She giggled at the expression on his face, but said, "So, you go to Hogwarts, don't you?" His chest was filled with warmth. There was someone his age he could talk to about the life outside Privet Drive.

"Yes, I do."

"Tell me Harry, is it really as wonderful as I've been told?"

"Yes, just the greatest place I've ever been to."

She smiled at this, but it was a sad smile.

"Why don't we go to my house? There we can talk in private."

"Sure," Harry said as he followed Milvia.

But as the two walked towards Magnolia Drive, Dudley appeared in his car. He looked at Harry as though he wanted him to disappear, but quickly turned to look at the girl.

"You don't want to be hanging around with him. He's very weird," Dudley's friends laughed as they sat in the car, while Dudley sluggishly exited the car.

"Hi, Dudley. Long time no see," Dudley blushed as Milvia patted his shoulder, or maybe he was still trying to catch his breath from the great effort it took to exit the car, Harry thought.

"You disappeared, Mil. I thought you were going to go to Smeltings."

She looked like she was thinking very hard, but began, "I was, but I decided to be home schooled, you know, to have more time to see the telly."

Dudley smirked and said, "Yeah, I was going to do that, but my parents insisted in sending me to Smelting," Dudley then looked back at his friends and said, "I'll catch up with you. Let me just have a word with Mil," His friends obeyed as they smiled at him and Pierce jumped into the driver seat and gave Dudley a thumbs up. The car sped quickly on the quiet street. How Dudley had teased Harry about the car, but Harry was quite fine with that. He had started flying brooms at the age of eleven and they were much faster than Dudley's flashy car.

Suddenly, sickened by Dudley's attempt to be a gentleman, Harry turned away as Dudley tried to grab, with his massive hand, Milvia's hand up to his chubby lips.

"I have always liked you, Mil. You are still very pretty."

"Oh, thank you Dudley," she said as she quickly pulled her hand away and wiped it on her shirt behind her back so that Dudley wouldn't notice.

Dudley suddenly took two giant steps in front of Milvia while he almost knocked Harry to the floor. "I was wondering," he smiled, "would you like to be my girlfriend?" Harry wanted to laugh, but he was still rubbing his arm.

"Oh Dudley, you are very kind," his smile now radiated, "but," then it began to fade, "I'm very sorry. I already have a boyfriend." She paused and looked at Harry. "And we're very happy." She added quickly.

Dudley looked intensely at Harry. "Well, if this boyfriend of yours does begin to get creepy, tell me and I'll knock his teeth out." Dudley kept his eyes on Harry.

"Yeah, I'll give you a call."

Dudley looked angry, but kept his composure. "Fine." But just before he was about to leave he said, "Wait a second, you don't have my number."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I know where you live, but I can always get the number from Harry. I'll see you Dudley." She waved kindly as Dudley continued to give Harry a nasty look, but Harry was busy snickering behind Milvia.

***

"What a creep!" Milvia said as she opened the door to her home. "I can't believe him acting all nice to me when in school he didn't even know I was alive. What a git."

Harry laughed, "I didn't remember you either."

"Well, I kinda didn't say much. I was in the far back. No one really noticed me there."

"Oh," Harry said as he followed Milvia into the livingroom.

"I try to avoid him. Every time I have to make an excuse. 'Oh no, Dudley, my father will kill me if I have a boyfriend,' or 'Oh sorry, Dudley, I'm moving to Bristol soon and you know it couldn't work.' I think next time I will tell him that I'm dying from some strange disease which the doctors haven't been able to identify."

Harry smiled at her as she pointed to a sofa near his left. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Er, it's ok, I feel fine."

But she hadn't heard and was now saying, "and pumpkin juice, and apple juice, and orange juice, and milk, and water, and tea, and butterbeer."

"You have butterbeer, here?"

"Yep, I ask Mrs. Figg to order things for me and then I pay her when she comes for her weekly inspections." She said as she grabbed two bottles from the fridge and handed one to Harry."

"Thanks. Why does she inspect you?"

"Because my father told her to. He doesn't want me to wonder off."

"Oh, er, do you have a bottle opener by any chance?"

"Oh, sorry. I guess I just forgot." She took Harry's bottle and tapped it with her finger as she said, "Unisaffeno." The bottle top gave a light whine as it compressed and flew a few inches into the air. "There you go."

Harry gave her a nod. For being a person without friends, she was remarkably amicable and articulata. Harry looked around the house. It was a standard Muggle residence. Quite clean and acceptable to the Dursleys, if they ever came over for tea. There was a small television, but seemed quite dusty as if it hadn't been used in years. There was also a small coffee table with a curious ornament. It was of a silver unicorn that was poking its muzzle up to a dark orb. Upon the hearth's mantle, Harry saw pictures. One was of a beautiful woman with black hair up to her shoulders. She actually resembled Milvia closely. The woman held two baby girls. The next one was of Milvia playing the violin, but she was around ten in that picture and the one next to that one was of the two baby girls seated next to a baby boy with wild black hair. The final frame held a picture of the black haired woman and of a redhead who were seated next to a Christmas tree with three babies from the earlier frame. Of course, these were Muggle images didn't move at all for if any Muggle who would see such pictures would find them extraordinarily curious and yet disturbing.

"So tell me, it is true that the staircases move constantly." She sat next to Harry with her eyes glistening as she waited for him to talk, but he had risen towards the mantle. "Oh," Milvia said. She stood next to Harry who looked at the pictures.

"Is that you?"

"Yes and that is you," she pointed at the baby boy, "and that's your mum."

Harry took the frame and carefully looked at the redhead.

"That was my mum and my sister. My twin sister, in fact."

Harry could not say a thing. He saw how happy his mother and Milvia's mother looked.

"But . . ." Harry could not continue. He felt that maybe he shouldn't be here. All this time, he thought, there has been a picture of my mother when I barely saw one when I was eleven.

"They were friends. She was your godmother." She paused, but went on, "I was told by my father. He said they were inseparable. She was at Hogwarts with your mum."

"Where's your mum, Milvia. I would like to ask her questions about my mum." Milvia looked down at the picture in her hands which she had taken from Harry. Harry could see that her hands shook violently as she put the frame back into place.

"She was killed. Both of them. He killed them." She paused and said, "They were killed by Voldemort.

Harry suddenly felt a flash of anger arise in him. So many lives lost because of Voldemort's ambition to be all powerful and rule. "And now he has returned and I fear that many more will die." Harry suddenly wanted to have him in front of him to finally end it all, but he remembered the prophesy; one must die by the hands of the other.

Harry wanted to leave immediately. He didn't want to explode at a person who he had barely met, but before his thoughts could form, Milvia clutched his fist. Her hand was soft, but very cold to the touch.

"I have always wanted to talk to someone about him and speak words formed in anger and pain. I have always wanted to look at him and scar him with all my power. I want to see him bleed upon the dead bodies of his followers as he realizes that he can't escape alive again."

Harry could see the small tears forming in her eyes, but she quickly turned away as she wiped them. Harry's anger was replaced by pity. "How did it happened, Milvia?" Harry asked as he slowly locked his fingers into hers.

As they sat, she began.