"... and now to the breaking news: according to our sources in Diagon Alley, the Boy Who Lived will be returning to our world this year. Joining the ranks of Hogwarts students, Harry Potter will finally be seen for the first time since his defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in October 1981. Both the Headmaster and Minister Fudge have been unavailable for comment."

Marina sighed and tossed the paper far away from her. The Daily Prophet was certainly milking Harry's impending return already. No one stopped to think what the truth would do to him. According to Aunt Dromeda, Harry had been raised by muggles thus far and had no idea he was a wizard. He didn't know his parents had been murdered. He most certainly didn't remember Marina – and how should he? Harry had been but a year old when it had happened. She herself had only been three – and she desperately wished she wouldn't be able to remember. Her kneazle-cat, Starlight, let out a meow and dragged the paper back over to her. Apparently, Dromeda's advice to read it all before they went to Diagon Alley still rang in her cat's ears as well. Marina lifted the cat and paper in one and deposited Starlight on her lap, resigned to the inevitable.

"The Wizarding World in general wonders how their formerly infant hero will adapt. Also, a constant subject of gossip is whether or not the Girl Who Saw-," Marina winced at her new moniker, "-will approach the boy.

For those who have been living under dragon hide the past ten years, let me summarise: Marina Callisto Black was born on 6th of July 1978 to Rose Herondale. Harry James Potter was born on 30th of July 1980 to James and Lily Potter. For reasons still unknown, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named decided to hunt the Potters; perhaps it was related to their continued stance against him. Due to the obvious threat, the Potters went into hiding with their infant. Herondale, having been a close friend, went with them as the Potters suspected the Dark Lord might target her to get to them.

On that fateful night, Halloween of 1981, the Potters' location was revealed to the Dark Lord and he descended upon their safe-house. Reportedly, James Potter valiantly attempted to fight him off to give his wife and their friend time to escape with their children. Alas, he was defeated by the Dark Wizard and fell. Lily Potter and Rose Herondale died, trying to defend their children. Then the Dark Lord tried to kill little Harry – but the Curse backfired and destroyed the caster himself. The Boy Who Lived effectively saved us all.

According to sources in St. Mungo's, Marina Black clearly remembers the events of that night and, on insistence of her guardian Andromeda Tonks (née Black), is still receiving regular treatment from mind healers. Now that she is about to face her childhood friend once again, the question is: how will she fare?"

Bugger. No wonder Dromeda had wanted her to read it in advance. Hogwarts was going to be a bloody circus this year.

"They're going to tear him to pieces," she muttered in disgust. If Dromeda was right and Harry had no idea who he was to their world... he was in for a rude awakening. What had the adults been thinking, leaving him with muggles? Lily's family or not, there was no way they could have been providing for him the way a young wizard would have needed it.

"By Merlin, I'm starting to sound like Dromeda."

"Perish the thought," a cheerful voice sounded from the doorway. Marina looked up and snorted a laugh.

The young woman in front of her was Dromeda's daughter and Marina's second cousin. She was five years older than herself and had therefore finished Hogwarts with the last school year. She'd subsequently joined the Auror Office for training. Which was why Marina was laughing. Nymphadora – she insisted on people calling her Tonks and who could blame her – was a metamorphmagus. Basically that meant she could change her appearance in any way she liked: hair colour, eye colour, skin tone, a completely different face; even another gender. Different to most witches and wizards, she didn't need spells for it, just focus. Her natural form shared her mother's brown hair and eyes – but Dora was just too quirky for that. She'd settled her features into a relatively permanent base form that resembled her paternal line more than her maternal one; Dromeda understood since the rest of the family was insane and evil. But Dora wasn't content looking normal; hence her bright blue eyes – and purple hair.

You just didn't look like that when you wanted to be an auror. And especially not if your instructor was the best auror the wizarding world had seen in a very long time.

"Are you trying to give Mad-Eye an aneurysm?" she giggled and tossed the paper again. Dora had been surprisingly accommodating when her parents had taken Marina in; that wasn't a given with a surly eight-year old. But the older girl had taken a liking to Marina.

"Alastor could use someone to ruffle his feathers," Dora shrugged.

"Yeah... people who do that usually end up dead," Marina said dryly. She wasn't kidding either. An auror's job was to hunt dark wizards. Mad-Eye Moody was the best for a reason. He was also somewhat of a constant in Marina's life.

After Marina's mother had been murdered by the evil bastard, she refused to call him You-Know-Who and whenever she said his name people blanched, there had been a bit of a custody problem. The Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, had decided for Harry and no one had argued since he was undoubtedly the greatest wizard of their time. Marina had been a bit of an issue: her mother had named one of her closest friends, who also happened to be one of the Potters' closest friends, as Marina's godfather. He would have been honoured to oblige too – but the werewolf laws prohibited a wolf from taking custody of a child that was not his own. It was complete and utter rubbish in her opinion. But law was law so Dumbledore had suggested that her only remaining family, that wasn't evil, take her in. And because cousin Andromeda and her husband Ted were all that was good and gracious in this world, they'd not only taken her in, but allowed her to spend every other week with her mother's choice of godparent. When Remus was in the country, that was; the law didn't make it easy for a wolf to find work either.

And because Mad-Eye felt responsible for the screw-up that had cost her her parents for some reason, he'd constantly stopped by as well. The old grouch was a paranoid, grumpy bastard; but he'd shown remarkable patience when he'd taught her some self-defence spells. That was the reason she got away with calling him Mad-Eye; she was pretty sure he'd jinx any other teenager who would dare try. And he was Dora's mentor.

"He'll get over it," Dora said cheerfully.

"Dora," Marina sighed and fixed her bubbly cousin with a stare. "I get away with it because I'm me and Mad-Eye feels responsible for Mum for some weird reason. But you're his trainee on top of things. Do yourself a favour and don't test Moody; he has his reputation for a reason."

"How did you ever become so sensible?" Dora grouched. "At thirteen?"

Marina didn't respond. Witnessing her mother's and Lily's deaths had a lot to with it. She might only have been three years old but she still remembered the fear in the women's voices and even in James'. She remembered the loud thud as Harry's father fell victim to their enemy, Lily's moan of grief even as she tried to save her son. She remembered the snarl of the cold, emotionless voice ordering the women to stand aside and let him kill Harry, Lily pleading for the toddler's life... She remembered the blinding flash of green light, which she know knew had been the Killing Curse, as it struck Lily. She could still hear Harry crying. And she remembered her mother's last words to her. Her last words on this earth.

Be strong for your father, Marina. Be strong for Harry.