AN/ Sorry the update took so long, I started back to school Monday and this tem has not been a breeze. Anyway, much love to you all.)

Ok, in case you haven't discovered it, all my chapters have been named after songs/bands/Cd's I'm gonna start putting lyrics from those songs in each chapter, and I'm gonna--eventually put them in previous chapters too.

IF ONLY SHE KNEW

I try to help you out through the toughest of times your heart is in your throat and I'm speaking my mind. though it looks as if it's over, I'm still not over you.

Michelle Branch

The two spent a comfortable afternoon together playing Wizard's chess--which Harry beat Malandra at quite easily-- playing ping-pong, which was a tie between the two, and talking to the garden snake that Malandra affectionately called Salazar even though he insisted his name was Jack.

Around two, Malandra's stomach began to rumble as if on cue; the ping-pong table transformed into a buffet table complete with sandwiches, cake, pumpkin juice, and butter beer. Malandra smiled, "God, I love this room."

Harry looked at her, "You know, despite finding out that I might die, this has been a good day." She looked at him; "Yeah, hanging out with you definitely took my mind off the whole poofing out of existence thing." the two looked at each other before laughing. Afterwards, Harry smiled at her, "It felt good," he said, "To be able to laugh again. It's been a long time since I felt like laughing." She smiled sadly, "Me too."

The two sat like that for a long time, enjoying the silence. It was a melancholy sort of beautiful, seeing the two of tem together; beautiful, because, at last, they had another who could understand what it was like to have your family taken away by the dark lord, to live in constant fear that he would get you, to wake up everyday knowing that today could be the last day of a loved one or even themselves. It was beautiful to see two such similar souls come together and yet, there was such sadness attached to the moment, they were, after all, too young do have been through so much. They were living the lives or warriors when they were barley more than children; and yet, for a single moment, they were able to find peace, a place in time where they could spend time with a kindred, a person who knew the trials and tribulations they had been through, one who could not just empathize, but could truly understand because they to had been there. A moment where they could simply…..be.

Malandra looked at him. "Harry," She said softly, "I want you to promise me something." he looked up at her. "What is it?" he asked, quite perplexed. "Promise me that no matter what happens now or… in the future, promise me you won't blame yourself for what happens in this war."

Harry looked at her. "Why are you saying this now?" he asked. She sighed, "Because I remember in my time the last time you forgot how to laugh, I remember it because it was right after my parents died, you felt responsible, you felt as though it was somehow your fault, like maybe if you had done something else than maybe… they would still be alive." She sighed. "After that, you became so reckless and one night--" Her voice broke in mid-sentence-- 'One night you rushed into a trap, it was rather easy for Voldemort to kill you after that, you went into the trap without anyone with a you, and he had all the death eaters there." She shook her head. "It's like I told you out on the Quidditch pitch, shutting yourself off from the world never helps, just look at what it has done to my father." she said with a little laugh.

Harry had to smile at that, "Yeah," he said, "No offence to your dad, but I don't wanna grow up and have a scowl permanently tattooed to my face." Malandra laughed. "He's really not so bad." She said, "My father is a temperamental man and one that doesn't make it easy for people to get close to him. But, once you break down those walls… he's one of the most caring men you could ever meet."

Harry gave her a small smile, "Right, whatever you say." "It's true." she said indignantly, "My father is a person who feels things very strongly and just because he doesn't wear his heart on his sleep doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings."

Harry looked at her, "sure….." he said teasingly. "He is, he--" Then she noticed Harry was smiling at her, he was only teasing. "You--you--" She stammered, "You Gryffindor!" said indignantly. He laughed, "Well, you were getting too broody, spoiling my good mood, had to get you off topic somehow."

She rolled her eyes. "Mum was right, you never took anything seriously, even in school." Harry sighed, "Who is your mum, Mcgonagal?" Malandra laughed, "she's been compared to her more than a few times." She said, "Although Auntie Min is a bit stricter. Not much though." she added as an after thought.

Harry smirked, "That must have been fun growing up, having Snape for a dad and Mcgonagal's clone for a mum." Malandra rolled her eyes, "I told you, dad's not so bad, strict yes, but mum managed to lighten him up a bit." "She must have been a miracle worker." Harry said lightly, "Whoever she is, I'd like to meet, her, and shake her hand, and give her a fruit basket, and make her God-mother of my first born child. Anyone who could lighten Snape up is a bigger hero then I'll ever be."

She couldn't help but laugh. If Harry only knew. Her mother had told her once of how she had broken the news that she was seeing Snape. She had very calmly apparated over to his flat, chatted about the weather, drank several cups of tea, and on her way out told him that she was seeing Severus Snape and if he said one cruel word about it she would hex him into oblivion. It was one of Mal's favourite stories… although the one about telling Ron was a bit more funny.

"She really was--is-- a remarkable woman." Malandra said, "And she really is a miracle worker dad always said--" But what Severus always said was unknown because just then, the door to the Room of requirement opened.

(Ok, after that long wait you didn't really think I would leave you there did you???)

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny rushed in. 'Harry," Hermione said breathlessly, "Have you been here this whole time?" "Yeah mate, we were beginning to wonder if Dumbledore had kidnapped you." Ron butted in. Ginny was silent before looking over at Malandra, then back at Harry. "What's she doing here?" She asked with thinly veiled scorn.

"My Uncle Albus wanted Harry to help me become aquainted with the school, so he had Harry give me a tour, o to speak. She said, Harry was just telling me about you a group of you used this room last year to train people to fight." She said smiling, "That's really impressive."

Malandra couldn't help but be a bit confused; in her time she and Ginny had always gotten along rather well. Ginny children and Mal had often played together and Ginny had always been close to her, had been almost a second mother to her, and now she was acting as though she loathed her.

It was true then, that flash of jealously that Malandra thought she saw that morning was indeed there. It was a fierce protective jealously, that of a woman who hated waited to long for something to see it taken from her. It hurt Malandra when she remembered exactly how Harry and Ginny's relationship had turned out in the end. Malandra knew that Ginny loved her husband, in her time, dearly but she also remembered how hard Ginny had cried at Harry's funeral, how no one had been able to comfort her, how she had keep everyone at a distance, even her husband.

And what if you change it? the nagging voice in her head asked. Will it be Ginny and Harry's sons you play with? Little green eyed red-heads instead of grey eyes? Somehow, she just couldn't picture it. Or at least she couldn't picture it as easily as she could black haired, brown-eyed, children with slighly curly hair.

Harry glanced over at Malandra more than a little surprised. Where had she learned to lie like that. he thought, the next thought was, she is a Slytherin. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, not all Slytherins are evil. He reminded himself. They are not all Riddle.

Harry smiled up at his friends and Girlfriend. "Yeah, Dumbledore seems to think that I'm a good person for her to become friends with. Makes me wonder if he really doesn't know all the trouble we have gotten into and all the sneaking around we've done." Malandra laughed. "Oh, I'm Sure Uncle Albus knows, he probably just doesn't care; he knows how kids are."

It was strange how easy it was that she and Harry fell into the lie of her identity, how simple it was for both of them to keep up the pretence that she was merely Dumbledore's niece, how effortless, it was to make them all believe that she was just a girl, not someone who had the ability to change all of their lives. It was almost as uncomplicated as how Malandra kept avoiding her mother's name. Almost.