I disclaim it all because it all belongs to J.K. Rowling!
I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to update! Please enjoy and don't forget to review!
It was the second week of summer vacation for Hogwarts students and Harry was going to come stay with us for two days and one night. Remus was on edge and we were expecting a howler from Lily any day, we were just hoping she would remember the dates we had put into the letter telling them when Harry was going to be at the house. I had a feeling all three of them wanted me to interfere with the whole Chamber of Secrets deal, but the only problem I could see was that the diary needed to be destroyed (I had neglected to mention it was a horcrux—I would tell them once the shock had toned down).
"Ready to go and get Harry, Remus?" I asked when he came downstairs for breakfast.
"We're not getting him until a godly hour, I already told you that," he said shaking his head. "You act like a hyperactive five-year-old sometimes,"
"Hey, seven o'clock is a godly hour! And it's more like a twelve-year-old anyway, Moony," I replied.
"Either way, you still don't act your age,"
"You mean I don't act 'Keena's' age, I do, however, act 'Kailey's' age," I corrected.
"Do I have to go and tell Harry we can't take him?" Remus asked, talking as if I were four.
"Oh right, because you don't want to take every opportunity to make sure you've imprinted in his head how important it is to walk around Hogwarts using a mirror just in case some mythical beast was to appear?" I asked, laughing.
"I've been thinking about that, actually," he said seriously. "I think maybe it would be best if you and I homeschooled Harry this year. I could go somewhere once a month so that he wouldn't find out about…"
"You're furry little problem? No, Remus, we can't do that. Harry needs Hogwarts as much as you did. His needs may be a little different, but he still needs that place."
"But it's going to be very dangerous,"
"Moony, every year at Hogwarts has the potential of being a danger, it just comes in different forms,"
"What do you think Lily will say to that?"
"It hardly matters what she'll say, to the wizarding community I have legal rights over what Harry can and cannot do while he is at Hogwarts," I replied, placing my cereal bowl to the sink. "Now, what exactly is a godly hour Moony?"
We ended up getting Harry at eleven. I knocked on the door and it was opened by a surprised looking Petunia.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, ushering us inside before any neighbors took notice of us. "We haven't done anything to the boy," she began defending.
"What are you talking about? We're here to take Harry for the night," Remus answered with a raised eyebrow.
"Does he know you're taking him?"
"We wrote to him last week," I answered. "Could you please get him?"
She shouted up the stairs for Harry to come down, still throwing minor glares at Remus and myself whenever she could spare a look. "You're godmother is here," she said before walking into the kitchen.
"Keena, Remus," Harry cried as he saw us. "I didn't know you were coming! You haven't answered any of my letters,"
"What are you talking about, Harry? You haven't answered any of ours," Remus said perplexed, giving me a questioning look. Then it hit me. Dobby. "Keena? Do you have any ideas?"
I mentally shook myself out of the daze and replied, "Probably just some pranksters, happens all the time. Don't worry, Harry, I still have some friends in the ministry—we'll get it all sorted out. In the meantime, would you still like to spend the night?"
His entire face lit up and he grinned enthusiastically. He nodded and dashed back upstairs with Remus following so that he could help Harry figure out what to bring. I went into the kitchen and told Petunia we would bring him back some time tomorrow. She seemed disappointed that he would be back so quickly but before I left the kitchen she had dialed the phone to tell Vernon that they could eat out that night.
We did a side-along apparition to get back to the house quicker. Harry went with Remus and I took all of his things (a rucksack with clothes, toothbrush, his wand and a shrunken broomstick). Harry stumbled a little when he and Remus landed and muttered something about preferring a broom.
"You'll get used to apparation by the time one can get your license. In the meantime, where do you want to go for lunch? We could go to Diagon Alley or even Hogsmede if you want," I suggested. "Oh! Or we could go get lunch at the Three Broomsticks and then back to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor! You wouldn't believe half the flavors," I said enthusiastically. Both Harry and Remus stared with wide eyes before exchanging a look and bursting out laughing. "What? Is that too complicated?"
"No, but are you sure you can handle anymore sugar today?" Remus asked. "And here I was thinking Harry would be high on life today," he added and Harry nodded. "Well, Harry, how does that plan sound?"
"It sounds like fun, but could we not apparate? Or is that the only way?"
"It's the fastest way and if we're going from Hogsmede to Diagon Alley we'll need the extra time," Remus answered. Harry sighed a little but nodded happily all the same.
After lunch and exploring around Diagon Alley for a little while we took Harry to a wizard park. Essentially it was the same as a muggle park except instead of playing a game of catch; for example, we would fly around playing with a Quaffle or some other Quidditch ball. When night fell there was a small display of fireworks before we took Harry home. Remus supplied us all with hot chocolate before we sat down in the living room to discuss the day. It was getting late and I could tell Remus was about ready to send Harry to bed when he asked a question.
"How did my parents meet?" it was so out of the blue that it took me a second to digest what he had said. "Or were neither of you there?"
"I was there," I answered. "They met in Diagon Alley a couple days before we boarded the Hogwarts Express. See, I was blind back then and a muggle-born so I had been sent to live with your grandparents and dad. Whenever your grandmother took us to Diagon Alley during that first summer James and I would wander off on our own. Your dad was a flirt and liked to ask me my opinion on potential girlfriends. He spotted Lily in the bookshop and decided to find out how she would react to seeing a blind girl stuck in a bookstore on her own. Unfortunately Lily didn't like the idea too much and their first conversation was an argument." I said laughing.
Harry looked surprised at first then smiled. "I should have known what with my history that they wouldn't meet the same way other couples did. When did they get together?"
"Um…I want to say around the beginning or ending of sixth year, I don't really remember," I answered, scratching my head.
"Lily didn't approve of our method of fun; she always thought that James and the rest of us were immature. Well, mostly James,"
"What did you do for fun?"
"Well, Harry, you know the tricks the Weasley twins play on people? Well, they're tame compared to the stuff we used to pull," I answered, grinning. "Changing people's hair color to getting Slytherin's stuck in the staircases. In fact, we were the first group successful in pranking teachers without getting in trouble for it," I stated proudly.
"Not only that, but we also successfully pranked Professor Dumbledore," Remus added. "You know how he likes to run his hand through his beard? Well he took that habit up after we turned it into tinsel,"
Harry looked shocked. "Did you get Professor Snape too?" he asked enthusiastically.
"Harry, how old do you think Snape is?" I asked laughing. "He was our prime target in school, but he was in our year."
"You mean he's not…old?" Remus and I burst out laughing.
"Depends what you consider old," Remus said once he had stopped laughing. "It's late, Harry, you should get to bed." Harry made a puppy-dog face that reminded me of both James and Sirius but Remus just shook his head and Harry gave in.
THUD!
Remus and I jumped from our seats at the kitchen table and turned to look out the window. The morning after Harry went back to the Dursley's we had received the howler from Lily along with apologies from James so neither of us was expecting any mail. We got up and walked over to the window somewhat cautiously. Lying on the ground frozen was the Weasley's bird, Errol.
"Is he dead?" Remus asked. I shrugged—that bird was a ticking time-bomb. Before we could do anything the bird seemed to snap out of its trance and it flew up to the window sill. I let out a small breath I had been holding and I realized how bad it would have been if Errol had killed himself by flying into our window.
Remus took the letter from Errol's leg and he carried said bird over to the sink where he filled a bowl with water for the elderly bird to drink from. I recognized the writing on the envelope and realized that Harry was most likely at the Weasley's house now.
"It's from Molly," Remus said looking down the letter. "Listen to what she says:
Dear Remus and Keena,
Last night my foolish sons (I'm sure you can figure out which ones) took Arthur's car for a drive to Little Whinging, Surrey! I am writing to tell you not to worry about Harry's sudden disappearance; I know how much you must worry,"
Remus paused and gave me a look. "What? Why is it everyone thinks I don't worry? I do! Just not about the little things or stuff that I know is going to work out!" I defended immediately. Remus rolled his eyes and continued.
"We hope to get your consent, however, to allow Harry to spend the remainder of the summer here at the Burrow. We will take good care of him, I assure you, as well as get him safely onto Platform 9 ¾. Hoping you are well,
Molly Weasley"
"We should write back to her or floo call or something," I said. "Or maybe just floo over so we can give Errol back—I don't think he can fly again for a little while at least,"
"Maybe even write to Lily and James to tell them where he's staying," Remus added. "I don't know if they retained any of the information not involving the chamber,"
"Yes I'm sure they would love the fact that Harry is running away from his family the way Sirius did in fifth year," I said sarcastically. I stopped talking abruptly and looked with wide eyes at Remus. We hadn't talked about Sirius in years, not even his name. Remus' jaw clenched and he paled visibly. I could feel my face heating up and I looked away from him.
"Harry is nothing like Sirius," Remus muttered, and I could tell he was trying to restrain his anger. "Nothing at all, they are completely different."
"They are more alike than you would like to acknowledge," I said quietly. "Ask Lily and James if you want, they'll tell you,"
"No, I won't bring up to them that they're best friend betrayed them," Remus answered, his tone rising slightly. "The fact that you would even suggest it is extremely inconsiderate,"
"But--"
"No, Keena, you know that he did it,"
"I know that he didn't do it. In case you don't remember, I was there. I was in the house when Voldemort showed up and I was there when he tried to kill Harry. After seeing something like that you honestly think I would defend the one who made it possible? How pathetic do you think I am?"
"It's okay to admit he fooled you, he fooled us all," Remus said, shaking his head.
"I can't believe you! How can you think like that about him?"
"Let's just get Errol back to the Weasley's," Remus muttered, obviously disappointed that my opinion of Sirius hadn't changed.
"Take him yourself, tell Harry I'm sick or something," I replied angrily, summoning my cloak. "I'm going out," I stated before he could ask me where I was going.
I apparated to my destination and wandered among the rows for a little while; the cemetery had grown since I had last visited. Finally I found Aradia's grave. I stood staring at it for a long time before I let a small tear slide down my cheek.
"You're the closest I can get to him now," I whispered.
I didn't go home until around midnight. When I got there it was to find Remus sitting in a chair and reading a book. He looked up at the sound of my apparation and set his book down. We stared at each other for a few minutes before I gave in and sat down on the couch. I leaned back and folded my arms and looked at him expectantly.
"The Weasleys and Harry will meet us in Diagon Alley tomorrow. We'll also be meeting Hermione Granger and Kailey," he said matter-of-factly. I raised an eyebrow. "But of course, you already knew that," he added and I nodded. "Are you just going to sit there in silence?" he asked finally.
"What would you have me say?" I asked in a monotone.
"Where did you go?" he asked.
"You can probably guess,"
"Aradia?" he answered. I gave a slight nod and he sighed. "Harry wanted to know where you went," he said. "I told him where I thought you had gone and it seems I was right,"
"You told him I went to the grave of my soulless, dead daughter?" I nearly shouted, standing up and glaring at the werewolf. "I suppose you told him about Sirius as well?"
"All I told him was that you were visiting the cemetery and he asked who you were going to see. I told him that you had lost your daughter during the war and he didn't ask anything else. He'll probably write to you soon, to ask you how you're feeling,"
"I didn't want him to know about her," I muttered.
"What and have another secret for you to need to keep? Do you realize how much danger all these secrets could put you in? You can't do it all by yourself,"
"Maybe not but whenever I do tell the truth everyone thinks I'm going crazy," I retorted. "It's probably one of the few secrets I should keep and it also happens to be the only one nobody will ever believe. At least, not for now," I added in an undertone low enough that his werewolf senses wouldn't pick it up.
We met the Weasleys in the Leaky Cauldron but there was one small problem. Harry wasn't there. Molly frantically explained the situation before everyone took off in pairs to search for Harry. Without waiting for Remus to ask, I began leading him to Knockturn Alley. He threw me a look as we entered the street and we stopped in front of Borgin and Burke's. Remus reached for the door but I grabbed his arm before he could turn the handle.
"He's not in there?" Remus asked.
"Yes, but so is Malfoy. I don't know about you but I would rather not run into the old git," I said, pointing the blonde haired threat.
We got out of the way as Malfoy and Draco left the shop and quickly headed to Diagon Alley themselves. Not a minute later Harry came rushing out of the store himself. He almost ran in the wrong direction before Remus called out his name.
"Keena, Remus, thank God, I got lost in the floo,"
"We know, c'mon, everybody is freaking out," I said, holding up a hand before he could continue. "So, what was Malfoy up to?" I asked casually.
"He said he had stuff he wanted to get rid of because it was 'questionable'."
Remus snorted. "I don't doubt that, maybe we could give Arthur a tip and catch ourselves a rat,"
"Yeah, a shame we can only catch one rat," I said, emphasizing the last word. Remus continued staring straight in front of him.
We found everyone in front of Flourish and Blotts bookshop where there was an enormous crowd. The Weasleys, Grangers and Kailey waved us over to where they were standing in the line.
"Oh, thank goodness you're alright Harry!" Molly exclaimed, taking a brush out of her large purse and wiping the soot off of Harry. "Where did you end up, dear?"
"Knockturn Alley," Remus answered. "You'll have to remind me to tell you who we saw there later, Arthur," he added to Mr. Weasley, who nodded. "What's this line for anyway?"
"Gilderoy Lockhart is doing a book signing," Hermione said, grinning with delight. Both Ginny and Kailey rolled their eyes and Ron snorted.
"Never heard of him," I stated with an air of disinterest. "At least not recently," I added so that only Remus could hear me.
Our part of the line finally got into the shop and we were able to get the books that the kids needed for the year. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Kailey, Remus, and I stayed closer to the back of the shop while Molly and Hermione went up to get their books signed. Arthur and the Grangers were talking outside of the shop. I noticed Molly gesture to the group of us in explanation for all the extra books and saw Lockhart's face light up with excitement.
"Is that really Harry Potter?" he asked loudly. The store practically rioted as the photographer from the Daily Prophet came towards us to grab Harry. I recognized the man with the camera and grabbed his arm.
"Keep your hands off my godson," I said venomously.
"Good lord, you're still allowed near him?" the man asked, quivering a little.
"Yes, of course I am, now get away. Harry will go up there if he wants to," I growled and the camera man backed off. Lockhart, however, had made his way to where we were standing.
"I can assure you, madam, that your godson will be quite safe with me," he said, trying to get closer to Harry but I blocked him.
I scoffed. "You probably can't handle a band of Cornish pixies. In fact I don't recall you ever fighting in the war, or was it before your time?"
"Well before, unfortunately, or else Harry here may not have needed to rescue the wizarding world," I raised my eyebrow but Lockhart didn't seem to take the hint. "A simple photo is all I ask, give the world some hope. Imagine, the two greatest wizards in Britain banding together to fight against evil. But alas, I'm afraid my fighting days are nearing an end." There was a collective gasp around the store. "Yes, I will be serving mankind another way from now on. I will be teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding this year,"
It was like and explosion had gone off and all of the witches in the shop (as well as a few wizards) began cheering and in all the commotion I lost my position in front of Harry and several photos of him and Lockhart were snapped before everything died down again. By the time the line had reformed itself and I found everyone again the group had been joined by Malfoy and his son as well as Arthur.
"Keep your second-hand books, they are all your father can afford you," Malfoy sneered as he threw the tattered books back into Ginny's cauldron. Without warning (for anyone who didn't know it was going to happen) Arthur lunged at Malfoy and they broke out in a fist fight.
The next thing I knew Remus was mixed up in the fight as he tried to pull Arthur off of Malfoy the latter threw a punch at him and he joined in the fray.
"Out of the way!" I shouted and all the people who had gathered to watch scurried away as I aimed my wand carefully. I hit the three of them with a small spell and they sprang apart from one another. "I suggest you take your son and leave, Malfoy," I ordered, my wand pointing at him. With a huff the angry aristocrat summoned his son and they left quickly.
After a scolding from Molly, everyone returned home. The remainder of the summer lacked much excitement and before I knew it Harry and Ron had gotten into severe trouble for flying the car to school and Ginny was made into a Gryffindor along with Alexis. Justin and DJ were also placed in Gryffindor.
I had also received a letter which officially fired me from the Auror Office and I was now legally unemployed. Apparently I was supposed to call an on-duty Auror to break up the fight instead of 'taking the law into my own hands' as Fudge had put it in the letter. Remus, however, had still managed to keep his job and was now the only source of money for the house and the taxes.
Soon it was Halloween and I found myself being contacted by Dumbledore.
"Good morning, Keena," he said brightly as he stepped out from the fireplace. "Has Remus already gone to work?"
"Yeah, you just missed him,"
"Oh well, I was hoping you would take up a position at Hogwarts for the year."
"Really? I don't remember there being any positions needing to be filled in second year," I said scratching my head as I tried to remember.
"That's probably because you didn't need a tutor in Defense." He replied seriously. "There was a mishap, as you may remember, involving some Cornish pixies,"
I laughed out loud at the memory. It had taken a long time to find someone to get Neville down before the chandelier fell. "That was funny, though not at the time," I said, still grinning.
"Yes, well I'd like this year's O.W.L and N.E.W.T. students to pass all their exams with the sort of grades they did when you were teaching," he answered honestly. At least I think he was being honest. It hardly mattered, I was jobless and flattery will get most people anywhere. "Would you like to take the job? I'd need you to come to the castle today,"
"I'd love to come back and give reason for Severus to be completely paranoid, just let me run it by Remus and I'll be at the castle." I said brightly, concocting ways to torture Snape's imagination. It wasn't as if I'd need the job come June in any case.
That's the end of that one! I'm really sorry that it took so long, but my laptop was being stupid and deleted all my stuff right when I was about to end the chapter so I had to start from scratch! In case nobody remembers (because last time they were mentioned was in chapter 19) Alexis is Nickie and Orion's daughter, DJ is Amanda and Damian's son and Justin is Lexi and Jeremy's son (they also have a daughter named Lizzie). They'll be making appearances soon I hope. Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to give me a long review (or a short one whatever works!)! Up next is 27!
:-D