'Thank you for the bracelet' Ollie said as she greeted Jon, with a big hug, in the Hogwarts entrance hall

'I'm glad you like it' Jon replied, returning her hug. 'I've got something else for you' he added before reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out a messily wrapped present. 'I apologise for the awful wrapping but the spellotape just seemed to hate me. I was going to send it to you for your birthday, but then my sister stole my owl, then it was Uncle Oliver's Wedding and so I thought it would be better to give it to you in person. I'm sorry it's late'

'Oh it's beautiful, thank you so much!' Ollie exclaimed once she had ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the small velvet box to reveal a small broomstick shaped charm.

'Let me help you put it on' Jon said, after noticing Ollie struggling to add it to the charm bracelet he had given her for Christmas. 'So did you have a good birthday?' he asked, slipping his hand into hers, as they started their journey back up to Gryffindor common room.

'Yeah it was good, though a lot quieter than last year' Ollie replied 'though I doubt any party that I'm ever going to have fill be as busy and loud as it was last year'

Jon just laughed, remembering Ollie's 17th birthday party the previous year. It had been held in Potter House and everyone had been there: the huge, ever expanding, Weasley Clan, the Malfoys, the Lupins, Dennis and Gabrielle, Susan, Dudley and Emmy, plus all Ollie's friends from school. It had been a loud joyous and somewhat chaotic affair.

'The house elves set off some of the fireworks left over from the previous night's New Years Eve celebration' Ollie said, continuing to recall her 18th birthday at Hogwarts 'and then at tea there was this delicious chocolate cake' she added, smiling and licking her lips at the memory of the sweet chocolaty perfection the house elves in the kitchen had conjured up.

Ollie and Jon's conversation was then interrupted by the arrival of their friend Phoenix, who came bounding up to them. 'Ollie, Jon!' she exclaimed, before enveloping them in a big bear hug. 'How were your Christmases?' she asked inserting herself between Ollie and Jon and linking her arms through theirs as they continued on their journey up to the tower.

'Ok'

'Alright'

'How was the wedding?' Phoenix asked Jon curiously 'it looked really nice from the pictures that were printed in the Daily Prophet'

'It was very beautiful' Jon replied 'though Uncle Oliver was annoyed that the photographer sold some of the pictures to the papers.

'And how was your birthday Ollie?' Phoenix asked. 'I hope you liked your present. I was sorting it all out but then Mother heard it was your 18th and even though I told her 18ths in the wizarding world aren't such a big deal as they are in the muggle world, she wouldn't listen to me and went a little over the top'

'Phee, don't worry, I Loved it' Ollie replied, reassuring her muggleborn friend. She had met Lark McQueen, Phoenix's slightly eccentric mother, on numerous occasions over years and knew that when that woman set her mind to something there was no way of stopping her. The present in question had included a very large birthday card, a photo album of Phoenix and Ollie's antics over the years, lots of chocolate and a voucher for Madame Malkins.

'So what did you get up to over Christmas?' Phoenix asked as the three friends made their way back up to the Gryffindor Common Room. 'Please don't tell me that you spent the whole time working'

'Not exactly...'Ollie started

'So what did you do?'

'I kind of broke into the restricted section in the library' Ollie replied somewhat hesitantly

'What!' Phoenix and Jon exclaimed, stopping dead in their tracks on the moving stair case they were currently climbing and causing several disgruntled students to walk into the back of them, as they turned to face a blushing Ollie

'Why did you do that?' Jon asked, knowing that Ollie was never one to deliberately go and break the school rules

'I was looking for information' Ollie stated evasively, looking directly at Jon, hoping to convey what information she had been looking for to him.

Jon nodded, understanding her look, having been privy to her quest to discover more about her mysterious mother, whom she had found out about before Christmas

'So how did you do it?' Phoenix asked eagerly, linking her arm through Ollie's and pulling her down towards the portrait hole. Out of all of Ollie's friends, discounting Teddy Lupin, Phee was the most mischievous and the biggest troublemaker.

'Well I was in the library when this 6th year Slytherin, Gordon Boyle came up to me...' Ollie began

'So you're telling me that as a consequence of helping you break into the restricted section you ended up tutoring a Slytherin and his Ravenclaw younger sister in Defence Against the Dark Arts for the rest of the holiday?' Phoenix asked, in almost disbelief from her place next to Ollie on the sofa where they had sat down once they had entered the mainly empty common room

'Not to mention most of the other students staying over the holidays' Ollie added. 'Once word got out about my little tutoring sessions, more and more people seemed to turn up. Actually it was quite fun' she remarked with a smile. Her time spent with the younger students helping them with their spell work had given her an insight into why her Dad loved teaching so much. The burst of joy you experienced when someone finally grasped a concept or successfully conjured a spell was quite magical. Ollie could now understand why her Dad had accepted the teaching post at Hogwarts. She guessed that being in the Auror department meant that he no longer experienced the rewarding feeling you gained from teaching.

'Phee, Cameron's waiting outside the portrait hole for you!' came the shout of Phoenix's younger sister Raven, from across the common room.

'I thought he said that he wouldn't be able to get back to school until just before the feast' Phoenix muttered to herself, before standing up and giving her friend's an apologetic look. 'We'll continue our catch up later' she assured them before heading out of the common room.

'So did you find out anything?' Jon asked, now it was just the tow of them on the sofa

'No, nothing interesting' Ollie replied 'nothing of any use'

'So what did you find?'

'Some stupid children's story' Ollie stated dejectedly. 'I had hoped to find out more about her and her family, not just where they came from'

'I'm sure something will come up eventually' Jon responded, wrapping his arm around Ollie and pulling her close. 'Maybe you Dad has found out something' he suggested 'in your letter you said he had given you all that information over Christmas, well maybe during the holidays he has found more'

'Maybe' Ollie replied not completely convinced.

'So Kitty, when is our next quidditch practise?' Jon asked, artfully changing the subject and leading Ollie into a very enthusiastic conversation about all the new strategies and plays she had devised over the holidays.

Ginny Potter looked up from unpacking the twins' clothes at the sound of a knock coming from the door. After quickly flicking her wand to order all of Ariana's new clothes towards the chest of drawers, she headed to open the door. 'Ollie!' she exclaimed, upon opening the door and discovering her newly turned 18 year old stepdaughter on the other side.

'Ginny' Ollie replied, wrapping her arms around the older red head and pulling her into a hug, catching Ginny by surprise. 'I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I was discussing quidditch with Jon and then I wasn't there to meet you in the entrance hall when you arrived back and-'

'It doesn't matter' Ginny replied calmly, shutting the old wooden door behind her and leading Ollie into the cosy quarters which was the Potter's home inside Hogwarts Castle.

'Thank you so much for the whistle you got me for my birthday' Ollie added 'and for the fudge Molly sent with the new jumper at Christmas-'

'Did you have a good time?' Ginny asked, cutting through Ollie's ramble. She was glad to see the girl in better spirits than she had been before the holidays.

'Yeah it was a really good experience' Ollie replied reflecting on the Christmas she had spent at Hogwarts 'but I missed you guys and the madness of a Weasley Christmas a lot' she added, remembering how quiet it had been on Christmas morning without Nick and Arrie opening presents next to her.

Suddenly, as Ginny and Ollie entered the living area, there were two loud squeals of delight as Nicholas and Ariana Potter caught sight of their older sister standing in the doorway.

'Ollie!' they cried, abandoning the magical building blocks they had been playing with in front of the fireplace and launching themselves at Ollie.

'Hey guys' Ollie replied, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around her two younger siblings. 'I missed you two so much' she whispered, pressing kisses to the tops of her heads. Although most of the time she found the twins extremely annoying as they always demanded her full attention when she was around, she loved them to pieces and had missed them a huge amount over the holidays. She did not regret deciding to spend the holidays at Hogwarts. In away, Ollie was glad she had spent time away from her family. After the very busy, stressful, angst filled autumn term and the separation had made her appreciate her family more. The break had given her time to reflect on her and her father's actions over the last couple of months and now she could not wait to see him. Besides what had happened during her third year, they had never been apart for this long.

'Hey Ginny, where's Dad?' Ollie asked as Nick grabbed hold of her hand and dragged her over to where he and his sister where making things from their bricks. She could not see any sign of him in their quarters.

'Harry's not here yet' Ginny replied, settling herself down on the sofa to watch them play. 'He said he had to go to the Ministry of magic today, which means he probably won't be back until the feast starts'

'Did he say why, is it Auror business?' Ollie enquired, wondering whether her Dad was being sent on some sort of secret mission. Although she might dislike the fact that he was teaching at Hogwarts, at least she knew there was no chance of him coming home injured. Even though his job as an Auror and the missions he went on were dangerous, they were not in the same league as the ones he went on when he was a member of the International Defence Association (IDA), he still seemed to always come back with some wound or another.

'I don't think so' Ginny replied 'before he left, he muttered something about going to visit Kingsley-'

'Shacklebolt?' Ollie interjected in disbelief, knowing the history between the two men.

'-to talk about some old Order of the Phoenix stuff' Ginny continued.

'Oh' Ollie said 'I just wanted to talk to him'

'You know he's really sorry about keeping you in the dark about your mother'

'I know, I was just hurt that he did not trust me enough to tell me'

'Sweetie, I don't think it was about not trusting you' Ginny stated comfortingly, knowing the bond between father and daughter. 'I mean, he did not even tell me until I finally forced it out of him' Ollie smirked slightly, silently wishing she had seen her formidable stepmother do that. 'I think in his own way he wanted to protect you from the disappointment he felt'

'What disappointment?' Ollie asked curiously

'He'll have to tell you himself' Ginny replied 'it's not really my story to tell'

'I just want to know more about her. I want to know where I came from, you can understand that?' Ollie said earnestly

'I know sweetie, I think Harry is trying to find out more information for you' Ginny stated

'Really?' Ollie asked, her own attempts having ended in disappointment.

'Why else do you think he's gone to see Kingsley? Also he seemed to pop over to the Malfoys a lot over the holidays'

'Do you know if he's found anything yet?' Ollie asked Ginny, her violet eyes, which she had inherited from her mother, shining with hope.

'I don't know, though he was sure that Kingsley would have something, however he had to wait until Kingsley was back in the country and he returned from Luxemburg yesterday'

'I guess I can wait a bit longer' Ollie replied with a sigh, before turning her attention to the tower of wooden blocks the twins were still building. 'Hey Ginny' she said suddenly 'Dad still doesn't know about you know what?'

'No, though you should probably tell him'

'Ginny'

'Just think about it Ollie, trust works both ways'

'Mr Potter, Mr Shacklebolt will see you now' the blonde haired secretary announced crisply, before returning to her paperwork.

Harry stood up and entered Kingsley Shacklebolt's office in the bowls of the Ministry of Magic.. When he had stepped down as Minister of Magic, soon after the infamous trial which had led to the exposure of the levels of corruption in the Ministry, Kingsley had been given the job of being Wizarding Britain's representative in Europe. He now spent most of his time in Luxemburg but for a couple of weeks a year he came back to properly brief the Minister of Magic on the goings on with their European neighbours.

'Harry Potter' Kingsley said as Harry came through the door 'please take a seat' he added, gesturing to the chair in front of his old oak desk. 'So what can I do for you?' he asked 'I was surprised to hear from you and even more surprised that you demanded to meet with me so urgently.'

'Tonks told me you might still have the notes from the Order of the Phoenix meetings' Harry said, looking at the former Auror 'I would like to take a look at them

'For work or for personal reasons?' Kingsley asked. Of all the things he thought Harry had come to speak to him about, old Order of the Phoenix meetings was not one of them.

'I guess you would say it was personal' Harry replied

'Oh' Kingsley said, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the desk and gesturing for Harry to elaborate further.

'Ollie' Harry stated bluntly

'Oh how is Ollie Potter?' Kingsley asked, now wondering what Harry's adopted daughter had to do with the Order of the Phoenix, apart from the fact that her biological father was a member.

'Not so little now' Harry answered 'she just turned 18 last week'

'And it seems as if it were only yesterday you were sneaking into my office to sign her adoption papers' Kingsley commented, before an awkward pause was felt between the two men. They both remembered that it was there when they had fallen out and why Harry had lived in exile for the next eleven years.

'So is she still going out with Austin Green?' Kingsley asked, trying to break the tension

'No'

'Oh, what a shame, he seemed a nice enough boy, passionate about politics and highly ambitious'

'Now that's not necessarily a good thing is it' Harry stated bluntly

'Well I guess not' Kingsley replied with a nervous chuckle, as he remembered how his thirst for power and control had led to him being blinded to the corruption in his Ministry and how his ambition had caused him to alienate his former friends. 'So what has your daughter got to do with some old notes?' he asked, pulling the conversation back to why Harry was sitting in his office.

'Her mother'

'Her mother, I thought you didn't know who she was? Kingsley questioned, remembering from when Harry was filling out all the adoption paperwork. 'What makes you think she had anything to do with the order?'

'This' Harry replied, reaching into his robe pocket and pull out a copy of the document, with the picture attached. 'McGonagall found it when cleaning her office. It says she was an informant, but Sirius' diary sheds no light on what she did and what sort of information she supplied to the Order'

'I don't recall the name' Kingsley said, scanning over the document 'but then I wasn't at all of the meetings and Dumbledore liked to keep things secret.

'But you have the notes from the meetings?'

'Yes, I collected them all up when we had to vacate Number 12 after Sirius' death' Kingsley replied whilst standing up and waling over to a locked cabinet in the corner of the office. 'I always thought I would end up given these to Hermione or using them in my retirement, to write up what happened in the war. However I hope you find something useful in them' he finished turning around to hand over a sheath of papers and files to Harry.

'Thank you Kingsley' Harry stated, amazed the former Minister for Magic was being so cooperative. With a final handshake, he headed out of the office and out if the Ministry of Magic before apparating to Hogsmeade. Hopefully he would be back in time for the feast.