"So, erm, how's Draco?" It was a few days since Harry first woke up, and after her emotional breakdown she and Tom were almost back to normal, though she still dreaded what he had planned for her when she got home – he couldn't really be planning to ground her forever, right?

"He's fine." That wasn't saying much coming from Tom; Draco could have been attacked by a werewolf and he'd still probably consider him to be 'fine'. He smirked at her thoughts and continued. "He wasn't injured in Knockturn Alley and was able to get you to help."

"Great! So he helped, right? He was helpful! He…"

"I didn't punish him, Harry." He interrupted flatly; knowing where she was going with this and what she was really worried about.

"Oh. Good." She sighed in relief.

"I had his parents do it." Something in the way he said that turned her blood cold. Parents were the ones children relied on for protection…

"But he's fine?" She repeated, wanting confirmation.

"Of course, though I'm sure family time has been a little awkward of late." He mocked.

Harry felt terrible. Other people always paid for her mistakes – like the whole world was her whipping boy. She just hoped that whatever Tom had made Narcissa and Lucius do to Draco could be overcome. She didn't want to lose them, or them to lose each other.

"Oh, stop worrying about the peons. I assure you they're fine."

"Stop being so mean." She countered immediately.

Yep, things were back to normal.

Harry had forced herself to get dressed and situated in the chair beside her hospital bed. The medi-wizard in charge of her care had finally cleared her fit to be questioned by the aurors, and she didn't want to be lying on her back in hospital cotton when they arrived.

It hadn't surprised her that Dumbledore joined them, though she still questioned why the headmaster of a school she didn't even attend needed to be there.

"Ah, I only wish I needn't be." He replied lightly. "But the attack has raised many concerns that dark wizards have become a threat to our society once again." She gave no response, because that hardly answered her questions! His twinkling eyes never left her and that kindly, knowing smile made her uncomfortable. Tom had told her what to do and say, but she was far from confident of her ability to fool this experienced old man.

"Miss Potter, what do you remember of the day you were attacked?" She recognised the auror who spoke, but not by name, so could only hope he was one of Tom's people.

"Very little." She shifted a little, but maintained dignity: no matter who these people worked for, or whose side they were on, they didn't have the right to question her. She was only going through this charade in order to get home. "I was in my room, reading, and I heard my aunt come home. She was shouting about something, but she was always a little high strung anyway so I tried to ignore it, but then a few minutes later there was a loud crash. Then the screaming started. The last thing I knew my bedroom door flew open and there was a blinding light. I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more."

Albus frowned. It was too collected an answer. And he couldn't imagine Death Eaters not wanting to have 'fun' or at the very least gloat and ridicule her before they tried to kill the girl who defeated their master. "You don't seem too upset about what became of your family." He tried to keep any accusation from his voice, but noticed her eyes narrowing a little.

"The nurse already told me they died in the fire, that it was a magic fire that incinerated everything inside the house. They might have been my family, and I cared for them because of that, but I didn't particularly like them." His frown deepened. "I'm sorry that they're dead, I am," She took a moment, and then her eyes were wet with unshed tears – she was thinking of her parents, but Dumbledore didn't need to know that. "But I survived… I can only think of that." She looked down as though ashamed. Harry hadn't thought of the Dursleys for years, but assumed they were dead – she'd never asked Tom about what happened to them, because she didn't know whether she'd be able to handle knowing, and Tom must have thought likewise because he never brought them up either.

"Did you see anything in the days before the attack that seemed unusual to you? Any wizards in the area, or even just strangers you noticed hanging around?" She shook her head.

"What did they tell you of the wizarding world?" Harry didn't like that question because she had no idea what it had to do with the current conversation, and the fact it came from Dumbledore made her suspicious.

"Nothing."

"We are trying to help you – protect you, Harriet. Please don't lie to us."

"I'm not lying." She spat, struggling to keep the contempt from her voice. Tom must have had more of an influence on her than she thought, because these people were actually beginning to irritate her. It didn't help that she knew Dumbledore must have had ulterior motives. She could appreciate that the aurors might have been genuinely trying to help her, or solve a crime, but she'd never forget the old man's part in her miserable childhood, nor would she forgive.

"If you're trying to protect someone, we can help them too." Dumbledore tried kindly. "We know someone was at your house that day – someone who protected you."

She looked down again, clasping her hands tightly. "They never told me anything." She insisted.

"Harriet…" The old man sighed in disappointment, and the other auror, the one who'd yet to speak, took over.

"You are familiar with our world though, aren't you?" He was sharp and almost accusatory in his questioning; this one was definitely not one of Tom's. "The healers say you never appeared uncomfortable drinking potions, or about the spells being cast on you – things that would surely seem bizarre for someone raised by muggles."

"But I…"

"And you wear a portkey around your neck, one we have been unable to remove, so a wizard or witch of considerable skill must have placed it upon you at some point." Her eyes narrowed at her hands. "So who gave it to you?"

Albus could clearly see her defences rising and decided to intervene before she stopped communicating altogether. "Rowen, do remember the child is the victim here."

"Be that as it may, the circumstances around the attack are suspicious, and Harriet's reluctance to aid the investigation leads me to believe there is more going on here than meets the eye." Harry glared at the auror.

"Do you think I did this to myself? Really?! Do you get many cases of suicide by torture curse?" She scoffed.

"Of course I don't think…"

"Perhaps," Dumbledore interrupted, raising his voice just a little, "it might be helpful if you at least told us who gave you that pendant." Harry sniffed at the question before making a point of turning her face away.

"Have you ever seen any of these people?" The unfriendly auror pushed forward, undeterred by her lack of cooperation, and laid out photos of all those missing from Azkaban. She'd seen them all, of course, but shook her head after carefully looking through them. She paused on her godfather's picture – he looked deranged as he thrashed and pulled against his bonds – she wanted to keep the poster to tease him with.

"You don't recognise anyone?" She shook her head again at the mean auror. "But you are familiar with wizard photography." She stayed silent, but secretly wished Tom was here to wipe that smug look off his face. She had to keep remaindering herself that he was just doing his job.

"What were you reading?" The question threw her off a little as he switched back to the previous line of inquiry, and she tried to remember any of her old muggle books.

"Shakespeare." She said stupidly. Shakespeare? She wanted to kick herself: couldn't get any more obvious an author than that! As Dumbledore tactfully challenged the truth of her answer she managed to compose herself.

"Really?" She rolled her eyes.

"No, not really, but ask a stupid question and get a stupid answer. What does my choice of books have to do with any of this?" She was letting this get away from her, getting too emotional.

"Even the most insignificant detail could help." The old man answered while he pondered about her attitude. There it was again: that confidence and arrogance. Just where had that come from? Harry caught the calculating look in his eye and forced herself back into character.

The questioning went on for a while, and while it could have gone better, she didn't think she'd given away anything important.

Albus parted ways with the aurors in the hallway. He was tempted to go back and try again, alone this time, without officials making her uneasy. He'd planned on 'being there' for her when she came round, on being a rock to cling to in the uncertain world she found herself in, but the child was guarded and didn't seem to need such a thing. He hoped it was simply a lack of care at home that had made her so independent, because then, with time, he could reach her. For now though, he decided it was best to let her stew in her solitude.

Several days later, Harry watched Dumbledore's back as he left the room. The man was tenacious, she had to give him that, but the way he spoke made her hackles rise every time – it reminded her of her aunt, of the way she spoke so softly and kindly whenever she was pretending to be nice, or to care.

This time the interrogation had been about a short interview she gave to Witch Weekly. The interview confirmed she was well acquainted with wizarding culture. She'd given various opinions on her favourite stars and even knew the names and styles of various designers. It was thoroughly aggravating, but that wasn't what brought him here today. He was more concerned with the response she'd given when asked of her opinion on the current political landscape – more specifically, on the bill he currently fighting in the Wizengamot. Mandatory Muggleborn Registration should have been a definite no-no for a girl heralded as the champion of all things 'Light'. The journalist had stressed that Harriet had been hesitant to give an opinion on something she didn't know much about, but in the end had decided the bill was a good thing. She claimed getting to muggleborns at an early age would stop any unnecessary suffering for children who were currently left in the dark about the incredible things they could do, and that it would ease social integration.

Before the attack on Harry, no one would have dared propose something as sinister as the MMR, but with the nation's media wrapped up in the miracle girl, it was easy for news of the proposal to be buried on page 7 in most publications. Public backlash had therefore been minimal, and now this? Her celebrity saw her opinion plastered on every front page this morning, with supporting articles from scholars to political pundits, which had in turn caused major damage to his support, and his cries that the bill had nothing to do with helping muggleborns landed on deaf ears. He had been struggling to block the bill before, but now it would probably pass by a landslide. He had planned to use her fame for his own ends: this was a nightmare!

Harry grinned as she watched Dumbledore's shadow in the corridor. She had no idea why Tom wanted her to support some boring politics thing, but she'd greatly enjoyed frustrating the old man, so she didn't care either.

She turned as Sirius stepped out of his hiding place in her bathroom, but fell into confusion at seeing his solemn face.

"What's wrong?" She asked immediately.

He just shook his head sadly. "Nothing." Biting her lip, Harry tried to think of something to lighten the mood.

"They say I should be able to leave in a week, all being well."

"That's great." Replied Sirius half-heartedly. Seeing a distraction wouldn't be enough, she stood and gave her godfather a tight hug.

"It's ok. Whatever it is, it's ok." She reassured. "I'm fine, you're fine… everyone's fine." She laughed.

"Everyone you know if fine." His voice was quiet over her shoulder. "But what about everyone else?" Harry stepped back to look at him.

"Well, I can only take care of my own." The normal jovial Sirius that had snuck into her room that morning was nowhere to be seen – she blamed Dumbledore. Nothing else had happened in the last hour to affect her godfather this way. She tried to laugh again. "Do you expect me to go out and fight crime? End world hunger?"

Finally Sirius gave a small smile. No, he didn't expect her to do anything so grand. It was simply difficult for him to be exposed to Voldemort's manoeuvring. It was easier to remain sheltered from it all back at home – that he would equate that word with the Dark Lord's base was confusing enough.

Before he could think of what to say the opened again, and without warning he found himself face to face with an old friend.

"Sirius?!" Dumbledore gasped, looking from the escapee to the child and back again, before finally smiling in relief. "It all makes sense now. This is who you were trying to protect." He wasn't at all concerned by Harriet's scowl as she stood protectively in front of Sirius: of course she'd want to protect him from the man she probably thought wanted him sent back to prison. He should have guessed. He should have noticed how her eyes lingered on his picture. He should have known that after escaping Sirius would have gone to find his goddaughter, that he would have taught her all about magic, and even passed his knowledge of pureblood customs on to her. And of course, he would have protected her when old enemies came knocking. There were still questions to be answered, but this was wonderful news. As soon as he was legally vindicated, he would no doubt want custody, and having Sirius care for Potter meant she'd still be within his influence.

As soon as the two men left the room, Harry called Tom.

"It worked!"

"Of course, though I'm surprised it took the old fool so long to find your pet." Harry huffed, but wouldn't allow Tom to ruin her good mood. Things had gone as planned, and soon Sirius would take her away from here and she could finally go home.

Tom was also relieved that things had worked out, but now Sirius was completely out of his reach. He had to trust the animagus and he hated that: he could be telling Dumbledore anything right now, and even with all the work he'd put into Sirius, he was concerned he might disobey.

If Sirius tried to keep Harry from him – if he'd fooled himself into believing he could, then even Harry wouldn't be able to protect him. It would be the end of Sirius Black.