Set Up: Day before end of the term
You sat on your bed wearing your school robes; it was the last day of term and Dumbledore's funeral.
"Aubrey ready to walk down"
You looked up to see Hermione dressed in her robes and ready you nodded. You all haven't discussed anything related to that night except for Harry figuring out that the horcrux you, him, and Dumbledore had gone to retrieve was a fake. You both walked down the stairs to see Ron waiting, you looked around
"He went ahead with Ginny" said Ron
You smiled lightly; Ginny was staying with Harry as much as possible. The three of you headed to the front of the school. You took a seat next to Hermione who sat in between you and Ron, you saw Harry with Ginny holding hands. Hermione cried on Ron's shoulder but held your hand to, tears streaked down your face. When the ceremony was over some went to the white tomb to pay their last respects, while others headed back into the castle. You glanced over towards the lake to see Harry and Ginny talking you looked away as soon as you saw Ginny walk off so she wouldn't see you looking, you glanced to the side to see her head back towards the castle. You walked with Ron and Hermione down to where Harry was
"I'm not coming back" said Harry looking out across the lake
"Harry…" you started
He spun around
"I have to go find the rest of the horcruxes with the one we found being a fake that's one more I have to find. I promise I will find some way to let you guys know I'm ok and everything…"
Hermione giggled a little
"Harry do you honestly think we are going to let you do this alone" she said
"You need us mate" said Ron
You smirked
"Sorry Harry looks like you're stuck with us" you said
Harry smiled and shook his head
"We have to stick around for a bit though this summer, Bill and Fleurs wedding remember? Mum would kill us if we weren't around for it" said Ron
"Alright, we could use the time to prepare ourselves" Harry said
You all stood there in silence
"Well I need to go do some last minute packing" Hermione said quickly
"Me too" Ron added
"I think I'm going to stay out here for a while" said Harry
"Me too" you said
Ron and Hermione took off back inside, you could swear that you saw them holding hands as they walked up the steps and disappeared back into the school.
"So our last day as students here at Hogwarts" you said
"Yeah quite the time we've had huh?" he said lightly
"You could say that" you said
You sat down on the ground; the wind blew the hair out of your face, as Harry sat down to.
You rubbed your ankle, you had been off the crutch for awhile but it still stung a bit.
"How is it?"
You looked to see Harry taking notice to you rubbing your ankle
"Good, a little sore but better at least I don't need the crutch anymore" you said
"I can't believe he got away" said Harry
You thought back to Hermione explaining where Chris was but only to have a Lupin say there was only a small pool of blood where he had been.
"He'll get what's coming to him sooner or later" you said
"I'm going to kill him" he said
"Me first"
You both sat out there by the lake for hours just talking. The clock chimmed,
"Eleven, we should head up I'm have a bit of packing left" you said
"Yeah we should" He said standing up then helping you up
He started to walk when you look on the ground to see a pretty red flower
"Wait" you said
You picked the flower and he followed you to Dumbledore's casket, you placed the flower on top of it.
"You're sure going to missed sir" you said
Harry wrapped his arm around you as you wrapped yours around him. The both of you stared at the casket, then turned and headed back to Gryffindor tower.
In the morning everyone said their goodbyes to the teachers and headed on to the train. You, Hermione, Ron, and Harry all found a compartment, you watched out the window as the train pulled away from the station,
"Aubrey where are you going to go?" you heard Harry ask
You turned your gaze away from the window
"I don't know… I can't go home" you said sadly
"You'll probably stay at my house, you are always welcome all of you are" said Ron
"That sounds nice, well we shall find out when we get there I suppose" you said
Hermione pulled out a book and started reading, you watched as Harry and Ron dug into a game of wizard chess. You glanced up at the closed compartment door to see Ginny walk by; she glanced in but kept on walking. You had heard that Harry broke up with her yesterday, probably for her safety… you pulled out a book that you forgot you had, it was the untitled book that you had bought at the beginning of the term in Diagon Alley with Hermione. You started reading about candle magic
…candles have been used through the ages for healing, guidance, and spirituality. It is also believe that when a certain pattern between the candles it brought together at the witching hour something will happen for what the witch or wizard is seeking. Answers, lost items, no records tell exactly what shall happen but it is said that they specific person will just know when it's right…
You got lost in the book for the rest of the train ride; you shut the book as the train began to pull into the station. You all piled off the train and you turned to look at Platform 9 ¾
"Aubrey you coming?" asked Hermione
"Yeah… I was just taking one last look" you said
Hermione, Ron, and Harry stood there with you; all gazing at the train that took you to and from Hogwarts for the past 6 years.
"Hey you lot" you spun around to see Tonks
"Tonks good to see you" said Hermione
"You too, now Aubrey we have made arrangements for you. Since you cannot return to your home, you will be staying with Ms. Fig; she is Harry's neighbor across the way and no stranger to the magical world. We feel it best to keep you and Harry close together. It is also set for the Dursleys to give you a ride with them. Now hurry on to the other side everyone is waiting. We will send an owl as soon as we can" she said
"Thanks Tonks" you said
She smiled and you followed the other three through the barrier. There Hermione's parents were waiting, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley with Ginny, and the Dursley's. Hermione gave you, Harry, and Ron hugs
"I'll see you all soon" she said
You smiled as she walked off with her parents. Ron then came up and gave you a hug followed by Mrs. Wealsey
"We look forward to seeing you two soon" said Mrs. Weasley
"Thanks" said Harry
"Stay safe" said Mr. Weasley
And the Weasley took their leave
"Come on you two I don't wish to be here all day" said Vernon Dursley
He and Petunia started walking away and Dudley right behind them, you and Harry walked slowly behind them. Harry took the middle seat so you wouldn't have to be squished in between him and his cousin. The entire ride was silent; you just glanced out the window at the neighborhoods passing by. The car finally piled up to number 4 private drive. You got out of the car and took your trunk.
"Well… thank you for the ride. I really appreciate it" you said politely to the Dursleys.
Vernon sort of mumbled your welcome as he hurried in the house with his family.
"Well I better get over there" you said to Harry
"I'm going to go put Hedwig in my room along with my trunk then I will come over" he said
"Ok I'll see you soon" you said smiling.
You dragged your trunk across the street and headed right up to the door. You gave it a couple soft knocks and waited. You waited all about a minute till it opened and out was a very tiny elder woman.
"Hello, I believe you must be Aubrey, am I correct?" asked the kind old lady
"That's me" you said smiling
"Well come in come in" she said
You stepped in to the house, it smelled like something funky… you would probably get used to it, or learn to ignore it.
"I'll show you where you can put your stuff" she said
She led you up a couple flights of stairs to the attic.
"So how is Harry doing?" she asked before opening the door
"He's fine, he said he was actually going to come by as soon as he dropped of his owl and trunk to his room" you said
You walked in to the room, it didn't look like an attic at all, it was a tidy little room, with a bed, dresser, a wardrobe, and T.V. It also didn't smell funky like the rest of the house did,
"Well Harry is welcome here anytime; those Dursleys are quite the handful. Poor dear over the years when I've watched him he was always polite, and such a sweet boy." She said
"Yeah he is" you said setting your trunk by the bed
There was a knock at the door
"I expect that to be him, why don't you start unpacking and I will just send him on up I also have to go to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner so dinners at 8" she said
"Ok, Thank you so much Ms. Fig"
She smiled and left closing the door behind her. It was kind of a warm night so you walked over and opened the window sending in a cool breeze then took off your jacket. A knocked came at the door
"Come in" you said from the window
Harry walked in
"Well this is nice" he said looking around
"Yeah it is" you said
You looked at the window at the street
"What is it?" he asked coming over to you
"It's just strange… not going home… being somewhere completely new for the start of summer" you said
He came up and hugged you
"At least I'm here with you" you said in the hug
"Under the horrific circumstances I'm really glad I'm not in this completely alone" he said'
You laughed
"Me too" you said
You sat up there and talked, till Ms. Fig was back and had dinner made. Harry stayed for dinner,
"That was great Ms. Fig" said Harry
"Yeah it was really good" you said
"You're very welcome, now I'm off to bed good night you two" she said
"Night" you both said in unison
"I should go back before the Dursleys lock up the house on me" said Harry
"Ok I'll see you in the morning" you said
He hugged you again
"Night Aubrey"
"Night Harry"
You watched him walk across the street from your window, and smiled. It would have been nice to stay with Ron and his family… maybe everyone but Ginny who you were sure wasn't that big of a fan of yours… but you were so glad that you were here in this town not twenty feet from Harry. The next few weeks flew by, you saw Harry everyday; Ms. Fig was always making meals and allowing Harry over all the time. You could tell Harry was enjoying the escape from the Dursleys.
"The Death toll rising from last week's storm has risen twenty percent…" said the newscaster
You and Harry were watching the evening news; you reached for the remote and shut off the TV.
"They don't take a break do they?" you said referring to the deatheaters that you knew were behind the horrible things happening in the news.
"Hey why don't we go get dinner and just walk around get our mind off of things?" suggested Harry
"That sounds nice" you got up and went over to the window to open it and feel how the evening air was.
It was pretty warm so you decided to stay in your outfit, a jean skirt with a white tank top with a light pink one over it. You grabbed a purse and a jacket
"Let's go" you said
You followed Harry out of the room and down the stairs
"Hi Ms. Fig if it's ok Harry and I are going to go on a walk and get some dinner" you said
She looked at you and thought
"I do agree that you both need some time out of this house… but be careful. I don't think this a wise choice but I can't keep you locked up, stay together. Do you have your wands?" she asked
You both nodded
"Ok well have fun" she said
You both walked out of the house, you walk for about twenty minutes until you reached town. Harry took you to a pizza joint. You both ordered and took your seats in one of the booths.
"I'll go see if our orders ready" said Harry getting up after awhile
"Ok" you said
You watched him walk away and then you just happen to glance at a table across the way. There were four guys sitting and one caught your eye and smiled. You politely smiled back but quickly looked away. Harry came back and you both ate and talked.
"We should probably be hearing from someone soon" said Harry
"Yeah your birthday is in two weeks so I wonder if it will be before or after… did Ron tell you when the wedding was going to be?" you asked
"I think he mentioned it but I forgot, he was probably talking with his mouth full" he said smiling
You laughed
"Probably you'd think by now we'd be able to understand him when he eats"
"You'd think" he said
You both laughed and finished up
"Hey I'm just going to use the restroom and then we can leave" you said
"Ok" he said
You got up and went to the restroom; you washed your hands than redid your lip glass. You walked out and Harry was standing waiting.
"Ready" he asked
"Yep" you both walked outside of the pizza place. You saw the group of guys that were sitting at the other table in the restaurant. You put on your jacket, it was starting to cool down and the sun was almost completely down.
"Hey sweetie what's your name?" you glanced up to see the guy that smiled at you
Harry wrapped his arm around you as you both started to walk pass them.
"aw Come on ditch the boy and come play with a real man" he said stepping in front of you
All this friends agreeing
"Move please" you said
Harry started walking around the guy pulling you by your hand. One of the guys behind you grabbed your other hand and pulled you away from Harry.
"You sure are a pretty thing"
"Let go of me" You said ripping your hand away
Two of the guys were holding Harry back while one backed you up against the wall.
"Come on one little kiss" the guy said
"Eww" you muttered
His friends started laughing
"Shut it" he told them
You brought your knee up taking him by surprise. He fell to the ground and his friends started laughing, Harry took this opportunity to push the guys out of the way and come over to you.
"Come on lets go" he said
You both walked across the street quickly and headed away, just as a patrol man was walking over to the group of guys. You walked to a park and went and sat on the swings
"Are you ok?" he asked
"Yeah I'm fine" you said
He smiled
"Want to see who can jump the farthest?" said Harry
"I'm in a skirt Harry" you said
"So" he said smiling
You reached over and smacked him
"Ok ok, fine I would have won anyways" he said
You starred at him
"Fine you're on" you said
"Ready on the count of three" said Harry
"One… two…" you start swinging up high
"Three!" he shouted
You both leapt off the swings, Harry beat you up an inch
"I won" he said
"Whatever" you said shaking your head amused
You pushed him; he lost his balance and fell.
"Oopsie" you said
"You're going to pay for that one" he said getting up
"Ahh no Harry" you started running away from him
You ran under the jungle gym, he disappeared
You slowly and cautiously walked out from underneath it
"Harry?" you said
"Gotcha" you heard just as two arms wrapped around you knocking you over
Harry fell on top of you and started tickling you
"ahh Harry… no… hahaha stop" you said
He kept tickling you
"Admit I win" he said laughing
"Hahahaha you win" you said
He stopped tickling you, you look to see him on top of you his face only inches from yours. If you were standing you're positive your knees would have gone weak on you. You stared back at Harry; he slowly moved his head down towards yours,
'I can't believe this is happening' you thought
Then before anything could happen you heard the screech of an owl, Harry looked up towards the playground where Pig Rons Owl was sitting with a letter.
'Damn it' you thought
Harry got up and then helped you up. You both walked over Harry took the letter
"Hello Pig" you said stroking the tiny owl
It hooted softly then flew off,
"Well what's it say?" you said walking over to Harry
He held out the letter so that you could read it too
Harry and Aubrey
We will be coming to retrieve you two three days prior to Harry's birthday. We ask that both of you be ready and awaiting our arrival in the safety of Harry's aunt and uncles house. We will be sending Aurors earlier in the day to come get Harry's relatives to put them into hiding. Stay safe, and we will see you soon.
Remus Lupin
"We should go tell Ms. Fig, and I should let the Dursleys know about them going into safety… they aren't going to be thrilled" said Harry
"Yeah you're right let's go" you said
You both headed back, Ms Fig wasn't surprise; Harry told the Dursleys they weren't too pleased but they never are when anything comes to magic and the wizarding world. The next week you and Harry spent planning and discussing where the horcruxes could be. You sat on the window sill looking at a picture of you and your parents.
'I miss you guys' you thought
Tomorrow you would be leaving for the Weasleys and life from here on out would be risky and even more dangerous that it has ever been. You stood up and walked over to the bed
"Aubrey"
You stopped moving and turned around to see Harry sitting in the window sill where you had just been.
"Harry, how did you get up here?"
You asked walking over
"Broom" he said holding up his firebolt
"That wasn't risky at all" you said rolling your eyes
"Hey it's late and I rode quickly" he said smiling coming inside
"Shouldn't you be asleep it's like 2 in the morning?" you asked
"Yeah couldn't sleep and I looked out of my window to see you sitting there and thinking the same thing" he said
"Yeah I couldn't sleep either, tomorrow… we leave and life just gets ten times harder" you said
"I know but hey we are in this together and we have Ron and Hermione" he said
You smiled
"That's a good thing" you said walking over and sitting on the bed
"Well we should probably get some sleep" said Harry
"Yeah…" you said
He started to climb out of the window
"Harry?" you asked
He stopped and turned
"Will you stay?" you asked
He smiled
"Sure" he said
You laid down in the bed and scooted so he'd have room.
"Night Harry" you said as he wrapped his arm around your waist
"Night" he said
You woke up around noon to see Harry gone and a note. You rubbed your eyes and read the note
Left early so as to not cause issues with the Dursleys bugging me didn't want to wake you. I still have some packing to do so just plan to come over about 4:30 and we can wait. See you soon
Harry
You realized you still had some packing to do yourself, you got up and went downstairs to get something to eat. You had a nice lunch with Ms. Fig then went and took a shower; you changed into jeans and a form fitting purple short sleeve shirt and a black vest over it. You packed everything in your trunk taking your time to look at your pictures from California. By the time you were done and had the trunk closed you checked the time it was 4:25,
"Levicorpus" you said pointing your wand at your trunk
You floated your trunk down the stairs and set it by the front door. You went into the kitchen where Ms. Fig was sitting drinking her tea.
"Is it time already?" she said
You nodded
She came around the table and gave you a big hug
"Thank you so much for everything Ms. Fig"
"My pleasure dear, now please you and Harry be careful" she said releasing the hug
"We will" you said
She walked you to the door
"Good bye Aubrey" she said sweetly
"Good bye Ms. Fig" you said
She shut the door and you dragged your trunk across the street and went up to the Dursleys door. Harry answered it
"Right on time" he said smiling
"Yep" you said pulling your trunk
"Here come on in, I'll take that" he said reaching for your trunk.
You walked into the house to hear Harry's uncle loudly complaining.
"Don't mind them, just complaining about going into hiding" said Harry shutting the door.
"I just don't understand why do we need to go into hiding!" said Vernon
"Because deatheaters will be coming to look for me and they will torture you more than likely kill you for any kind of information that can get on me" Harry snapped
Vernon plopped down on the couch in frustration
"Come on we can just sit in my room and wait till the come for them" he said
You followed him upstairs and into his tiny bedroom. It was pretty much empty other than his bed, side table, and some stuff you recognized to be his old school stuff that we wouldn't need anymore. You walked over to Hedwig who was sitting peacefully in her cage. Hedwig hooted softly at your approach
"It's good to see you to" you said
Harry went and sat on his bed; you went over and sat next to him.
"How long till they come?" you asked
"Probably about an hour or so" said Harry
You glanced at the photo album sitting out by Harry's trunk. You grabbed it and opened it up to a picture of you, Harry, Ron, and Hermione from first year.
"Wow that was so long ago" you said
Harry looked over your shoulder,
"Ha that was" he said
You got an idea to pass the time
"Remember our first time in Diagon alley, getting on the train, and how nervous we were at sorting?" you said
"Yeah" he said laughing to himself
You conjured up a bowl and placed your wand to your temple and pulled out a memory.
"Want to relive it… it's not like we are doing anything else" you said
"Why not" he said
You put the memory in the bowl and you both leaned your heads in to see the younger version of you and Harry
~Memory Diagon alley~
Little Aubrey and Little Harry were sitting at a table outside the ice cream parlor.
"So you're from America?" asked Little Harry
"Yeah… I like your accent" she said
"Thanks" he said
Aubrey started look around at everything around them, the different shops, how the people were dressed, while Harry was studying a galleon.
"So…" started Aubrey
Harry glanced up at her
"Why does everyone seem to know who you are?" she asked
He shrugged
"I don't know, I was planning on asking Hagrid when he returned actually"
She played with her ice cream a bit
"Did you always know that you were a wizard?" she asked
"No, not at all I was really surprised" he said
"Me too, I mean no one in my family can do magic" she said
"Well I found out my parents were wizards but I only found this out recently. I have been living with my aunt, uncle, and cousin all my life their muggles"
"What's a muggle?" she asked
"Hagrid explained that's what wizards and witches call non magic people" he said
He took a bite of her ice cream thinking
"That's strange" she thought out loud
"What is?" asked Harry
"How is it that I'm a witch then? I mean no one in my family has powers… they are all muggles" she said
"No idea but I'm sure we will learn about it at the school we are going to" said Harry
"I hope so I am very curious" she said
~Memory changes to Aubrey in front of the barrier to Platform 9 ¾
Little Aubrey just stared at the wall in front of her,
"How am I supposed to get to a Platform that dosen't exist" she said
She turned around looking to see if anyone was heading this way, sighing she went to lean against the wall, only to fall straight through it. She stood up and looked around staring in awe at the mighty train in front of her. Looking around at parents saying goodbye to their kids;
"Wow" she said
She walked over to the train and climbed on dragging her trunk behind her. Walking down past the compartments she gazed into one
"Harry!"
"Aubrey hey let me help you with that" little Harry got up from the compartment and dragged her trunk in.
"How are you?" she asked taking a seat
"I'm fine, more people saying 'oh my it's harry potter' but I'm glad to be out of the Dursley's, how are you?" he asked
"I'm good, this is all a little scary… I mean I'm the only one here from America… my mom and dad had to catch a flight so they could only drop me off outside the train station. I'm just glad I found you so that I didn't have to sit by myself… or with people I didn't know" you said
The train ride started and there was a knock at the compartment door
"Hi, um I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I sat with you guys everywhere else is full" said a small red haired boy
"Not at all" said Harry
He came in and took a seat down next to Harry
"I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley"
"Nice to meet you I'm Aubrey Smith"
"Are you from America?" he asked
"Yes" you said smiling
"Wicked" he said
"I'm Harry, Harry Potter"
Ron got quiet when Harry spoke
"Really… do you have the… scar?" he asked
Harry laughed
"Yep" he said as he lifted up his hair to reveal the scar
"Wicked"
~Flash to Sorting~
Professor McGonagall called everyone to order and started reading the names off the list to be sorted. Aubrey scooted closer to Ron and Harry.
"Hermione Granger" she said
The three of them watched as Hermione walked up to the stool muttering to herself
"Mental" said Ron quietly
"Gryffindor" Hermione hopped off the stood and went to the cheering Gryffindor table.
"Draco Malfoy"
Harry, Aubrey, and Ron all watched Draco go up, all of them didn't like him after the confrontation with him right before the sorting ceremony.
"Slytherin" the hat shouted
Ron had told Aubrey and Harry about how evil Slytherins are while on the train.
"Harry Potter"
Little Harry glanced between Aubrey and Ron
"It'll be ok" Aubrey said reassuringly
He smiled and she smiled back, she and Ron watched him go up
"Gryffindor" it shouted
Aubrey and Ron cheered, some more people we're cheered
"Ronald Weasley"
Aubrey gave a reassuring smile to Ron as he went up and got sorted into Gryffindor, then joined little Harry. Finally last
"We have a student coming from America now, Aubrey Smith"
Scared and alone since everyone had already been sorted Aubrey walked up to the stool, she jumped a little when the sorting hat spoke
"Aubrey, I have waited for this, an American muggleborn at Hogwarts, what a treat. You will go far, and will help many along the way. You are special very special I know you can 'sense' it. Let's see you are kind and sweet, Hufflepuff would be good but then you are smart so Ravenclaw would be a fine one too… Slytherin would only hold you back from all of what you will do, so I know where to put you, Gryffindor!" it shouted.
Aubrey smiled wide and jumped off the stool hurrying over to the Gryffindor table to join Harry and Ron.
~End of Flashback~
You and Harry pulled your heads out of the bowl
"So that's what the sorting hat told you" he said
"Yep, we were all so cute back then" you said
"Some of us still are" he said
You smiled and looked at him just as the door bell rang
"Right on time" he said