Chapter Twenty-One

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does and unfortunately I am not her. However, I do own the OCs and the Guardian Program and the other things that being a Guardian entails.

Summary: After the Second Wizarding War, a Guardian was given to each child of the main families that helped in the war. They were all tasked with a simple job, protect their allocated person with their life. Somehow, Freya screwed it up in the biggest way. She fell in love.

There are going to be a lot of OCs, but the focus is going to be on Freya.

Guest: Oh thank god! When I saw the beginning of your review I thought that you were going to bash this story! But then I was pleasantly surprised and I just want to thank you. I do feel insanely proud of this story and particularly of Freya – and her flaws just made her even more likeable. Once you realise her upbringing then anyone can understand the way she is. There is a lot more to come and I can't wait to share it! I hope you will stay with this story to find out what happens.

Anonymous: Ah thanks for that! I am pretty proud of the plot so far! Also, what makes you think that I haven't planned to kill off a main character? But you'll have to wait for in later chapters!

Enjoy!

HARRY POTTER

The next day

All Guardians were gathered in Lance's office and were all stood in formation. Lance was sitting at his desk, his fingers tapping loudly on his desk. The sound of his fingers tapping softly on the wood was the only sound that filled the room. He was leaning back in his chair and a hand over his mouth. His face was blank and void of any emotion. Lance had called an emergency meeting in his office very early that morning. It was so early that the sun was only just rising. He had never stated what it was and he hadn't even spoken since they had all entered the room. All Guardians had been stood in position for nearly an hour and still, Lance refused to say anything which only served to make everyone tense. Lance didn't normally do this.

Freya stared at the wall in front of her blankly. She hadn't got much sleep that night because she couldn't help but feel guilty. Freya couldn't believe what she had done the night before. She had danced with James Sirius Potter and had enjoyed herself. Just thinking about it made her heart beat fast in her chest. Freya had to snap herself out of her thoughts and forced herself to focus back on Lance. She couldn't risk thinking about it in his presence.

Then, Lance stopped his tapping. "I have never been as disappointed as I was last night," Lance said, his voice low and almost whisper-like. But all Guardians heard every word as if he had shouted it and it was echoing around the room.

Freya felt her heart pound in her chest, but her face was blank – giving away absolutely nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, Freya noticed a few people straighten up and some tensed.

"In all my years of running this Guardian Program, no one has ever been stupid enough to pull this stunt." Lance hissed out lowly, his cold blue eyes scanning the room. He stood up from his chair and walked around his desk, "Yesterday, at 12:01 someone removed their pendant."

It was as though the temperature dropped in the room instantly. It was as though all the air had left the room because for a moment as Freya felt like she couldn't breathe. Someone had screwed up. Someone had been late. They had been warned that the warmth spell would only last for four hours at most. Freya had sent an alarm to all the Guardians just to make sure they all made it back in time and the fact that they seemed to have ignored that warning kind of pissed her off.

Lance walked over to his Guardians and only stopped when he was a few feet away from them. "Usually, I would have settled the issue there and then. But I decided to give the person the opportunity step forward and own up to their idiotic decision." Lance hissed lowly, his gaze scanning over each and every Guardian.

No one said a word. Freya kept her gaze towards the wall, giving no indication that she knew what he was talking about. Katrina was biting the inside of her mouth and Cordelia was grinding her teeth with nerves. Ryan had his arms behind his back and was twisting his fingers. Freya knew that Lance would be looking for those little signs and if not then Lance would just use Legilimency on all of them.

But the real question was; who got caught?

"However, no one has come to me and said anything!" Lance shouted, his face flushed red in anger. He whipped out his wand and the tip of his wand turned a pinkish colour. Lance had jumped to the third level of the Guardian mark.

Freya's eyes widened at the sudden burning, hot pain that blossomed through her body. This pain was on the same level as the Crucio curse and it would only get worse from there. Freya whimpered as she felt her stomach flutter in pain. Freya could feel herself tremble in pain and it took everything inside her not to make more sounds. Screams sounded from behind her. Briefly glancing behind her, Freya saw that the younger Guardians were on the floor and were screaming in pain and the older Guardians held some composure.

"Only when someone owns up will I stop!" Lance shouted at them, not seeming bothered that all his Guardians were in pain. He even ignored the fact that some second years – Simon Wallas and Richard Braxton were on the floor and unconscious. Still, when no one answered him, Lance waved his wand and the tip turned a bright red colour.

Freya gasped loudly as the pain only intensified and was becoming unbearable. Freya fell to her knees as it felt like someone was pouring boiling hot water all over her body. This was one of the worst pain she had ever been in. In pain, Freya dug her nails into the palms of her hand, drawing blood. However, that pain seemed insignificant compared to what she was feeling right now. Shrieks of pure agony filled the room. Glancing behind her, she saw that everyone was on the floor and she was wondering if some Guardians were even breathing. A horrible smell filled the room – some Guardians had soiled themselves as they were unable to control bodily functions.

At least five minutes had passed and still, no one had spoken up. This seemed to only enrage Lance even more. He raised his wand once more and was about to go to level five of the Guardian Mark – something Lance has never had to do in the history of the Guardian Program. For once in her life, Freya felt pure terror as she watched Lance helplessly. However, he was stopped just before he could complete the complicated wand movements.

"It was me!" Shrieked a pained voice.

Freya's head snapped to look at Joseph Murry. He was kneeling and his hand was in the air. When her gaze found him, she glared at him with hatred. He was Rose Weasley's fourth Guardian, he had lasted longer than all the other three and he had messed up big time. Freya had thought that he would have more sense than what he had but Freya was obviously disappointed.

Lance waved his wand and instantly the pain stopped.

Freya sighed in relief when the pain stopped, but the trembling didn't stop. Nor did the stinging aftershock of the pain leave her. Freya took in deep breathes and waited for a few moments before trying to stand up from her kneeling position. Her bones felt like jelly but Freya just grits her teeth and forced herself to stand up. Looking beside her, she noticed that Rebecca was beginning to stand up, though she was still shaking violently and her eyes were closed in pain. Connor was still on the floor and he didn't look to be getting up anytime soon. Looking behind her, she noticed that the only other person that was stood up was Cordelia and Castiel. Many others like Katrina and Ryan were starting to get up and it seemed like Simon and Richard were waking up from their unconscious state.

"Did you act alone?" Lance demanded after a moment of silence. His face looked like thunder – he was absolutely livid.

Joseph nodded his head frantically. "Yes! I did this alone." He said, looking down at the ground. He refused to look at anyone because he knew that if he did then he would crack.

Lance glared at him. "Do you have anything else to say for yourself?" He asked, his tone very low and dangerous.

For a moment, it didn't look like Joseph would say anything. But then a look of determination crossed his face and a fierce gleam appeared in his eyes. "Fuck you, Lance Johnson!" He yelled out fiercely.

A snarl ripped from Lance's throat as he raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" A green jet of light burst from Lance's wand and the spell his Joseph directly on the chest. The sheer force of that spell sent Joseph flying backwards and into a wall. The sound of Joseph's skull making contact with the stone wall echoing around the room. Joseph's lifeless body hit the ground and no one dared to move or even breathe. Some Guardians couldn't look at Joseph's lifeless eyes or the lack of movement of his chest. Some younger Guardians were looking at the ground and others looked a little sick. However, the older Guardians were able to stare into Joseph's lifeless eyes and not flinch – Freya being one of those people.

Even though Joseph had just been killed, Freya couldn't help but feel relieved that it wasn't her or anyone else. With that thought, Freya turned her stormy grey eyes back to Lance and made sure to give no outward reaction.

Lance was breathing heavily as his face was still flushed red in rage and he was trembling. "Trust me when I say this. After the Christmas Break, there will be a few changes around here. Everyone's training will be doubled." Lance hissed out, a low growl in his tone. There was a warning in his tone that sent chills down the spines of some Guardians.

Freya mentally sighed deeply. When her parents heard about this, they weren't going to be happy. They had already doubled her training because they didn't want her to be outdone by everyone. She knew that her training was going to be tripled. The summer just gone had been the worse training session to date and her body ached in the memory of it. Freya was not looking forward to going back for Christmas break now. She never looked forward to going back, but she dreaded it even more.

"And if anyone is thinking of disobeying me, not only shall you pay the price, but your families will suffer too!" Lance exclaimed, his eyes wildly scanning the room. The wild gleam in his eyes unnerved the Guardians in the room.

No one said a word, but Freya could feel the tension in the room. The whole reason most of them joined the Guardians was to protect their family and to bring back their honour. However, to now threaten the families just showed how serious Lance was. Freya had only ever seen Lance in this state once before when she was younger – and it had absolutely terrified her. It didn't scare her as much but Freya did feel nervous to be in Lance's presence.

"Dismissed!" Lance shouted, waving his wand.

HARRY POTTER

As soon as they were set free from Lance's office, Freya stormed off. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she needed to get away from Lance as soon as possible. Using her pendant, Freya knew that James was in his dorm room, most likely packing away his stuff to go home over the Christmas Break. He and the rest of the Potter/Weasley Clan always went home for any breaks so that meant Freya had to go as well. She knew that for a little while, James would be safe and she needed to get away for a moment.

"Freya!" Katrina called after her as soon as it was safe too. She knew not to call Freya's name too close to Lance's office because she didn't want him leaving his room to investigate. Katrina watched her friend storm off at a fast pace and Katrina had no chance of matching.

Ryan walked up beside her. "Just leave her alone, she'll need some time to calm down." He said with a frown.

Katrina shook her head. "No, you don't understand."

Cordelia looked at the Hufflepuff. "What's so important?" She asked. Cordelia could see the worried gleam in Katrina's eyes and knew that there was something that she wasn't telling them about Freya.

A scoff sounded behind them. "Just leave his pet alone. That's how she's better off." Castiel said appearing behind them with his arms crossed over his chest.

Cordelia snarled. "Say that again, I dare you." She hissed at him with a glare. Her hand was reaching for her wand; she couldn't wait to hex the Slytherin.

Castiel returned her glare right back.

"That's mighty bold of you especially since Freya just kicked your ass not too long ago," Rebecca said, walking up to the group. She went and stood by Cordelia and Katrina with a mocking expression.

Castiel growled lowly as his glare was now on Rebecca. "Watch it you."

"Or what?" Ryan challenged, his hand itching to grab his wand.

Soon, more Guardians began to gather around them. Connor walked over to Katrina and Cordelia along with Alexander. However, Simon, Georgia and Miles stationed themselves behind Castiel. Usually, Joseph, Nina and Lucy would have stood beside Castiel, but they were no longer with them anymore. There was an obvious divide within the Guardian Program that had only started to become apparent within the last year. Most of the Guardians on Castiel's side consisted of mostly second-year students because he was trying to get people on his side very early. However, more of the older Guardians were loyal to Freya.

Castiel growled lowly, his hand now resting on his wand.

However, before it could go any further, Katrina stepped in. "Stop this. Do you think that Freya would want this?" She asked, her soft voice becoming stern. It wasn't very often that she had to be stern because usually, Freya was there to put everyone in their place. People would listen to Freya because they respected her – or feared her – and most times Freya had the most sensible and rational ideas.

"We don't know. No one truly knows Freya." Georgia said with a scowl. She hadn't forgiven Freya for arresting her friend. She needed someone to blame and she couldn't blame Lance because that was a death sentence.

Ryan frowned. "That's because you don't know her."

Rebecca nodded her head. "Yeah. I didn't truly know Freya until this year. But I have always respected her." She could have never imagined seeing Freya's kindness. Rebecca felt like she owed Freya her life – she hadn't reported her to Lance when Freya was in her right too.

"I've grown up with Freya. I know exactly what she is like. You guys may not know this but Freya feels responsible for what has happened." Katrina said, feeling very strongly about this matter. She was fiercely protective of Freya which many people didn't get to see often.

The hallway went silent as they silent as some Guardians were looking at Katrina in shock.

"W-what?" Castiel asked, looking at the Hufflepuff.

Ryan nodded his head slowly, he understood what Katrina was saying. He had felt the exact same when Lucy had been killed. He believed that he could have looked into the future and possibly prevent it. However, Freya had made him see sense and made him realise that he couldn't see everything – that's not what being a True Seer.

Katrina wets her lips before speaking. "Freya would feel as though she was the last defence. She feels like she should have said no to going to the Yule Ball." Katrina explained to them, her voice low and hush. However, everyone heard her gentle voice. She had to make sure to keep her voice low just in case anyone was listening in. She couldn't sense anyone otherwise she or someone else would have cast a silencing charm.

Cordelia bit her lips. "We did say we wouldn't go if Freya didn't." Now, she felt incredibly guilty for saying this. She didn't want Freya to feel responsible for something they all wanted to do.

"So she feels responsible," Connor whispered lowly, guilt creeping in. He couldn't help but feel guilty for putting pressure on Freya.

HARRY POTTER

Freya had climbed onto the Astronomy Tower's roof. Not many people would even think to climb onto the roof because of how high it was. However, there was something calming about sitting on the roof and looking up the sky. It was even better at night because it gave a perfect view of the stars in the sky. This was where Freya would come to sit when things were getting a bit too much. It was also a good place because not many people were brave enough to come here – meaning she had space all to herself most times. Looking up at the sky, Freya was frowning. Not even this view was helping her. Her thoughts were straying to the meeting with Lance they just had. Joseph's death was playing on her mind, along with the warning that Lance had given them. Freya honestly wasn't bothered when Lance said he would be targeting their families instead. She knew that she should be feeling something – but she didn't at all.

"Freya?" Said a soft voice.

Stormy grey eyes landed on Katrina – who was standing not too far away from her. Freya had sensed Katrina's magical signature as she was climbing up the tower but she was surprised to see Katrina actually on the roof. Freya knew that Katrina was always scared when she saw her on the roof. Never once had Katrina actually got on the roof with her.

Freya never said anything as she didn't feel in the mood to talk at that moment. However, she knew that the Hufflepuff wasn't going to leave very easily. Delicately, Katrina sat down next to the Gryffindor. For a moment, she didn't say anything and just stared at the sky. She didn't say anything and after a few moments, Freya began to feel herself relax.

Sighing deeply, Freya turned her head. "Why are you here?"

"You know it's not your fault," Katrina said softly looking at Freya with an understanding expression.

Although, she had been expecting this. "I could have stopped it." Freya fired back with a dry tone, "But I decided to be stupid and went along with it."

Katrina shook her head. "It wasn't stupid. It was a good night and you shouldn't feel guilty for having a good night."

Freya scowled deeply. "No, I just let everyone experience something that they can never have: freedom." In Freya's eyes, what had happened was cruel. It was cruel to allow others freedom because they weren't going to have it again. Now, they were going to crave something they can never have again.

"Freya," Katrina said sternly.

Turning her head, Freya looked at Katrina. It wasn't often that she would hear Katrina's stern voice – it still unnerved her at times. Katrina moved closer to Freya and took her hand. Freya had to fight back a flinch, still not used to the physical contact.

"You gave the Guardians hope. You gave them something to remember and that's the best thing you could have done." Katrina said softly, sincerity shining in her eyes.

Freya fell silent and looked up at the sky.

"So please, don't blame yourself for what happened," Katrina whispered softly. She so badly wanted to take Freya's hand and comfort her, but Katrina held herself back. For years, Katrina had tried to get Freya more comfortable with physical contact but with no avail. But Katrina was smart enough to know that this would not be best.

Freya sighed deeply. "I am just glad that only Joseph owned up to it."

Katrina frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?" She had no idea what Freya was talking about, and for some reason, she felt unnerved.

"If more than one person owned up to it then things could have ended differently," Freya explained calmly. Since it was only one person that got caught then Lance could believe that they were acting alone. However, if another person had been caught then Lance would become suspicious because two separate people taking off the pendants wouldn't be a coincidence. Lance would have then become even more suspicious and would have suspected more people of being involved. If he had, he would have used Legilimency and not many Guardians were highly skilled in Occlumency and they would have all been screwed. They were all expendable – even Freya.

Katrina stared at Freya with a horrified expression. "You can't say that Freya." She whispered in horror.

Freya turned her head and looked at the Hufflepuff with a blank expression. "I can and I will." She answered back with no emotion.

"You've changed Freya. You've never been this cold before." Katrina whispered.

Freya said nothing and just turned her head to look at the sky. Katrina was wrong. Freya had just made a conscious effort not to act like she usually did. However, as the year was progressing, Freya's true colours were being exposed. Katrina was being exposed more and more to the darkness of the Guardian Program and there was nothing that Freya could do about it because Lance was now in the castle.

HARRY POTTER

At the same time

James was in his dorm room and was packing away all his stuff for the Christmas Break. He had used an Undetectable Extension Charm on his trunk so he didn't have too much to drag around when he was in Kings Cross Station. James had also used the feather-light charm on the trunk so he could easily carry it. Aunt Hermione had been the one to teach him those two charms when he first entered Hogwarts and he had never forgotten them. They really did come in handy. Uncle Ron had taught him the magical packing charm, but James didn't use that often. He quite liked the muggle way of packing because it calmed him. Unlike a lot of people, James liked packing and unpacking, there was something therapeutic about it. It also helped that James was in an exceptionally good mood even though he didn't know why. He remembered that the night before he danced with a girl but he couldn't remember who it was or what this person looked like. Every time he tried to remember his head would hurt and then the thought would disappear altogether. All he knew was that he really enjoyed himself.

However, that night James had this really vivid dream. James couldn't remember most of it like nearly all of his dreams, but James could remember one thing.

Stormy grey eyes.

That was the only thing that James could ever remember about his dreams and they plagued him nearly every night. He knew that they belonged to a girl and he had been trying to find her in Hogwarts for years but with no success. James had almost given up hope that the girl was even in Hogwarts. But then the girls from Beauxbatons came and it gave James hope. However, none of the girls seemed to have the same stormy grey eyes from his dream.

"Hey mate, are you done yet!" Yelled Fred from outside the dorm room. Unlike James, Fred had used the magical packing charm on his stuff so he was all done. Fred was now sitting in the common room and was waiting for James to be done.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist! I'll be down in a moment!" James yelled back with a grin. He knew how impatient Fred was and sometimes he couldn't help but tease him.

James heard an impatient sound but otherwise ignored it. James shook his head and laughed. He turned back to his packing and saw that he didn't have much left. He had already packed away his Quidditch equipment and all his school stuff. All his personal stuff was in his trunk and he would be picking up his owl later on that day with Fred. Just then, James remembered the last thing he needed.

Walking over to his bed, James picked up the mattress and below was a journal. The journal was made of a brown leather with red and gold engravings. Grabbing his journal, James let the mattress down and he quickly looked around the room to make sure no one was watching. This journal was James' little secret. No one in his family knew about this. He didn't know why, but his mother was deathly afraid of journals. James had bought one his father in his third year for Christmas and when his mother saw it, she freaked out. It took his father hours to calm her down because of how hysterical she was. His father then had to sit James down and explain that no journals were allowed in the house whatsoever. James had felt so bad that year because of what happened – he had then gone to sincerely apologise to his mother and she just smiled and at him and hugged him, telling him that everything was okay. But that didn't stop him from feeling guilty.

No one knew about it and James wanted to keep it that way. It was one of the times that James could really be alone with his thoughts. James didn't want Fred knowing because he would take the mick out of James for having a journal – Fred would call it girly.

Again, James' thoughts turned to the night before and still, he drew a blank. Frowning, James looked down at his journal and had a thought. Maybe he had written about the Yule Ball in his journal. Taking a chance, James opened his journal and looked for his latest entry and as he did so, James took a seat on his bed.

Sunday 20th December 2020

Today was the Yule Ball – something I wasn't excited about in the slightest. It is just another chance for girls to try and show off and try to grab my attention. Although, it wasn't too bad and that was only because the Durmstrang boys were there to preoccupy them and leave me alone for a while. I wasn't planning on dancing. Fred and I had planned to just sample all the food and drinks before going to bed.

But then I saw her.

This girl came down the steps looking absolutely gorgeous. Her eyes, they were stormy grey – I think that I had finally found the girl who I have been seeing in my dreams.

Her name is Freya Williams.

That was all James could ready before the burning pain in his head became far too much to handle. Ever since he had started reading his entry, the pain in his head only began to get worse and worse as time went on. However, as soon as James read that name, his world went black. All memories of the journal entry gone from his mind. James lay on his bed, unconscious for about five minutes before he felt himself stir. Groggily, James got up and looked confused, had we went for a nap? Shaking his head, James got up and picked up his journal. Without another thought, he placed his journal in his truck and shut the lid before locking it.

"Alright, I'm done, Fred!" James shouted as he ran out of the dorm room without even looking back at his trunk.

HARRY POTTER

Alright guys, another chapter done!

Tell me what you guys think by leaving a review!

Also, next chapter you guys are going to see what Freya's parents are like along with a surprise appearance of another character (not another OC BTW)