One Shots pt 6

by phoenixgirl26

Another selection of one shots.

2. Chapter 2

Harry's girl:

Harry Potter was sitting alone in the park in little whinging. He had left number 4 Privet drive an hour ago, just to get away from the Dursley's for a while. He had been secretly studying wandless magic so he could make sure the Dursley's couldn't continue to mistreat him, or use him as a slave. Towards the end of his last term at Hogwarts he had been able to cast a few spells without a wand. He needed to be able to do this so the ministry did not find out he was using magic outside of Hogwarts. This would also keep the Dursley's from ever hurting him again or locking him up. It also made sure that he always got enough to eat.

Harry always planned to leave as soon as he was old enough, where he wouldn't have people suspicious about a young boy being along. He figured another year and he could finally leave. For now, he could use a few spells to keep the Dursley's in line. He had used the petrificus totalus on Dudley, which scared Petunia. Vernon at first threatened to beat Harry, until Harry told them if anything happened to him, Dudley will always remain that way. Vernon and Petunia had no idea that was a lie. Harry was good at convincing them he was telling the truth. But he had done more, he had also work on stinging hexes and summoning charms. He kept hitting Vernon with the hexes but also summoned things so they would fly straight at Vernon's head. He gave them an ultimatum, leave him alone, let him eat and he would leave them alone.

'You look like you have a lot on your mind.'

Harry turned to the sound of the girls voice. He saw a beautiful blond girl standing a few feet from him.

'Just thinking. I've never seen you around here before.'

'I'm just needed to get out for a while. Well, to be honest Harry, I saw a picture of you once and you intrigued me. I'm a witch by the way and I'm transferring to Hogwarts this year, we'll be in the same year. I figured since I was close to where you live I would ask if you could tell me about the school and the staff.'

'Sure, but why didn't you start when you were eleven?'

'My mother were a little overprotective. When my father died, not long after I was born, my mother didn't want me away for so long so she hired tutors. She died two years ago, but she left information on how I could continue my education at home for another couple of years. If I wanted to enrol at Hogwarts after that I could. Two of my tutors are like family, so I just stayed living with them. We spoke a lot over the last few months and figured now was the time to go to Hogwarts. It will give me a year before doing my owls.'

'So you'll be in the same year as me then?'

'Yes, fourth year. So tell me about Hogwarts?'

'I'm sure you know a lot, like it's a castle and how old it is. What specifically do you want to know?'

'Well, the houses, other students, the teachers and the classes. I know about the four houses and how you get sorted. I think I'll either be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, maybe Hufflepuff, I also think there is a slim chance I could be in Slytherin. I seem to have traits that would suit all four houses.'

'Well, I was sort of the same. I'm not really one of studying a lot, so Ravenclaw wasn't really an option. But the hat considered all four, then it was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I met this piece of shit of a kid who said he'd be in Slytherin so I basically begged the hat not to put me in Slytherin. The hat was really pushing Slytherin, at first. It's strange though, most of the Slytherin's believe only pure-bloods should be allowed to learn magic, yet many of them aren't as powerful as some of the half-bloods and muggleborns.'

'I've heard that. Oh, I'm Heather by the way. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself,' Heather smiled then sat on the grass, 'I'm a half-blood and I would say I'm pretty powerful for my age, or so my tutors have told me. I've heard a few things about you and I would say you are powerful as well. I don't think the pure-bloods realise what they are doing.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, they only marry other pure-bloods, the trouble with that is there isn't a lot of pure-bloods left and all are related. Now some are distantly related so it wouldn't matter, but some are too closely related so they shouldn't be in a relationship. One of my tutors believe that by marrying and having kids with people they are too closely related to, is weakening their magic. It's why all squibs are born to pure-bloods. I'm a half-blood, my father was a half-blood and his father was a muggle, where his mother was a pure-bloods who didn't have a lot of magic. My father was powerful though. Everyone knows your story and from the little I've been able to find out, your mother was very powerful yet she was a muggleborn. I think muggleborns are related to those old squibs and over time their magic return because they stopped having kids with people related to them. Magic returns to that person and since their families are believed to be muggles, they are known as muggleborns.'

'I think you make a lot of sense. My friend, Hermione, she's a muggleborn and usually the first to get the spell in class. She does read a lot and reads ahead so she knows what spell is usually going to be taught which does give her an advantage over others who don't bother to read ahead. The only class she ever gets beaten in is defence against the dark arts. Last year we had a teacher who didn't follow exactly how the book was laid out. He would go from the middle, to the back, then the front so no one ever knew what they would be learning until that class. It frustrated Hermione, especially when she was beaten. She's not used to that. But she is powerful, I would say above most of the other kids in our year.'

'Most?'

Harry shrugged, 'I usually beat her in defence and my spells are stronger and I can hold them longer than she can. I just take longer to work the spell if I haven't read ahead. See, at first I was so used to holding back, then I realised Hermione was just trying to prove to everyone she belonged so I let her be first. After a while I realised I shouldn't hold back but also it's not good for her. If she believes she is always the best then gets beaten, she finds herself becoming frustrated where she keeps stuffing up. She finally realised she could not always be the best at everything. It's like my friend Neville, he's not that good at wand based subjects, but he is brilliant when it comes to herbology. Also, I think Neville could do more, but he has very little self esteem due to always being put down, or told he is not like his father, who was a powerful auror. Everyone is different and we all have different things we're good at. My other friend, Ron, he's…well, sorry to say, lazy and just doesn't bother studying, so he's last in Gryffindor. The thing is, Ron is brilliant at chess and I watched him, he's really good at strategy and working out problems if he can take the time. If he studied he might do better in class, but and I hate saying this, he's not as powerful as me, Hermione, Neville and some of the others. Ron's a pure-bloods. His family is different though. There are seven kids, all are pretty powerful, except Ron, but I think it's just he's lazy. I spent time with his family a couple of summers ago, they don't deliberately set out to marry other pure-bloods, even if Mr and Mrs Weasley are both pure-bloods. They also aren't related, or at least, not closely.'

'I may never be able to prove it, but you've just basically told me I'm right. I have a pure-bloods friend, who is about average and his parents were closely related. Even if I was able to prove my theory, those old pure-bloods will never believe it. The thing is, not all of them are as pure as they believe. If you can get hold of some of their family history you will find either a muggle, or something like a veela in their family's history. Maybe even the odd goblin. It doesn't really matter, I only began to research for myself after my tutor explained, not to actually show anyone. Dumbledore is a half-blood, or so I heard and he's powerful.'

'Its true, I might not like him but he is powerful. One of the worst teachers at Hogwarts is also a half-blood yet I know he's powerful. He just acts like a death eater. He was a death eater and supposedly changed sides, I don't believe it. He treats people like me and Hermione like those pure-bloods death eaters treat us and he always supports kids who's parent's were death eaters and got off because they paid to get off. I don't know much about the other teachers, except Flitwick, who is half goblin and he is powerful. He was also a duelling champion. Going on what you said and what I know or I've seen, you're right. There are a few in my year that are hopeless, yet they come from old pure-bloods families. You only have to look at a few of them to see how inbreeding works. I know my father was from an old pure-bloods family, so I am distantly related to many, I just don't know how close we may be. I suppose I could do a bit of research during the holidays.'

'From what one of my tutors have told me, there is a book at Hogwarts that show all the pure-bloods families. It also shows how some are related, not all but some. If your father's family is not in there then you would need to go to the ministry to find out. Hey, how about we go get some lunch. You can keep telling me about Hogwarts and what I can expect.'

'Um, sure, if you want. Where?' Harry wasn't going to take her to the Dursley's.

'We'll go to that café near the Little Whinging bank. I've been there before and they have great food.'

'You're on,' Harry grinned. Normally he was not so easy going with people he just met, but for some reason he just felt comfortable with Heather.

Over the following weeks Harry and Heather spent all their time together. They ended up close, so close they became a couple. Neither Harry or Heather expected that. Both had been hoping to become friends. They moved past friends to become boyfriend and girlfriend.

Harry was in the park waiting for Heather when Ron's owl, pig, flew down to him with a letter.

'That is a small owl. Is it one of Hogwarts?' Heather asked as she walked up to Harry.

'No, it belongs to Ron,' Harry greeted his girlfriend with a kiss then caught Pigwidgeon. He opened the letter, 'Ron's invited me to the quidditch world cup, he said I'd be able to stay until we return to Hogwarts,' Harry looked at his girlfriend, 'I'm turning him down, I don't want to be away from you for that long.'

Heather smiled then kissed Harry, 'I'm glad, I would hate to be separated from you for two weeks. How do you feel missing out on the world cup?'

'It's fine, really. I might play quidditch, but it's the freedom of flying that I like more than the game. I tried to explain to Ron, he just couldn't understand that not everyone gets right into quidditch like he does. I need to reply to Ron.'

'Here,' Heather took a pen out of her bag, then held it out to Harry.

'A pen, I know I prefer them but most like quills.'

'I hate quills, my tutors let me use pens. They showed me a spell that allows me to write my assignments with a pen but makes it look like a quill.'

'You have to teach me that. I hate quills and my writing looks like chicken scratches. I used to be neat when I used a pen.'

'I'll show you in the next day or so. We'll go to my place where it's warded so the ministry never picks up on my magic.'

'Perfect.'

Harry replied to Ron, he explained that he had a girlfriend and they didn't want to be apart for that long. He wrote that she was starting Hogwarts but they had only been together for a few weeks. He tied it back to pig, then watched the small owl until it was out of sight.

'Let's go get lunch,' Heather held Harry's hand as they walked off.

Harry and Heather had laughed a few times when Dudley and his friends had tried to cause trouble. Between them, Harry and Heather could do many spells using wandless magic, which caused the boys to get the runs, or they would piss themselves which would make them run away. Dudley knew Harry had caused it, but he couldn't do anything to Harry anymore, not now he could get away with using magic. Harry had given them one threat, leave him alone or he would make them suffer. After he began dating Heather, she had shown him a few more simple spells he could do without his wand. Harry caused the three Dursley's to end up with migraines. From that moment on, they left him alone, at least Vernon and Petunia did. Dudley tried to cause him trouble a few times. He finally stopped after shitting himself while he was out with his friends.

Ron grinned as he watched pig fly in through the window. It took him a few tries but he finally caught the small owl. As he began reading, his face fell.

'Is something wrong Ron?' Arthur asked.

'Harry, he said he won't be coming because he has a girlfriend.'

Hermione squeaked as she snatched the letter from her brother's hand, 'She's coming to Hogwarts and will be in our year.'

Hermione wasn't the only one surprised by Harry's letter. Ginny looked upset, just like her mother.

'Yeah, but he doesn't want to leave her for that long. How can he not want to go see the quidditch world cup?'

'He must care about this girl Ron, more than he cares for quidditch,' Arthur said, 'Not everyone is like you when it comes to quidditch.'

'He's too young. I might go speak with that boy.'

'Molly, no, it is nothing to do with you. You are not his mother. Stay out of it or it will end up with Harry wanting nothing to do with us.'

'But Arthur, he's only fourteen.'

'He is a teenage boy and they will date at that age. If he's aunt allows him to date then there is nothing anyone can do. Also, it has nothing to do with any of us, we are not his family,' Arthur turned back to his youngest son, 'Does he say anything else?'

'Just that her name is Heather and she's been tutored. Her father died when she was young so her mother didn't want her away from home. Her mother died two years ago and her tutors felt it was time for her to join the other students at Hogwarts,' Hermione said still staring at the letter.

'But to miss the quidditch world cup,' Ron said still sounding confused.

'Harry's told you Ron, he likes flying, but he doesn't care if he plays quidditch or not.'

'Barking,' Ron huffed then stormed up the stairs.

'I wonder what she's like?' Hermione asked.

'You'll find out when you return to Hogwarts,' Arthur said giving the girl a smile before he noticed how upset his daughter was. He always knew Ginny had a crush on the-boy-who-lived. He realised Ginny probably thought she had a chance with Harry since the boy was her brother's best friend. Now she finds out Harry potter has a girlfriend. A girl he cared enough about to turn down a visit to the Burrow and a chance to go see the quidditch world cup. He would work on a time to speak with Ginny. She had a temper like her mother, he didn't want his daughter doing anything that get her into trouble. Harry was the-boy-who-lived. If she upset him in any way, it would not go down well with most of the wizarding world. Harry might not realise it, but he had a lot of influence.

The day the quidditch world cup was held, Heather was sitting with Harry in the park, eating lunch and enjoying the sunshine.

'We'll need to go shop for our Hogwarts things. I thought about going tomorrow. We can take the night bus if you want?' Harry asked.

'I've heard terrible things about that. How about we use the floo at my place. We can floo into the Leaky Cauldron.'

'I didn't know you could floo into the Leaky Cauldron, only Diagon alley.'

'You can floo into the Leaky Cauldron and Flourish and Blotts but only once they have opened for the day. You can floo into Diagon alley, along with the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. So how about you meet me at my place tomorrow at nine. Hey, why not go today? I doubt there would be many there, not with the world cup?'

'That's a good idea. Well, I have my key so I don't need to return to the Dursley's.'

'Let's go then,' Heather vanished the rubbish while Harry folded the blanket and put it into his expanded jacket pocket. Heather had taught him how to cast the expansion charm along with the feather light charm, so now he no longer over packed his bag or carrying anything heavy. He had charmed a new bag to hold everything he owned so he no longer had to drag his trunk around.

As Heather predicted, Diagon alley was practically deserted. Both went straight to Gringotts to get money from their vaults. Then began their shopping. Heather was able to point out to Harry some books that could help, while she picked up the books she and Harry needed for fourth year. Harry made sure to get Hedwig some treats after they finished shopping before they sat and had an icecream.

'Harry, there's something I want to show you, a memory from before either of us were born. It might help explain some things to you and you will see why I can't stand the Malfoy's. But it might shock you and I hope you won't think I've lied to you or tried to manipulate you. What I told you that day we met was true. I heard a lot about you and figured since we lived in the same area, it would be nice to have a friend and one that can give me the insights to students and staff at Hogwarts.'

'I'm not sure what you mean. I've told you I like honesty and I hate it when people betray me. If you haven't done either of those things then I'm sure it's fine.'

'It is, it's just that I haven't told you everything, especially about my father. Every time I thought about what was done to him I want to cry, then I want to curse the Malfoy's. I can't tell you as you wouldn't understand, not until you saw the memory.'

'Okay, so how can I see this memory?'

'My mother owned a pensieve, it's mine now. I use it a lot, especially to go over some lessons. So how about we head to my place. Garland will be there and he knows I want to show you this memory.'

'Alright, let's go then.'

Harry could tell Heather was nervous. He had no idea why, but he knew he would find out.

Heather was praying that Harry would take in what he was about to see, but also listen to her and Garland about the memory and truth behind it all.

Harry stumbled as he step out of the floo, Garland, Heather's tutor had steadied him. Heather came through a few seconds later.

'Harry's come to watch the memory.'

'I expected as much. I'll have some butterbeers ready for you when you finish.'

Heather took Harry's hand and led her through the house until they came room that had been turned into the library.

'This is a nice room. Plenty of light so you can read. I hate the Hogwarts library as it's really dark.'

'I've heard about that. That's why I explained about the small lights you can conjure and place them in a jar.'

'Like the bluebell flame my friend Hermione uses for warmth.'

'Exactly, these are just for light though,' Heather unlocked the cupboard and took out a vial filled with a memory, 'This began when my father was around our age. It's about Abraxus Malfoy and my father and how he caused my father's downfall. My father was a good man, powerful, ambitious, but a good man. He believed we should integrate muggleborns early, but also spell their families so they could never speak about our world. He wanted to protect us from muggles finding out about us. Abraxus Malfoy wanted all muggleborns killed, along with their family's in case they have another magical child. He had the money, but he really didn't have what was needed to get people to follow in what he believed in. My father was good looking, he had what people called charisma and he had a family history that was respected by many. Abraxus Malfoy destroyed all that, which lead to my father's death. Lucius knows all about that but he doesn't know this. My mother along with Garland took care of Abraxus. They made it look like a heart attack.'

'I know what the Malfoy's are like. Lucius was responsible for slipping a diary to Ginny Weasley, she ended up possessed by Voldemort's memory and opened the chamber of secrets. It's just luck that no one died, they were only petrified. Draco is as bad as his father and because his father is friends with Fudge, he gets away with a lot. Snape also lets him get away with anything since he's friends with Malfoy's old man. I've never told anyone this, but I believe that some people don't deserve to live, evil people, like Malfoy.'

'He was evil Harry, just like the rest of them,' Heather poured the memory into the pensieve before she turned to face her boyfriend, 'I will understand if you don't want to see me after you watch this, but I believe you have the right to know. I just ask that you watch everything and listen carefully. You can pause the memory and take it back, in minutes, in case you miss something,' Heather walked over to Harry and took his hand, 'I hope we will still be together once you've seen this.'

'You haven't lied to me Heather, so I doubt this could cause me to want to break up with you.'

'No, I haven't lied or betrayed you, I just kept some things a secret. I won't be going in to watch, I've seen it enough times. I'll be here when you finish.'

'Alright,' Harry gave his girlfriend a kiss before he stepped over to the pensieve. He gave her another smile before he entered the pensieve.

Heather sat down and felt the tears form in her eyes. She had fallen in love with Harry and now she hoped he didn't break her heart. But what she said was true, if he didn't want to see her anymore, she would understand.

It took a while but Harry finally left the memory. He had to pause and go back a few times before he finally saw it all and knew why Heather had been nervous. He saw her sitting on the sofa, tears falling down her face as she stared up at him. He never hesitated, he went straight over and pulled her to her feet, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

'I understand and I'm not angry or upset. Without that memory, yeah, I probably would have been if you tried to explain. I like to trust but I've had enough bad shit happen to me that I need proof now and you showed me proof. It's okay and I know it wasn't him that did it, it was Malfoy.'

Heather ended up breaking down into Harry's arms. She had tried to speak a few times. She gave up and just sobbed into Harry's chest.

Harry sat back down, he pulled Heather onto his lap, 'Shhh, it's okay.'

Heather took a couple of breaths to get herself to calm down, 'I've been so scared you wouldn't want me any more.'

'Never going to happen babe,' Harry gave Heather a small kiss as he smiled, 'That family needs to die, all of them.'

'I have more to tell you though Harry. The memory was so you would understand, and know that it wasn't my father who did all those terrible things. I mean, yes it was him, but he never wanted to do any of it. He fought it so hard, but it didn't make any difference.'

'I know Heather, I saw it. None of it was him. I saw his spirit during my first year and I could tell it was still affecting him.'

'It was, until he finally found his way home. Garland helped him restore his soul. It took him almost a full year before he was back to normal. Even though one piece is lost forever, because of Lucius Malfoy, it hasn't affected him that much having that piece missing.'

'I always wondered where he went.'

'Aren't you angry? He tried to kill you Harry.'

'I was, but now I've seen the truth, it wasn't him. He was as much of a victim as my parent's. I've read up on how bad it was during the war and how many were being controlled. Some of those people killed themselves because they couldn't live with what they had been forced to do. The trouble is, I doubt many will forget or forgive. Tell me though, were those death eaters that killed and tortured following him or Malfoy?'

'It was all Malfoy. When my mother and Garland took care of Abraxus, Lucius took over, but he's not as powerful as his father. He also doesn't know anything about the potion Abraxus slipped my father or the curse he used. If he knew he would do exactly like his father did, but he'd be worse since he has Fudge in his pocket. Garland made sure any information on that potion and spell was destroyed. Harry, my father doesn't like killing, but he feels that the Malfoy's need to go before they find someone else to control that is as powerful as my father. They might not have the potion or know the spell but it doesn't mean they can invent their own.'

'I agree with your father Heather. The Malfoy's need to die. As I said, it was his fault that students ended up petrified and almost killed, not to mention, me. If it wasn't for a house elf I might not have worked out who was behind it.'

'What do you mean?'

'After I returned from the chamber of secrets I was in Dumbledore's office. The old coot wanted me to tell him what happened before I even saw Madam Pomfrey. Anyway, Malfoy turned up with Dobby, the house elf. The elf had been given me warnings all year. Even though they can't go against their owners, Dobby gestured with his head towards Malfoy. I put it all together. When I left, I took the diary that I stabbed and raced after Malfoy. I said he forgot something and shoved the diary into his hand. He instantly handed it to Dobby. I had put one of my dirty and blood stained socks on the diary. Dobby ended up free. It was my way of thanking Dobby for what he did. Well, old Lucy tried to kill me, Dobby saved me, sent him flying about thirty feet. Dobby is now working at Hogwarts, but if I need him he always comes if I call.'

'I know there are some who treat house elves terribly and I know Abraxus was one who got rid of the law about treating them properly. Now a lot of them get abused. Not all, most love their owners, or like the ones at Hogwarts, they love working there and think they have the best jobs in the world. People like the Malfoy's, Lestrange's, Carrow's and many others abuse them horribly.'

'Yeah, I know and I wish I could do something to help them. After finding out Dobby was at Hogwarts, I snuck down to the kitchens to speak to him and others. They were so nice, friendly and looked well. I could tell they were taken care of. Anyway, we're still together and I suppose your father is here somewhere.'

'He is and he knows all about you and not from your history. He's had Garland find out as much as he can. He wanted to make sure you were okay. For your parent's and for what happened during your first year.'

'I get it Heather, it wasn't him. So he's going to work on Malfoy?'

'The three of them, before they do too much damage. He wants to find a way to deal with those in Azkaban in case old Lucy decides to rescue them. If those people are free, we'll all die.'

'If your father is as smart as I've heard Heather, I'm sure he will find a way.'

'I plan too, it just might take a while. I apologise for interrupting, but I needed to see if my daughter was okay after revealing everything to you.'

Harry stared at the man he thought he hated. Now he saw the man who looked nothing like he had expected.

'I know the truth now, so everything's fine. I said to Heather that I believe evil people like the Malfoy's need to die before too many innocent people die.'

'I am working on it. I am so very sorry Harry, for your parent's and the life you've had since that night.'

'There's no need sir, you were not in your right mind. But I will say, if you need help dealing with him and his family, let me know.'

'I will and call me Tom. I don't use my real last name, people like Dumbledore would remember it. I use my wife's last name, so Heather and I use Howard.'

Harry walked over to the man and held out his hand, 'It's nice to meet the real Tom Howard.'

Tom smiled as he shook Harry's hand. Heather raced over and hugged both of them making them laugh.

'We can talk later. It's been stressful for Heather, so go enjoy yourselves for a while. But I insist you stay for dinner Harry.'

'I would like that sir…um, Tom,' Harry gave him a smile before Heather dragged him out of the room.

'That went well Tom,' Garland said.

'Yes, better than I had hoped. I didn't want Heather to have her heart broken. But that young man saw the truth and he's had a run in with Lucius. We need to finish our plans. Old Lucius is trying to bring his old crowd together. I fear what he might do.'

Harry found himself lying on a sun bed with Heather half lying on top of him. He was also being thoroughly kissed.

When Heather stopped kissing Harry she sat up, 'At any point, did you think I lied or anything?'

'No, but to be honest, I did think you might have been manipulating me. That lasted about a minute. I've explained why I don't trust easily, but I do like to know the whole story before I decide what to do.'

'It's why I said I would understand and wanted you to see the whole memory. With your parents and the life you've had since that night, there could be many who would not have forgiven like you did, even when faced with the truth. Dad plans to deal with the rest of the Malfoy's, he has too or he will always be waiting for something to happen. He's always been worried that Lucius will find out exactly what his father did. He can't take the chance. Garland might have destroyed the written information on it but for all we know Abraxus might have copied it and hidden it somewhere else. My father has never wanted to kill, but after everything he went through and everything he saw, he knows sometimes there is no choice. Once the three Malfoy's are gone, he will be able to search Malfoy manor for copies of the curse and any information on the potion. He wants them destroyed, if there is copies.'

'Tell your father that old Lucy has a hidden secret room under the drawing room. It's where he kept the diary and other dark objects. Dobby said it's filled with dark objects and things like journals.'

'They they might be able to destroy all of it. I'll let him know soon. He's worried about me going to Hogwarts. It's not the son, he will be dealt with in the next day or so. He said I look like him when he was young, but I have blond hair instead of black.'

'They say everyone has a double Heather. If the old man or anyone else tries to say you're related to Riddle, show them you're not just make sure you sound like your telling the truth. I can say I've met your father and I've seen pictures of your mother, who you look like. We make sure you have a complete story. I saw your dad as a boy in a memory. I don't see him at all when I look at you. When did Abraxus start cursing your father?'

'During his fourth year. He found out that dad was related to Salazar Slytherin and powerful. He knew he had found the perfect person to do his bidding. Dad didn't even realise until he was forced to make his first horcrux, by then it was too late. His mind wasn't his anymore. He had no control.'

'Even though he lost one, he seems fine, normal.'

'Yeah, he is, we were lucky. Garland had been working these last thirty years trying to track down the items. It was luck that he found them and also luck that he didn't die when he found two. Abraxus had used a deadly curse on one and a deadly potion on the other. I never was really involved in the talks, I was too young, but dad has been filling me in over the last couple of years. He still likes to keep some things from me, because I'm young, which I get.'

'I get why, plus he is trying to protect you. Let your father and Garland take care of those people, we'll just get to be normal teenagers.'

'I can live with that.' Heather was once again lying half across Harry as she kissed him.

After Harry left, Heather explained to her father about the secret room in Malfoy manor. Tom and Garland knew they were going to get into that house and destroy everything they could.

Later that night Garland and Tom received some disturbing news. Death eaters caused chaos at the quidditch world cup and someone cast the dark mark into the sky. They knew it was time to find out more, but also to deal with those few that are coming together, ready to begin the bloodshed that hadn't been seen since Harry became the-boy-who-lived. They also knew it was Lucius Malfoy who was now bringing the old death eaters back together.

Harry left the Dursley's early and went to meet his girlfriend, ready to head back to Hogwarts. He ended up speaking with Garland and Tom about what they found out and what they did. Even though both Heather and Harry knew deaths would occur, they knew the ones that Tom and Garland had taken care of had to die. Both of them had read the Daily Prophet about what had happened at the quidditch world cup. Many people were badly injured, a few died and a muggle family had been tortured. None of them wanted to live in a world where things like that happened and would constantly happened. It would mean they were always on edge, always watching to see who would be attacked next, always waiting to see who would die next. After speaking about the ones that had been taken care of and how they plan to deal with the rest of the death eaters, Heather and Harry took the floo to platform nine and three quarters.

Harry and Heather found a compartment and settled in, 'The Weasley's usually arrive just before the train leaves, so Hermione won't arrive until then, since she's staying there.'

'Then we still have a bit of alone time,' Heather smile before she began to kiss her boyfriend.

Hermione, Ron and Ginny were shocked when they arrived at the compartment Harry was in. He was lying on one of the seats with a blond girl lying on top of him and they were kissing, passionately. Ginny ended up turning and hurrying away. She did not want to see Harry with another girl.

Hermione coughed a few times before they pair stopped kissing, 'Sorry, didn't hear you arrive,' Harry said as he and Heather sat up, 'This is Heather, my girlfriend. Heather, this is Hermione and Ron, my friends.'

'It's nice to meet both of you. Harry's told me lot's about you,' Heather said smiling at them.

'It's nice to meet you as well. I was surprised when I read Harry's letter.'

'Yeah, not wanting to go to the quidditch world cup just for a girl, barking.'

'Ron,' Hermione scolded, 'I meant that Harry's always been cautious when he meets new people, then within weeks of the holidays starting, he has a girlfriend.'

'We had been talking and became friends over the first few weeks of the holidays. It just progressed from there,' Heather said.

'So, you'll be in our year. What house do you believe you will go into?' Hermione asked.

'Either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. But really, I have no idea. I got a letter from Professor McGonagall, I'll be sorted as soon as I get to Hogwarts, before I enter the great hall. She said I have to go straight into the first room off the entry way.'

'It's the room where she speaks to the first years while the rest of us get settled in the great hall.'

Harry moved up a little, just so Heather would know he was fine with her talking to Hermione and it gave him time to catch up with Ron. He knew Ron was already upset he didn't go to the world cup just for a girl, but Harry knew Ron was still very immature. After meeting his mother, Harry understood why. Molly Weasley liked to smother her kids and didn't want them growing up. Harry knew that now he had a girlfriend, who he would be spending most of his free time with, it would cause problems with Ron. But his friend would just have to learn to live with it, until he grew up. Harry was not going to give Heather up for anyone.

Harry had kissed Heather again before they left the train. He was nervous that his girlfriend would not end up in Gryffindor. He figured he would still get to spend time with her but he was worried she just might end up in Slytherin. He only let go of her hand when she was directed into the small room of the entrance way by McGonagall. He followed his friends into the great hall. While he waited he looked around at everyone. The first thing he noticed was Snape wasn't at the staff table, yet there was a man that looked terrible sitting there. He had a lot of scars, hardly any nose and he had a fake eye. He wasn't worried about Snape as he knew sometimes the greasy git sometimes waited to scare some of the kids when they took their time getting to the great hall. But he did wonder who the creepy looking bloke was.

The other thing Harry noticed was there seemed to be a lot less Slytherin's, from his year and older. Malfoy wasn't there, neither were Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Bulstrode, Nott and Zabini, along with some of the older ones that he didn't know. Harry wondered if that meant Garland and Tom had taken care of all of them, or something else happened. It could be because their father or mother died and that was the reasons the kids weren't sent to Hogwarts. He knew if Tom and Garland had taken care of them then they were the death eaters that caused trouble at the quidditch world cup.

Harry didn't realise how much time had passed while he was watching everyone until he felt his hand being taken. He turned to see Heather beside him and her robe had the Gryffindor patch. He ended up snogging her right there at the table. He didn't even care about the rude remarks some were making.

'I was worried you'd end up in another house.'

'It said Gryffindor straight away. So, what happens now?'

'The first years will be sorted, Dumbledore will say something crazy, then we eat.' Harry lent closer to Heather, 'Will your father tell you what happened?' He whispered.

'Without actually writing it, but yes, he said he will let me know. What have you noticed?'

'Most of them aren't here and still Snape hasn't showed up.'

'Snape is, or was Draco's godfather and he is close to Lucius. He might have been at the house when it happened.'

'I won't miss the bastard. Dumbledore looks worried though and he has glanced at me a few times. He's now staring at us, I think you more than me. He would have known a new student was starting, he just wouldn't have expected to see us together.'

'What students do during the holidays has nothing to do with him.'

'That has never stopped him from interfering with my life. Let's forget about him and them.'

They fell silent as the new first years were brought in. The hat began it's song, but most noticed instantly how the hat sung more about enjoying life and how their world has changed, for the better.

Harry and Heather gave each other a small kiss, but they also couldn't help smiling. From the sorting hats song, they knew Tom and Garland had taken care of the people that were dangerous to their world. They both hoped they could also deal with the most deadly of the death eaters that were in Azkaban, in case there was someone else out there that might want to reunite the death eaters.

Heather knew that her father could begin working towards getting better people into the ministry and getting rid of Fudge. Once the corrupt people were gone, they might finally get laws introduced that would suit all witches and wizards and not just pure bloods.

'Harry, have you seen Professor Snape?' Hermione asked.

'I try not to, but no, I haven't seen him. Maybe he finally left.'

'Let's hope,' Ron muttered as he shovelled food into his mouth.

'I think Heather's our good luck charm,' Harry smirked at his girlfriend who laughed.

'Maybe I am,' Heather gave Harry another small kiss then began to eat.

Harry dished up some dinner and while he was eating, he couldn't help staring around at everyone in the great hall. Most seemed relaxed and happy, there were only a few that didn't seem happy. Dumbledore looked worried, a few of the Slytherin's also looked worried. Harry on the other hand thought about what he said, Heather was good luck. Ever since he met her, he felt his life was finally looking up, at least his personal life. Now his life at Hogwarts was also looking up. He might finally get to spend time being a normal student and not have to worry about the danger they might arise.

Heather could see the contented look on Harry's face, because he knew that most of the evil dark people were gone, which meant he would not have to worry that someone would come after him. The last few years of his life he had faced danger and all because of what Abraxus Malfoy had done to Tom Riddle. Now Tom was back in his right mind and had his lost soul pieces join with him, he could help make their world better. But he could also prevent anyone from ever forcing lord Voldemort to return.

Even though Harry knew the truth about Voldemort and had accepted it, Heather couldn't help marvelling at the fact that Harry had trusted her father. Heather knew Harry had a big heart and if someone could prove to him that they aren't out to kill him or use him, he can be very loyal. She already knew he was loyal to her and now that people like the Malfoy's were gone, she could see Harry would be loyal to her father.

When the students were dismissed, Harry and Heather held hands as they walked behind the other Gryffindor's.

'He never turned up for the entire feast, so he's either doing something that made him late, or he left,' Harry said making sure his friends heard. He and Heather knew the truth even if they hadn't been told, yet.

'He was never late before, so maybe he did leave. I wonder why though. Also, why were so many Slytherin's missing?' Hermione asked.

'I'm sure if we need to be told we would have been. Maybe they got the flu or something and spread it around to their friends,' Harry shrugged which made Heather smile.

Harry and Heather sat on the sofa while the prefects showed the first year their dorm rooms. Harry had his arm around Heather and she had her hand on Harry's leg. They talked quietly as they sat together, but Harry was waiting until everyone went to sleep. He wanted to check the map to see if Snape was there, or anyone that shouldn't be.

After Hermione and Ron said they were going to bed, others began to as well. The twins asked if Harry planned to stay in the common room all night with his girlfriend. He explained he wanted a bit of alone time with his girl so they can snog in private.

One they were finally alone, Harry opened the map, then Heather helped him search every part of it to see if Snape or others were there.

'Nothing, none of them are here,' Harry said.

'So...' Heather shrugged making Harry nod, 'Who is Crouch?'

'No idea,' Harry saw where Heather was pointing, 'That's the private rooms behind the defence classroom, so it should say Moody.'

'I need to let them know. I'll use the parchment when I go up to bed.'

'Alright. We should get some sleep though.'

Harry and Heather kissed for a while before they went up to their rooms. Harry got changed then climbed into bed. He then cast a silencing charm around his bed. Heather had taught him when Harry happened to mention how hard it was to sleep with Ron and Neville snoring so loudly and Seamus talking in hi sleep. Those boys had the same trouble when Harry had nightmares. He planned to tell them about the charm if they wanted their curtains charmed. Now behind his curtains, it was silent, so Harry knew he would be able to get a good nights sleep.

'Where were you?' Hermione instantly asked as Harry and Heather sat down at the Gryffindor table.

'Snogging my girl,' Harry said as he began to dish up some breakfast. Heather chuckled. Harry had told her how nosy Hermione was and how she always wanted to know what Harry was doing and where he was. It was really none of her business so she suggested to Harry that he tells Hermione things like they were snogging or off in some broom cupboard. It seemed to have worked as the girl went back to her breakfast.

One thing Heather noticed though was Hermione kept watching Harry but she tried to make it look like she wasn't. It made Heather curious as to why the girl was so interested in her boyfriend. Harry had told her they were just friends, but maybe Hermione felt more for Harry than she let on.

At the end of breakfast McGonagall handed out their class schedules, 'We have charms first. That's with Flitwick, right?'

'Yep, his classes are usually fun.'

During charms, most of the students were surprised when Flitwick explained that even though they will be learning everything in their fourth year charms book, he was not going to be doing it in order. He decided to change things so they might learn the charm from the back of the book first then one from the front. Right now, he was keeping it random. He also explained that he would also teach spells in other books but they would not get homework on those since they did not have the books.

Harry and Heather ended up the first two students who got the spell before anyone else, including Hermione. She ended up upset and kept throwing angry glares at Harry and Heather.

'That's what I meant about defence that time,' Harry whispered, 'Since she would have concentrated on the first spell in the book, she hadn't read up or practiced the wand movements for any of the others.'

'It's actually a good way for the teachers to see how we are going. To see which can do it when we don't know what spell they planned to teach us. Garland was like that. I never knew what he planned to teach me until we started. She also won't have time to do more than a couple before next class.'

Harry and Heather didn't know it, but that's exactly why Flitwick changed things around. All the teachers wanted to find out exactly how the students performed and not just how good some were who had read ahead. It had been Flitwick's idea. He said because some students read the first couple of chapters in their books then practiced the wand movements before class, it made them seem more powerful than the others. He didn't think it was a fair test on people's power and ability, or their intelligence. Now all the students were on equal footing and they were finding out that the ones who used to do better, were not the best.

At the end of charms, Hermione ended up storming out of the classroom. Some, like Ron looked confused.

'What's wrong with Hermione?'

'I think it's because she wasn't first this time. She often got upset during defence because she wasn't first,' Harry shrugged, 'Let's get to potions.'

'What if Snape is not there?' Ron asked.

'Let's hope he isn't,' Dean said as he following them out of the room.

'I suppose we'll find out,' Harry said.

They were surprised to find the headmaster in the potions classroom, 'Until I can find another potions master I will be filling in for the time being.'

'What happened to Snape?' Ron blurted out.

'So far, I have not been able to find out what happened to Professor Snape, or some of our missing students. Now let's begin. Open your books to page 174.'

By the end of potions many were shocked. Harry ended up making the perfect potion, but Neville also made a potion that gave him an a, but close to an e. Normally Neville ruined his potion because Snape always stood over Neville, to intimidate him. Without Snape, all the students in Gryffindor were able to make their potions. Some still made sludge, like Ron, who just didn't like potions, but at least no cauldron's blew up. None of the Slytherin's that were there caused any trouble, so there was no extra ingredients being thrown into someone else's cauldron. Not many would cause trouble in front of Albus Dumbledore.

That night in Gryffindor tower, Heather noticed her parchment had writing on it. She had been sitting near Harry, doing her homework, but she always kept her communications parchment near her. It was charmed so only she could see it and read it. Her father did the charms on it for her than showed her, who showed Harry. They had their own charmed parchment so if they were in bed, they could still send each other messages.

Heather lent closer to Harry, 'He's here, he needs to see the map.'

Harry nodded then he and Heather packed up their things, 'What are you doing, Harry?' Hermione asked.

'Heather and I want some time alone,' Harry said then quickly pulled his girlfriend out of the common room. Once they were alone, he slipped the invisibility cloak over them, 'Okay, Filch is near the dungeons, the prefects are on the south side.'

Harry and Heather quickly, but quietly left the castle and made it to the quidditch pitch. They saw the mark on the grass which told them Tom and Garland was there, just hidden like they were.

'Lay it on the ground but stay standing still. It will stop it being seen from a distant since you two are blocking it,' Tom said.

The four of them studied the map and found the name crouch, 'We had a look right before we came out here, it's Mad-eye, yet the map clearly shows the name Crouch. I had Tibby check at the ministry, Crouch was still in his office.'

'So, what's going on dad?' Heather asked.

'We're not positive but we believe this Crouch might be the son, who died in Azkaban. After we got your letter we did some checking. Crouch Sr and his wife visited the son not long before he died and not long before the wife died. We found out the wife had been ill for a while. We believe she swapped places with her son, she died in his place and now the son is free.'

'Barty Crouch junior was one of the worst death eaters and he was close to Lucius. Crouch was one of the ones responsible for torturing the Longbottom's until their minds snapped,' Garland said.

'Can we borrow the map, Harry, so we can take care of him?'

'Sure, but how will you find out if he's the son and not some other relative posing as Mad-eye?'

'Easy enough. He has to be using polyjuice potion, which means he won't be able to drink it when he's asleep. We just need to sneak into his rooms and wait. We'll let you know first thing in the morning since you'll probably be asleep. I'll send the map back by owl tomorrow as well. You both best get back before one of the teachers finds out your not in the tower.'

Heather hugged her father, Tom and Garland shook Harry's hand before they headed back to Gryffindor tower. Tom and Garland was studying the map, ready to sneak into the castle. They had to make sure Dumbledore did not find them. Even though Tom looked different, they could not take the chance of being caught before they could finish dealing with all Malfoy's followers.

Harry and Heather decided to have some time in a broom cupboard. Not just because they wanted to snog in private. It would also help if anyone asked what they were doing. They ended up with red lips and messed up hair and clothes. All anyone had to do was look at them to know exactly what they had been doing.

When they returned to Gryffindor tower, most of the ones in the common room said something crude or smirked. Hermione huffed, while Ginny looked upset before she headed up to her dorm room.

When Heather woke the following morning the first thing she looked at was her enchanted parchment. Her father had written.

Harry was sitting in the common room, waiting for his girlfriend.

'Let's go to breakfast, Harry,' Ron said.

'I'm waiting for Heather.'

'Fine,' Ron huffed then left the tower. Harry just shook his head. He knew Ron would get upset, or angry because Harry would spend most of his time with Heather. It's only been a day and Ron was already upset.

Ginny and Hermione came down next. Both asked Harry to go to breakfast and neither liked it when he said he was waiting for his girlfriend.

Just as Hermione went to say something Heather walked over and sat on Harry's lap, giving him a very passionate kiss.

Even though Harry loved kissing his girl, he knew why Heather gave the kiss more than just a normal morning kiss. She had already seen the way Hermione acts, Hermione also doesn't like it when Harry and Heather kiss, especially a heated kiss.

'Dad took care of it and it's who he told us about. We can talk more during break.'

'Okay, let's have breakfast.'

By the time Harry and Heather got to the great hall, only half the staff were there. They ignored it and just dished up some breakfast.

'You didn't ask where Professor Dumbledore or the others are,' Hermione said staring at Harry.

Harry and Heather instantly turned to the staff table, 'Huh, I never noticed,' Harry shrugged then went back to his breakfast.

'I just figured it was normal for some of the staff to be absent during meals,' Heather said then she went back to her breakfast.

When the owls arrived, an owl landed in front of Harry, 'I don't recognise that owl, so who is it from?' Hermione asked.

Harry huffed, 'Hermione, this is my business so it's up to me if I tell you or anyone what I get. I decided you don't get to know because you're always being nosy,' Harry put the letter in his pocket, then took Heather's hand before the couple left the great hall before Hermione could respond.

Neville had been watching Hermione and Harry. He saw how often Hermione wanted to know what Harry was doing or anything about his life. Harry was right, his business was his and he had the right to decide who could know anything.

Classes that day surprised many. Harry and Heather ended up the first to get spells before anyone else. Normally people like Hermione was first, especially in transfiguration. Now everyone was seeing that she wasn't as powerful as they believed, she just practiced the wand movements for the spells that was going to be taught before class. When she didn't know what was being taught, she struggled. Again, she stormed out of the room after the bell went. McGonagall had given Harry and Heather ten points each, but when she did, she gave them one of her rare smiles.

'I believe the teachers are finally seeing who is good and who might need extra help,' Harry said.

'Yeah, before it would have been difficult for them to work it out. It's like Neville and herbology. Even though he does read those books, mainly because he does enjoy them, Neville has a natural gift with herbology. Even though you've improved in all your classes, defence is still your best subject.'

'It is but I've come to enjoy charms more. If I was to specialise in any subject, it would be charms first, then transfiguration. Defence against the dark arts is good to learn, but really, you only need to use them if you were fighting people like death eaters. If someone wanted to be an auror that would be the subject they would need. Now though, since Voldemort disappeared, they haven't caused any trouble, until the quidditch world cup. But since then, nothing. I wonder if the aurors were able to take care of them?' Harry asked in his normal voice.

Harry and Heather always made sure to speak as if they didn't know the truth about Voldemort, but only when others were around. They would always talk in private where they knew others wouldn't be able to overhear them.

Over the next week Hermione ended up not talking to Harry, or Heather. Ron kept asking what was wrong and it was Neville that answered. He knew she was upset that she was no longer thought to be the best. Harry and Heather were the best in the year and some of the teachers knew those two students were better than some of the fifth, sixth and seventh year.

It was another week before Dumbledore announced that the triwizard tournament was cancelled. Since they don't know what happened to Snape or the missing students, then they find an unconscious Alastor Moody in the hospital and they had no idea how he got there or how he ended up unconscious. No one felt it was safe for other students to come to England, or Hogwarts.

Harry and Heather couldn't help smiling at the news. They knew now everything was going to be okay and their world was safer than it had been in a long time.

'I spoke with Charlie,' Ron said as he plopped down on the chair opposite Harry and Heather.

'I thought your brother lived in Romania,' Harry said.

'He does. He came over for the quidditch world cup, Bill did as well. But Charlie said that now the tournament was cancelled he can explain why he was really here. It seems the first task was going to be dragons and he was here with a bunch of blokes he works with to take care of them. They were hidden down in the forbidden forest.'

'Then I'm glad it's cancelled. I remember you telling me about some of your brother's injuries. He's trained to deal with them, students aren't.'

'Fred and George actually went white. They were going to try to sneak their names in.'

'Even though those two are clever, I'm not sure they could have lasted against a dragon. So, Charlie took them back to Romania?'

'Yeah, left not long ago. But, um, well, I spoke to him, about you…and Heather. He sort of helped out. Sorry I've been a prat lately.'

'I knew you'd just need time Ron. You're a good friend but we're all getting older. Sooner or later you'll have some girl to snog.'

Harry and Heather laughed as Ron went bright red. He mumbled something before he hurried away which just made them laugh louder. Heather noticed that Hermione gave them a glare before she noticed Heather had been watching her so she went back to her book. Harry and Heather knew Hermione was angry that she wasn't first in class anymore, so she's been reading all her subject books and practicing the wand movements. Now Harry knew he didn't have to worry about the Dursley's if he did good in school, he wasn't holding back. If Hermione couldn't get over the fact that she would not always be the first in class, he wasn't sure their friendship would last. Hermione had begun to hang around Ginny a lot and both had taken to glaring at Heather. Heather would give them both a smirk since she knew that both Ginny and Hermione had a thing for Harry.

Heather got a message later that her father and Garland had also taken care of the ones in Azkaban. Now apart from Peter Pettigrew, they didn't believe there were any death eaters left. They had no idea where Peter was, but since Tom was in his right mind, Peter would not have joined him. Harry believed he was too scared to hang around so he found a way out of the country. He still had hope he could find Peter so Sirius could get his name cleared. Harry wasn't sure if that would ever happen. Heather had explained to her father about Sirius. Tom and Garland were hoping they could get rid of Fudge, if that happens, the new minister might listen to Harry's story and maybe even watch his memory of when they confronted peter Pettigrew in the shrieking shack.

Heather was staring at Harry as he gazed around the great hall. She could see contentment and knew why. Harry had danger at Hogwarts but he also had to put up with people like Snape and many of the Slytherin's who went out of their way to make Harry's life at the castle unbearable. Now the death eaters and their children were gone, life at Hogwarts was a lot better.

Heather could not understand why someone like Albus Dumbledore had allowed the students in Slytherin and Snape to act like they did without getting punished. It was like the headmaster didn't care about the students the Slytherin's bullied. Heather also wondered why Dumbledore preached about them all being equal yet he supported the pure-bloods over muggleborns and half-bloods. Even though life inside and outside the castle was now better and safer, Heather felt Hogwarts would be even better if Albus Dumbledore wasn't there anymore. She wasn't sure that would ever happen. Most believed the headmaster will stay until he dies. She wasn't worried, her father and Garland had worked hard to get rid of all the death eaters so their world was safe now.

'It's good, isn't it Harry?'

Harry turned to face his girlfriend, 'It is. There hasn't been anymore trouble. Even the teachers had begun to get harder on the bullies. I heard about this girl in Ravenclaw who was always being bullied and her belongings stolen or destroyed. One of the ghosts told Flitwick and he came down hard on every student in Ravenclaw and basically said they would be spending most of the year in detention and have their privileges removed, like going to Hogsmeade.'

'It should not have happened, not when every house has prefects. At least they are being punished now. The prefects probably lost their badges as well, which goes on their permanent record. They should think about things like this since it will affect their job prospects in the future.'

'It's like with Ron. It took him speaking with his older brother before he realised that the way he was acting towards us could mean we wouldn't be friends anymore. Some people just don't think that their actions have some type of consequence. I know we're young, but we're old enough to know right from wrong.'

'We are,' Heather kissed Harry before she went back to her food.

The rest of the school year was quiet, as far as Harry was concerned. There had not been one bit of danger nor any trouble from other students. There was only one difference and that was Hermione. She stopped having anything to do with Harry and spent all her time with Ginny. Both girls always glared at Heather who usually smirked at them. Most of the time she ignored them.

The day before the students were due to leave Hogwarts for the holidays, Heather's father sent a letter to Harry. He was invited to stay with them for the entire holidays and if Harry did want to, then Tom and Garland would speak with the Dursley's. Harry couldn't stop grinning and had Heather write his reply straight away. Garland would meet them at the station when they got off the Hogwarts express.

Harry held Heather's hand as they walked over to Garland. Harry had noticed that Hermione was watching them but so was Mrs Weasley. When the woman went to walk over to Harry, Garland had them hold the portkey, they disappeared before anyone could say anything.

Molly and Hermione had the same thought, they were going to send an owl to Dumbledore so he could find out where Harry went and who the man was that had picked him up. All they knew was, the man was not Vernon Dursley.

Tom and Garland had worked it for Petunia Dursley to turn custody of Harry over to Garland. Harry would officially be living with them but he was basically responsible for himself.

It took until nearly the end of the holidays before Albus found out that there was nothing he could do about Harry or his new guardian. He decided to try to find a way to clear Sirius's name, then he would have legal custody of Harry, since he was named by James and Lily Potter. Albus didn't know it, but Sirius and Harry had been writing and Sirius was just pleased that Harry was finally living with good people.

Molly had written to Harry and tried to basically order Harry to come to the Burrow and live there. Harry ignored her letter, he just threw it in the bin.

Right before the students were due to return to Hogwarts, Sirius was finally free. He wrote to Harry who wrote back. Sirius did ask if Harry wanted to live with him, Harry asked if they would have a home that would be private without others dropping in. He really didn't want to put up with others, especially Remus.

Sirius had been a bit shocked by what Harry wrote but he responded and said Remus would be living with him and Albus planned to use the house for order of the phoenix meetings. Harry wrote back that they could see each other but he would remain with his new guardians. He did not want to put up with Remus or Dumbledore. Sirius wrote again and asked why. Harry explained that as far as he was concerned, Remus deserted him after his parents died, he didn't even write or send a birthday card. He hated Dumbledore for many reasons. First was he put Harry with Petunia and he had a rotten life. The next was Snape and how the headmaster allowed his teacher to abuse students. The next was danger and how bullies got away with anything, especially the pure-bloods. Sirius realised Harry had a lot of anger towards those two man and he really couldn't blame him. He was just pleased that Harry wasn't angry with him.

When Hermione found out that she wasn't picked as Gryffindor's prefect, she ended up furious. She had no idea who it was but she had a feeling it was Heather which made her growl. At first, she wrote to McGonagall to ask why. She did get a reply from her head of house who said apart from Heather having the best marks in their year, Heather was approachable. When Minerva had spoken with the other Gryffindor prefects and some of the students, all said Hermione was bossy and always looked down at everyone. Minerva knew it sounded harsh, but she had to make Hermione understand that her attitude was making other students avoid her. Once Hermione read the response from McGonagall, she decides not to return to Hogwarts. She spoke with her parents who explained that they had been making plans to move overseas. They were only waiting until Hermione finished at Hogwarts. Since their daughter did not want to return to Hogwarts, they would move now.

Harry and Heather were not surprised when they got the prefect badges. Harry knew Hermione would be furious she didn't get the prefect for Gryffindor. Heather might have only been at Hogwarts for one year, but she was liked by almost all the other Gryffindor's apart from Ginny and Hermione.

Garland took Harry and Heather to platform nine and three quarters. They got there a bit earlier so the couple could find a compartment then make sure they were settled before they saw to the first years. None of them knew it but Molly Weasley had planned to force Harry to leave the home he was living and move to the Burrow. She wanted to also make Harry breakup with the hussy he was dating. The Weasley's didn't arrive until ten minutes before the train arrived and Harry was already with Heather in the prefect compartment. He had been receiving letters from Molly all summer, he never answered one and Tom had worked some wards to prevent owls from the Weasley's. It meant Harry couldn't get a letter from Ron so Harry used Tom's owl to send a letter to Ron so he would know and that they would see each other on the train.

After the prefect meeting, Harry and Heather did the first patrol of the train. They did stop in to Ron and Neville to explain they will be back they just had to walk up and down the train to make sure everything was alright.

'Find out where Hermione is. I haven't seen her and she's not in with Ginny.'

'I'll let you know,' Harry and Heather left while Ron and Neville went back to their game of chess. Neville was good, still not as good as Ron but he could last a lot longer than anyone else that played Ron.

It was an hour later that Harry and Heather returned, 'We never found Hermione. We asked Lavender and Parvati, they haven't seen her and your sister ignored me when I asked.'

'She's never been late before,' Ron said.

'Maybe she left,' Neville said then gestured towards Heather.

'Would she go as far as leaving just because I got the badge and she didn't?' Heather asked.

'Yes,' Harry, Ron and Neville said at the same time.

'It also because you and Harry were the top in the year and she wouldn't like that,' Ron said.

'We always knew she hated Harry beating her in defence but now the both of you beat her in all the classes you shared,' Neville said.

'She will learn one day that no one can be the best at everything. She's going to be disappointed, she's also going to end up alone until she changes her way,' Harry said.

Both Harry and Heather never meant to make Hermione feel bad but they were not going to stop doing their best. Both of them wanted the best scores possible, especially now that Snape was gone and the death eaters had been dealt with. It was their owl year and Harry wanted to prove there was more to him than quidditch and the-boy-who-lived.

The four of them spoke about their owls and what they might want to do when they finished Hogwarts. Neville instantly said he planned to have his own garden centre that would grow the best plants in the country. Harry believed Neville would do just that. Ron was hoping for a quidditch career. He was keeper for Gryffindor and if he could just get over his nerves, he just might get to play for the Chudley Cannons. Harry explained that he wanted to help so he decided to become a healer. He also said that in his later years, he wouldn't mind teaching, either charms or transfiguration. Ron and Neville were surprised at Harry's answer. They thought he might become an auror, like his father had been. But as Harry said, he might be good at defence but fighting dark wizards was not the life he wanted. He would rather help heal people than fight then. Heather said she always wanted to be a healer, it had been her dream since she was little. Ron and Neville realised just how alike Harry and Heather were, more suited than they thought.

By the end of the first day back at Hogwarts, everyone knew that Hermione had left. The official story was that her parents wanted to move overseas. Many inside Hogwarts believed that was only partially true, some believed it wasn't true at all. Those people believed Hermione couldn't handle the fact she wasn't known as the best anymore and she never became prefect, so she decided to leave.

The first and second years in Gryffindor all loved Heather. She always helped them find their way around the castle. She and Harry also helped them with their homework. At first it was mainly Heather because the younger kids still got a bit star-struck with Harry because he was the-boy-who-lived. After a while they found Harry to be nice and was easy to talk to.

By the time the tests came at the end of the school year, Cornelius Fudge had been replaced as minister for magic. The aurors had been given a lot of information on the illegal activity he and his staff had done over the last ten years. Fudge and his undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge were both sentenced to ten years in Azkaban. The rest of Fudge's staff lost their jobs as it was proven they did not know what Fudge and Umbridge had been doing.

On the train home, Ginny had tried to curse Heather but Ginny found out just why Heather was the top of every subject. Ginny ended up bound while Heather explained to the lady with the cart just what happened. When Heather explained to Harry what Ginny had done, they decided to use the invisibility cloak along with silencing charms to sneak away from the train. The lady of the cart would be taking Ginny to her mother but she would also explain that the headmaster and deputy head would be informed on what Ginny did. That would distract Molly Weasley so Harry and Heather could get to Garland.

The two teenagers settled in then joined Garland and Tom for dinner, 'Do you want to get the explanations out of the way tonight or wait until tomorrow?' Tom asked.

'Might as well tell us dad,' Heather said.

'It was Lucius Malfoy who worked it for Crouch to become Moody. The plan was to enter Harry in the tournament, help him win. During the last task, when Harry touched the triwizard cup declaring him the winner, he would be transported to a cell in Malfoy manor. Lucius did have the information on the curse and potion his father used and he was going to use the same on Harry. Turn the-boy-who-lived into his puppet. He planned to build up his reputation until he would become the youngest minister for magic, the slowly have Harry force through a lot of laws making it impossible for muggleborns to find work or even have children. Long term plans were to destroy all muggleborns and their families. He found out that muggleborns were descended from pure-blood squibs and he was determined that no one would find out. Since there was no sign of me, or Voldemort, he needed to find the perfect person to use. Who better than the-boy-who-lived.'

'Did Crouch really believe he could fool Dumbledore for that long?' Harry asked.

'He had Moody for weeks. Used veritaserum to get as much information as he could, especially on Dumbledore. The only thing he didn't know was how Dumbledore planned to stop underage students from entering. He would need to work on a way around that the moment he found out. Their back up plan was to just take you straight away. Moody would ask you to remain behind after one of your classes, then it would be simple to force a portkey into your hand. He had it worked out to show the unforgivables in class, have all of you try to beat the imperius curse. He would then use the excuse that you might be upset seeing the spell that killed your parents.'

'The twins found out from Charlie, the brother that works with dragons, that Dumbledore was going to use an age line. The twins are good at potions so they planned to age themselves up a bit. They were only a couple of months away from the cut of date.'

'An age line would work on most but it would be easy for an older student to add a younger students name. Nothing would stop that. Albus Dumbledore is too trusting, he also doesn't see just how sneaky and underhanded teenagers can be. I could easily see someone like Draco Malfoy asking an older Slytherin to add you name. His father would have told him some story to make sure he had a back up in case Dumbledore found out about Crouch,' Garland said.

'So if he added my name by multiple people, I would definitely end up selected. You're right about Dumbledore though. He doesn't see how people really are, only what he wants them to be.'

'Why did you look at the map that first night?' Tom asked.

'To see who was missing,' Heather said, 'We knew who you planned to deal with but we weren't sure if some of the ones missing might have just gone to their house rooms because something happened.'

'After seeing that Malfoy and the others weren't there, along with Snape, we saw the name Crouch in the private chambers that were for the defence teacher. Moody's name didn't show up at all.'

'His trunk was warded as he used that to keep prisoners in before he could get them to the ministry. A lot of this all came to what we've been doing for years but thanks to you and your map, we were able to finish it faster than we thought.'

'I said that first night at Hogwarts after I met Heather, she was my good luck charm. I truly believe that more than ever. From the moment I met her, everything just seemed to go right and I finally got a better life. I can see us having a very long and loving life together,' Harry smiled at Heather who had tears in her eyes.

Tom and Garland smiled. They could see the love the two teenagers had for each other. But both men also knew that their world would finally begin to move forward and a lot of it came down to luck, Harry Potter's luck. They might have been working on making their world better for many years, but just having Harry on their side, had everything worked out a lot sooner than they thought.

Tom and Garland decided to leave the teenagers alone. Both men just knew that sooner than later, they would hear that Heather and Harry would be planning their wedding in the not too distant future. They also knew that what Harry said was true. Heather and Harry would have a long and loving relationship. But Tom and Garland also knew that these two young people will also help their world, not just by becoming healers but eventually they would end up teaching.

Heather couldn't stop the tears falling down her face. She loved Harry so much and still found it hard to believe how well everything worked out. The day she approached Harry was just hope that they might become friends and he could tell her more about Hogwarts. She also wanted Harry to know the truth about who was really behind his parents deaths. Now they were together and like Harry, she knew they would be together, forever.

Harry stared into Heather's blue watery eyes. He never really believed he would love anyone, mainly because he wouldn't know who would have real feelings or if they wanted the-boy-who-lived. Heather was honest from the start and they did become friends. They just ended up loving each other, something neither of them planned. He couldn't help seeing what his future was going to be like. First they would marry, then they would both become healers, until one day, Heather would have the first of their children.

Harry could see it all right now, a great career, a beautiful wife and a few children running around. To Harry, what he was seeing in his mind was the best thing he would ever see and he knew it was all coming true.

The end: