Nope not JK cause if I was I'd have more time to post chapters sooner! ;)


Chapter Fifty-three

A Letter

Taylor was still grinning as she brushed her teeth the next morning in the girl's washroom. It had taken some talking last night to calm her overprotective brother down, as well as Ron who seemed just as determined to jinx the Head Boy. Ginny's questions about her evening didn't help keep her brother or Ron all that calm, though from what she gathered from talking to the other two witches, their evening wasn't far from how hers had gone.

Taylor paused while brushing her hair and stared at her reflection. She didn't look any different but inside she felt somehow older, more mature. Finally satisfied, she went back to her room and put her uniform on, taking special care that her tie was right, before putting her school robe on. Hermione just smiled at her for the extra fussing that she had never done before.

"Oh stow it Granger!" Taylor griped half heartedly, before grinning at her friend.

Together the two witches headed down to the common room where Ginny and the two wizards were already waiting. Talking about their first class, potions for the seventh years and charms for Ginny, they walked down through the castle.

Taylor could feel the butterflies starting as she neared the Entrance Hall.

"I'm… I'm going to sit with Greg this morning okay? I'll meet you guys after breakfast alright?"

Harry shot his sister a look but before he could say anything Hermione spoke up. "Yeah, sure Taylor, no problem. We'll meet you in the Entrance Hall." Biting his tongue Harry tried not to say anything. As Ginny had pointed out last night, to everyone else but them, Taylor was of age and perfectly capable of making her own decisions. Plus Ginny had whispered in his ear that she would find out if Hunter had crossed the line and let him know. Though his witch had said he'd have to get in line behind her if the Hufflepuff did.

So with a clipped voice he said quietly "See you after breakfast then." His sister gave him a big grin before echoing his sentiment.

Watching with narrowed eyes he saw his sister pull ahead of their group and veer over towards the Hufflepuff table as soon as she entered the Great Hall.

"Don't worry, we can keep an eye on them while we eat mate." Ron said quietly as if reading Harry's mind. Harry nodded his agreement and sat down facing the Hufflepuff table.

Taylor could feel all the eyes following her as she made her way over to the Hufflepuff table again. She had caught sight of the tall dark haired Head Boy as soon as she entered the Great Hall and his eyes had met hers and a smile had come on his face. Walking down the Hufflepuff table she noticed that this morning Greg was sitting with Finch-Fletchly and Macmillan and a couple of seventh year girls.

"Hey!" The Head Boy said as she reached him.

"Hi," Taylor said and she nodded to his friends.

"Sit down, I saved you a seat." Hunter said as he waved to the seat beside him.

With a small smile Taylor sat down beside the tall Hufflepuff, and his hand immediately found hers under the table and gave it a squeeze.

"Taylor, you know everyone right?" Greg asked and at her hesitation made the introductions anyway. "This is Justin Finch-Fletchly, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot, and Sally-Anne Perks."

"Hi," Taylor said trying to smile.

She sat listening to the Hufflepuff's talk, as she picked at her piece of toast. It had been a long time since she hadn't eaten with her friends and she felt a little weird. She could see her brother and Ron across the hall watching her and she smiled at them.

"So Taylor what do you think?" Macmillan asked drawing her attention back to this table.

"Oh, ahhh…"

"Ernie was wondering about the last Transfiguration test, how you did." Greg prompted as his hand found hers again.

"Sorry Ernie, I wasn't really listening. That was rude of me." Taylor said apologetically before she told him how she had done on the test. Transfiguration wasn't her strong point.

"So Porter, what is it that you and Potter are looking for in the library anyway?" Finch-Fletchly asked, his eyes challenging her to answer.

Taylor looked at the Hufflepuff for a moment and noticed that their whole end of the table had gone silent waiting for her to answer.

"Do you think that's any of your business, Justin?" The Head Boy asked quietly but the warning was plain in his voice.

"Finch-Fletchly, I'd be curious to know if Potter were here if you'd be so bold as to ask him? But seeing as he isn't at the moment… I'll tell you this. If I refused to tell Hunter here in private, do you really think I'd tell you where everyone is listening?" Taylor's voice was quiet also but it was hard and clipped.

"You're looking for something Dark if you are looking in the restricted section!" Sally-Anne Perks accused.

Taylor looked over at the witch she had sat on the train with, the first trip to Hogwarts all those years ago. "Perks, use your head and think for just a moment. Harry is the Chosen One, whether he wants to be or not. Everyone is expecting him to somehow pull a miracle out of a hat and defeat Voldemort," there were gasps and several cries of alarm, but Taylor ignored them, "Now tell me why would it be so preposterous for him to look for something to help him do the impossible?"

Taylor snorted in disgust and shook her head. "You can't even stand the sound of Voldemort's name and yet you expect a wizard no older then you to go and willingly face Voldemort down!" Pushing away from the table Taylor stood. "When you grow a backbone come see me and ask me a real question!"

Fuming Taylor walked down the silent table and out of the Great Hall. Once outside she shook her head she muttered to herself. "Well Porter that's a great way to get them to like you!"

It was only a few seconds later that she heard someone come out of the Great Hall and hurry towards her.

"Taylor… I'm sorry. I didn't think…" The Head Boy started.

Taylor turned to look at his angry, disgusted expression. "It's fine Greg. I shouldn't have lost my cool. You can't control what other people think."

Taylor saw her brother and Ron step out of the doors to the Great Hall and head in her direction. Hermione and Ginny were right behind them. She could tell by the murderous look on her brother's face that he was going to go after the Hufflepuff.

"Potter! Never mind! It wasn't anything Hunter did!" Taylor's voice was low but firm, her hand ready in case she needed her wand.

"What the hell just happened in there, Hunter? From where I was sitting it looked a hell of a lot like Taylor was defending herself!" Harry demanded in a harsh low voice.

"Potter! I'm warning you!" Taylor growled, but Greg put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're right Potter, she was. It seems that there are questions that people want answered and they took what they saw as an opportunity to ask them. From where I was sitting Taylor shot them down and shut them up just fine!" The Head Boy met Potter's angry glare and didn't back down.

Taylor could see a crowd starting to gather near the doors of the Great Hall. "Look Potter, this is neither the time nor the place. Hunter, I must say breakfast with you was… not boring. I'll see you at lunchtime." Taylor grabbed her brother's arm and with a sharp tug she pulled him away from the Hufflepuff and off towards the potions classroom.

"What did you do that for? I am going to have a word with that Hufflepuff, whether you like it or not!" Harry grumbled as he walked beside his sister.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Potter do you really want to have it out with the Head Boy in the Entrance Hall with the whole school watching and a teacher about to arrive at any second? Man, if you are going to avenge my fallen honor, or whatever it is you think you are doing, at least do it someplace where it will last more then ten seconds! Where is your Gryffindor pride anyway?"

"Oh stow it, Porter!" Harry griped. He'd heard the sarcasm in his sister's voice plain and clear. The snicker he got made him realize the truth in his sister's words, no matter how sarcastically they were spoken.

Potions that morning was a difficult one. They were brewing up a pepper-up potion for Madame Pomfrey that was very ticklish to make, but very easy to see if it was brewed wrong. Taylor and Hermione were the first ones done, and received Professor Slughorn's praise for their properly brewed potion.

Their next lesson out in the greenhouses allowed the Gryffindors a chance to talk as they repotted some biting flower that also had a poisonous stinger. They talked about what had happened at the Hufflepuff table that morning and in a roundabout way Taylor told the others, though she left out the names and exact questions. She planned on going back to the Hufflepuff table at lunch and every other meal until they accepted her, so her brother charging over and telling them off was counter productive and she told him so.

At lunchtime she met the Head Boy in the Entrance Hall and after a brief discussion he led her over to the Hufflepuff table again. Lunch was a much quieter affair as Taylor met every Hufflepuff's curious, nervous or even angry stare. The Head Boy beside her was quiet too, though his hand found hers a couple of times under the table. When they were finished eating Hunter stood up with Taylor and walked out of the Great Hall with her.

Out in the Entrance Hall the tall Hufflepuff turned to her. "Taylor you don't need to sit with me, not like that. I'll just sit with you guys."

"Greg, I'm not going to jinx them or curse them with some deep dark spell. They'll figure that out eventually. Now if you'd rather I didn't sit there with you, then that is different." Taylor met his blue eyes questioningly.

The Head Boy grinned. "Nope, I'd love for you to sit with me whenever you want!"

Taylor smiled too. "So tell me, did Lupin give you a hard time last night?" She saw a slight blush creep up the Hufflepuff's neck, and her eyes narrowed as she clenched her teeth.

"Hey, now, it wasn't no more than I deserved. I was very reckless last night, both with keeping you out past curfew and not being more diligent in the hallway. At least he isn't going to give us detention."

Taylor snorted and the Head Boy looked at her curiously. "When Lupin went to school here he was one of a group of boys called the Marauders. They made the Weasley twins look like choir boys! I can't imagine him having the nerve to give me a detention for that after some of the stunts I know they pulled!"

"You seem to know him fairly well. Most people don't trust werewolves." Taylor narrowed her eyes at the Head Boy, who held up his hands as if in surrender. "I just mean that I find it a bit odd that he takes such an interest in you. It's obvious that he cares for you and that the feeling is returned. You have a strange assortment of friends, Porter."

"It's not so strange really, I happen to remind Lupin of someone he cared about long ago. I don't care if he is a werewolf. He is a good man. It's more important what a person does, not who or what they are!" Taylor said with feeling.

"I'm sorry. I seem to put my foot in my mouth a lot when you are around me." Greg said with a sigh.

"That's a big foot too!" Taylor smiled "I'd better get going. Here comes Harry, Ron and Hermione. I'll see you at supper. And Hufflepuff?" At his curious look she continued, "Try not to choke on those feet of yours!" Taylor laughed as she started away from the Hufflepuff and heard his answering laugh from behind her.

The rest of the week progressed similarly. Taylor sat at the Hufflepuff table for each meal, and by Wednesday many of the Hufflepuffs seemed to start to relax and carry on with her. In the evenings when Taylor wasn't at her research sessions with Shacklebolt, she split her time between her own common room and the Hufflepuff study; doing her homework with the Head Boy.

Friday morning she had just sat down with the Head Boy and was getting some toast when the post owls arrived. Taylor didn't pay them any attention any more. Mrs. Briggs hadn't written to her for a couple of weeks but she didn't expect anything and there was no one else who wrote to her. She was talking to Perks, who after a couple of awkward meals seemed to get over it and began talking. Right now Perks was asking Taylor about the last charm they had learned.

"Ah Taylor, I think you have an owl." Greg said as he looked at the large brown owl that was sitting on the table.

Taylor looked a little surprised but took the letter the owl had for her and after she gave it some of her toast, the owl took off. Curious, Taylor turned the letter over. There was no name on it, not even hers.

"Who's it from?" The Head Boy asked as he leaned over curiously.

"No idea." Taylor said as she slid her wand out to unseal the letter. Too many lessons with Moody and Shacklebolt made her cautious.

The instant the tip of her wand touched the envelope, the hairs on the back of Taylor's neck stood on end. Heart suddenly pounding. Taylor thought for a moment before looking over to where her brother was sitting but she couldn't catch his eye.

"Excuse me." Taylor muttered as a strained smile pulled at her lips. Not sure what the letter meant, but positive that it contained Dark Magic, Taylor knew she needed to get it out of the Great Hall.

Without waiting Taylor stood and as slowly as she could, she walked out of the Great Hall and away from prying eyes. Once outside she broke into a run across the Entrance Hall and behind a tapestry and up the stairs. Coming out on the second floor Taylor raced toward an empty classroom. As she was almost to the door she heard footsteps behind her. Wheeling, wand at the ready she saw the Head Boy hurrying towards her.

'Taylor, what is it? What is wrong?"

"If you want to help, go get Harry now!" She saw the sudden fear that leapt into his blue eyes. "Tell no one else!" Taylor waited only long enough to see the Hufflepuff race back down the corridor before she slipped into the classroom. Checking to make sure that it was empty Taylor paced back and forth looking at the white envelope sitting on the desk. She had to fight the urge to open it before the others arrived.

She heard the footsteps before the door opened and in walked her brother, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the Hufflepuff.

"What is going on? Who is the letter from?" Harry demanded the second the door was sealed.

"I don't know. But it's been sealed with Dark Magic." Hermione gasped, and Ginny's eyes grew round. The three wizards all frowned.

"How can you be sure?" Greg asked quietly.

Taylor glanced at him but her eyes settled on her brother. "I just know."

"Well you need to destroy it, or turn it in, now!" Hermione cried as she looked at Taylor fearfully.

Taylor began to pace for a moment before stopping and running her wand over it again, the same hair raising thing happened as her wand vibrated ever so slightly. Cocking her head she ran her wand over it again. "It's got some kind of… anti tampering spell."

"Taylor, maybe Hermione is right. This could be from anyone." Harry cautioned as he watched her anxiously.

The answer slowly surfaced in Taylor's mind. Like all Dark Magic it just seemed come from nowhere. "I don't think so…" Closing her eyes, Taylor felt the calm settle over her as her pendant burnt against her neck. The words old and long forgotten fell from her lips, as she opened her eyes and waved her wand over the letter.

"Bloody Hell Taylor!" Ron yelled as a sharp sound like a gunshot resounded in the room.

"Taylor, so help me!" Harry growled.

Taylor looked down at the envelope, a smile on her face. "Well at least now we can open it."

"Oh be careful please!" Hermione whispered.

Picking up the letter Taylor looked at it closely before carefully opening it. Inside, in nondescript printing, were only a few lines.

I have what you have been searching for.

Come on the night of the next half moon.

To the place where I first learned your secret.

There was no name indicating from whom it came, only what appeared to be, at first glance, a crest.

As Taylor looked closer at the crest, her eyes grew round and her heartbeat pounded in her ears. The crest was an intricately drawn snake wrapped around a man's torso. The head of the snake was entering the man's mouth.

"Taylor? Hey what's wrong?" Harry asked, as his sister's face turned white. He put his hand on her arm and felt her trembling. He looked down at the open letter in her hand, but he couldn't read it. The crest made him shiver. There was no disputing that it was dark. "Hey, Taylor, look at me."

Slowly Taylor looked up at her brother and fear anew washed through her.

"What does it say?" Ron asked. He had come to stand on the other side of Taylor to look at the letter but he couldn't read it either.

Taylor shook her head as if she was trying to clear it, as she took a deep breath. "What?"

"Taylor, are you alright?" Hermione asked worriedly at the obvious bewilderment of her friend.

"What?" Taylor asked again rubbing a hand over her face. "Oh yeah." Finally getting over her shock she looked at all the worried faces staring back at her. "Sorry, that just threw me for a loop."

"What do you mean? Was it the letter? A spell?" Asked the Head Boy worriedly as he watched his witch in concern. He knew she had just done some Dark Magic again though he had no idea just what.

"No, nothing like that." Taylor tried a smile, but didn't quite pull it off.

"Well what do you mean?" Ron demanded. "You bloody well know I hate it when you do that."

"Sorry Ron, the letter, the way it was sealed. Only someone who knows Dark Magic could have opened it. The spell guarding it would have destroyed the letter if someone had tried any other way of opening it. That's why I knew it was Dark Magic right away. It was part of the spell." Taylor looked up at her brother as worry clouded his eyes.

"So someone who knows Dark Magic, as well as knows that you know Dark Magic, sent you this letter," Harry said slowly.

Taylor nodded her head.

"What does it say?" Harry asked in a tight voice.

Taylor looked down at the writing again, and realized, just like she had with the Dark Magic books, it was written in the ancient language.

"It says, something about what you are searching for, and the full, no half moon. And a secret place…" Hermione said as she tried to decipher the words. "I tried to learn the language over Christmas." Hermione said matter of factly.

"Not bad," Taylor said with a true smile. "But it reads. I have what you have been searching for. Come on the night of the next half moon. To the place where I first learned your secret."

"So what does that mean?" Ron asked shaking his head.

"It means that someone is trying to lure you away!" The Hufflepuff said in a tight voice.

"Who is the letter from? You recognized the crest didn't you?" Harry asked astutely.

Taylor looked at her brother, but there was no way she could tell him who the letter was from.

"Taylor…" Harry growled.

Looking down at the floor Taylor tried to decide just what to say. "Yeah, I know."

"Who?" Harry demanded.

"I can't tell you." Taylor whispered.

"Damnit Taylor! You need to tell me right now who sent you this! Or I am taking it to McGonagall!" Harry yelled.

"Look Potter! Don't you think I would if I could?" Taylor snapped, hating that she couldn't confide in her brother about this.

"Who is sending you Dark Magic messages?" Harry yelled, as he stood in front of his sister staring down at her.

"I told you I can't tell you!" Taylor yelled back.

Harry glared at his sister for a long moment before, "You think you are going to meet this person!" he muttered, as he knew it was the truth before exploding. "Like hell you are!"

"Harry, be reasonable. I know who this person is! If they have what we have been searching for then it will be worth the risk!" Taylor said trying to sound calm.

"Not bloody likely!" Ron argued.

"Taylor, you can't be serious!" Hermione cried looking fearfully at her friend.

"That is just plain suicide!" Ginny put in.

"You're not going! And that's final! Has it even crossed your mind that it could be a trap? My god Taylor, think!" Harry exclaimed pointing at the letter.

Taylor turned away from her brother shaking her head. A hand caught her arm and turned her back around, scared green eyes bore into hers.

"Taylor, promise me that you won't do this. Promise me that you won't go looking for this person. Nothing that they have is worth your safety. Promise me!" Harry's voice was pleading.

Taylor looked down at the floor. She couldn't promise her brother that. "I can't Harry. If they have what we need…"

"You're willing to gamble your life on a if?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Are you willing to let more people die? Be tortured? While I make sure I stay safe? We need this if we are to defeat Voldemort! You don't have a chance until we do! We've reached a dead end here. Harry, I can do this! I know this person. I can trust them." Taylor said imploring her brother to understand.

"Can you trust them with your life? Is that how much you trust them Taylor?" Harry demanded coldly.

Taylor looked up into her brother's green eyes before saying quietly. "They already saved my life Harry. And Hermione's too."

Ron's expletive was long and colorful. Hermione gasped putting her hand over her mouth and sitting down heavily in a chair, Ginny joining her. The Hufflepuff's face turned pale as he stared at the witch, slowly shaking his head.

"A Death Eater? A Death Eater sent you this letter? Dear Merlin above, Taylor!" Harry whispered staring at his sister in disbelief.

"Harry, listen to me. This person would have gone to great peril just to get this to me. If Voldemort had have intercepted it then they'd be dead. If the Ministry had have intercepted it then they wouldn't be no better off." Taylor said quietly.

"Dear Merlin! If you were found with that letter… You'd be expelled! Or at least sent to the Ministry for questioning!" The Head Boy exclaimed fearfully.

"Look Hufflepuff, if you are scared of getting in trouble then maybe you should leave!" Ron snapped glaring at the Head Boy.

"I'm not worried about me, Weasley! It's Taylor who will be in the most trouble! If it's discovered that she received a letter from a Death Eater…" Greg shot back, as he returned the hostile glare.

"Stow it both of you!" Harry ordered. "I think we all realize what kind of trouble this letter could cause. I think the best course of action is to destroy it like Hermione suggested."

Taylor didn't say anything for a moment as she stared down at the letter, a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I'll do it." She said quietly as she picked up the letter again. Turning her back to the others she looked closely at it and then a smile spread across her face.

It was so simple, so muggle. A perfect way to hide a message from the magical world.

With a wave of her wand, water came out the end, soaking the letter as the words appeared. Ignoring the startled cries behind her, Taylor closed her eyes and quickly reached for the Dark Magic spell to incinerate the letter. The fire she conjured was white hot and burnt the soaked paper to a fine dust in seconds.

Carefully arranging her face to reveal nothing, Taylor turned back to face her brother and the others.

"What was that all about?" Harry demanded suspiciously.

"I had to check and make sure there were no more dark spells guarding it. You wouldn't have wanted it to explode would you?" Taylor asked.

Harry glared at his sister, she had just done something and he knew it.

The sound of footsteps approaching made them all turn. The bell for classes was about to ring. The Hufflepuff quickly glanced out the door and then wheeled.

"McGonagall!" he whispered in warning as he glanced at his witch. She had that caught in the headlights sort of look. Thinking fast he grabbed a candy out of his pocket and tossed it to her.

Harry caught the candy deftly.

"Puking pansy!" The Head Boy whispered pointing at Taylor.

Taylor grabbed the candy from her brother's hand and stuffed it in her mouth as the footsteps stopped outside of the classroom. She had never ever tried any of the Weasley twin's get-out-of-class remedies, but she had to hand it to them, as her stomach heaved. They knew their stuff!


A/N So the infamous Weasley twins are still having an impact on Hogwarts! LOL! So any thoughts on who the letter to Taylor is from? I know it isn't that big of a mystery... I'm sure most if not alll of you know who it is! So it looks like Taylor destroyed the letter... anyone think that she will listen to her brother? :) Well let me know what you think! ;)

Thank you to all you wonderful readers! Cause without you... well what is the sense of writting something if no one reads it! (Course I'm not totally sold on that as I have written somethings that I likely will NEVER post for people to read but this story isn't one of them! ;)) Thank you to those who have left a review or added this story to their Alerts or Favorites! And last but not least thank you to barbc, my wonderful beta! Until next time, cytpotter.