject, "How long have you been up?"

"A few hours, I suppose. I wasn't sleeping well, so I decided to get up." Harry replied, trying to sound more cheerful, but he that he couldn't fool Ron.

Ron nodded, "You weren't dreaming again were you?' He was obviously referencing last night's episode before the sorting.

"No, I just had a lot on my mind." He wanted to go on and explain just what it was but he needed both Ron and Hermione to be there at once and he needed to make sure that there was no chance of being eavesdropped on.

A few minutes later, Hermione came down the girl's staircase, followed by Ginny. "Good morning!" Hermione said brightly.

"Morning." Both of the boys said in unison. Harry reluctantly got up from his chair and the four of them made their way to the Great Hall together.

As always, Professor McGonagall walked around handing out schedules to the Gryffindor students. When she got to Harry, she looked at him and said "Very impressive Potter! I see you were able to get an 'O' in Potions." Harry looked back up at her, and she winked at him.

"Thanks Professor." Harry grinned.

"Don't thank me, Potter, you obviously earned it!" She responded, in a tone that suggested she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. "By the way, you also made Quidditch Captain, so, I believe this is yours!" She took a pin out of her pocket and handed it to Harry. It was a scarlet and gold badge with the word "Captain" engraved on it.

Harry's grin widened. "You can set up trials whenever it's convenient for you. I expect a successful team this year, Potter." She added, before she continued down the Gryffindor table handing out the rest of the schedules.

"Hey Harry, d'you reckon I'll be able to get back on the team?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Well, I suppose you'll have to attend trials first, because it's only fair, but I'm sure you'll make it." Harry replied, grinning, "You too, Gin!"

He was grateful to finally have something to sufficiently distract him from his brooding thoughts. He immediately jumped into a conversation with Ron about potential players for their new team.

As they ate breakfast, the trio exchanged schedules to compare classes. Hermione, of course getting all eleven O.W.L's was in every class that Harry and Ron were in and then some. Harry and Ron were lucky enough to have a free period right after breakfast, Hermione had Arithmancy, and Ginny, was going to be the first to experience their new professor.

"Do you think Professor Callaway will know what she's doing? We haven't had a...er... normal professor in that class since Remus. I would say 'qualified' professor, but the Moody imposter was perfectly qualified." Hermione stated, not bothering to hide her concern.

"Except that he was a Death Eater!" said Ron through a mouthful of eggs.

"Ron, please don't talk while you're chewing. It's absolutely revolting." Hermione added, giving Ron a bit of a disgusted look. "Well I better get going; I don't want to be late to Arithmancy on the first day. See you all later!"

"Come on, we might as well go up to the Common Room now, since Ginny is leaving too." said Harry as he and Ron finished their breakfast. The three of them made their way to the entrance hall, "And we'll discuss when to hold Quidditch trials, shall we?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione smiled to herself when she saw who the first person in the Arithmancy classroom was. She knew that the only way to ease the tension that Harry had caused the night before was to be friendly. "Hello Cassidy. I'm Hermione Granger. How do you like Hogwarts so far?"

Cassidy turned around, a look of delight coming across her features. She did look a lot like her mother, Hermione noted, but only because of the fact that they were both pretty (for Bella that had changed a bit, but she had been beautiful at one point). Cassidy had that resolute kindness about her, while her mother had never given that impression. "Oh, I love it. It's quite amazing how…well, magical everything is." She laughed a little, "Look at me I sound like I'm five years old."

Hermione laughed too, "Well I'm muggle-born, so I understand exactly what you mean. Nothing beats the first impression of Hogwarts." Cassidy motioned for the still standing Hermione to take the seat next to her. "Where are you from anyway?"

"Oh…all over, actually. My parents…well, not my real parents, the ones who adopted me, travel all over the world. We've lived in Africa, Australia, Italy, France, Greece…you name it, and I've probably been there." Hermione enjoyed how easy it was to have a conversation with Cassidy.

"Were your parents okay with letting you come to Hogwarts? I mean, I know it's very overwhelming and unbelievable for muggle parents." Hermione tried to seem as casual with the conversation as possible, but she wanted to know more about this girl; especially the reason why her mother would let her end up with a muggle couple. She didn't know much about Bellatrix, but she could figure enough out, being that she was a Death Eater. A Death Eater would never willingly leave their own child in the hands of a muggle.

"Oh yes, mum and dad were so proud. They knew that there was something different about me from the moment they took me home. I was only about seven years old then, but they just knew." As if she read Hermione's mind, she pressed on, "I don't know much about my real parents, except that my mother left me at the orphanage when I was only a few months old. The matrons there said that my mother didn't give a reason; she just left me. And my father…there was no mention of him at all, aside from his last name, the one I have now." Cassidy's eyes seemed to have gotten a little sadder. She would relate well to Harry, Hermione thought, but Harry was just too stubborn as of right now.

"Did your adoptive parents give you the name Cassidy?" Hermione knew she was being nosy, but she had to find out as much as she could while the girl was still talking.

"Well yes…sort of. My real name is Cassiopeia, you know, like the star. But my parents found that rather odd, so they just shortened it to Cassidy. I haven't used the name Lestrange since I left the orphanage, but my parents insisted that if I were to go into this world, I should take the name that my real parents had given me, just in case they were to turn up."

Hermione's eyes widened, slightly. If anything, that was the worst possible thing to do. Yet, Dumbledore had obviously not insisted on changing it, and that was really disturbing to Hermione. But Dumbledore had his reasons for everything, didn't he? Still, she didn't understand it.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I…look Cassidy, there's just some things you aren't informed of yet, and it definitely is not my place to tell you." She truly believed that it was Dumbledore's duty to inform the girl that her parents were evil wizards out to destroy people like her adoptive parents, but clearly Dumbledore had a different idea.

Cassidy looked puzzled at Hermione, but accepted her reason without protest. The rest of the class went on without mention of Cassidy's past. When the two girls were gathering their things together at the end of class, Hermione was just about to ask her new friend what she had next, when Cassidy asked the question that Hermione had been dreading to answer all period long. "Hermione…you're friends with that Harry Potter boy, aren't you?"

"Yes…he's one of my best friends. Why?" Hermione was trying to act as innocent as possible. But, she knew that she'd have to give the girl some sort of answer, even though the real answer was up to Harry to reveal.

"Well…it's just that I get the impression that he doesn't like me very much, and I don't know how that could be, because I've never met anyone from this school before in my life." She said it all rather fast. Hermione could tell that it was bothering her, and she couldn't really blame the girl. Cassidy did not have the slightest idea that her biological parents had decided to become murders and that one of her mother's victims was Harry's godfather.

"I really wish I could tell you. But like I said before, there's already so much that you don't know. It'd make it well…upsetting, and rather confusing. Harry's the one to ask, and even though he doesn't seem very…welcoming, you should try talking to him. He's really a nice person once you get to know him. It's just that he's been through an awful lot and he's not too keen on opening up to people he doesn't know very well." There. It was the best she could do without giving too much away; without giving anything away. You probably just confused her more!

"If anyone can give you answers about your family…it's Harry." She thought that this would give her the incentive she needed to talk to Harry. Harry would, of course, be difficult at first, but she was sure he'd eventually oblige.

Cassidy gave her a sort of discouraged look and shrugged her shoulders, "Do you think you can show me the way to Defense Against the Dark Arts…I'm still rather overwhelmed by the moving staircases and all. I'd hate to get lost. A map would be ruddy useful, you know?"

Hermione smiled wryly, "If you get Harry to talk to you, you should ask him about his map." And with that, they headed off to meet Professor Callaway, something Hermione had been looking forward to since the feast the night before.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry and Ron walked to the third floor for Defense, knowing that Hermione would already be there, but definitely not expecting her to be talking to Cassidy Lestrange, as if they were the best of friends. Harry chose not to say or do anything that would set Hermione off about accepting Cassidy.

Ron however, had a different idea. "I can't believe she's trying to make friends with that girl! Doesn't she have any respect for your friendship at all?"

Harry remained silent, merely shrugging at Ron. Even though Ron had not said it loud enough for Hermione to hear, she still managed to figure out what it was that Ron was implying. She excused herself from Cassidy and said to Ron, in a voice so only he and Harry could hear, "Just because Harry has a problem with her, doesn't mean we have to. She's really very sweet."

"Yes, until your back is turned and she hexes you into next week."

"Honestly Ron!"

"Just drop it, okay? I don't care if you're friends with her or not." Harry finally spoke up. He wasn't really in the mood for Ron and Hermione's bickering, so he tried to put a stop to it as quickly as it began. He left the two of them staring in his wake, as he made his way into the classroom, but not before he heard Ron whisper to Hermione.

"We really have to talk to him, Hermione...something isn't right with him lately." Choosing to ignore this, Harry continued into the classroom and took a seat towards the middle. He knew Ron was right. They really did have to talk, but Harry was dreading it. He didn't want to tell his friends what destiny had in store for him.

When Ron and Hermione entered the class, they took the two empty seats to his right, and Cassidy took the last seat, next to Hermione. They only had to wait a few minutes until their newest Defense professor entered the room.

"Now, I know that you haven't had a very stable experience in this particular class. However, I am hopeful that this will be a good year and that I will be able to stay longer than any of your previous professors have." She smiled a little and then continued, "I don't want to push you too hard today since I know you haven't really had practical experience in quite some time, due to your previous professor's…er, methods of teaching. So we're going to play a little 'getting to know you' type of game. Each person will tell me their name and a little something about themselves. I'll start, and then you," she said, pointing to Neville, "will continue."

"I'm Professor Callaway, as you already know. Hmm…let's see, ah yes--I've been away from the wizarding world for nearly fifteen years, that is, until Professor Dumbledore offered me this position." She glanced over at Neville with a small smile as if to signal his turn.

"Er…I'm Neville Longbottom. I'm exceptionally good at Herbology." He said, slightly blushing.

Professor Callaway raised an eyebrow. "Ah yes, Professor Sprout was talking about you last night at the feast. From what she says, you're more than just exceptional, Neville! Don't be so modest!" At this, Neville turned positively crimson. It was Seamus' turn after Neville, but Harry had stopped listening. He was more intrigued about what Professor Callaway had said. Fifteen years…that meant that there was a great chance that Voldemort had something to do with it. Harry had no idea how long he had been lost in this thought, but a nudge from Ron meant that it was his turn.

"Right, sorry. I'm Harry Potter," admittedly, Harry felt quite stupid, because usually there was no need for him to state his name. "When Umbridge wasn't teaching us properly last year, I taught a few students ways to protect themselves just in case they came up against Voldemort or the Death Eaters."

"Very impressive, Mr. Potter. I'd really like to hear more about that. Will you stop by later today, whenever you have free time?"

Harry nodded quietly, wondering if Professor Callaway's real question was if Harry was willing to start the D.A. again. The truth was that he wanted to. As he had realized earlier at the prospect of Quidditch beginning again, he longed for any sort of distraction, especially one that was useful.