Hey everyone! Thanks so much to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 1 Returning to the House of Black
Harry fell onto the hard ground of a kitchen. A fire was burning, and Mrs. Weasley stood to welcome the group back from their trip.
"Hello Harry, dear", she hugged him tightly smiling brightly, but then her smile faded slightly.
"How are you doing", she asked. Harry grimaced at the question. He wished that people would stop asking him.
"I'm fine." Mrs. Weasley stared into Harry's face, nodding.
"Well, why don't you go on upstairs? Ron and the others are in the drawing room."
"Ok."
"Fred, George, can I get you anything?" She said her voice fading as Harry walked quietly up to the drawing room. The thought of Sirius was ever on his mind. Guilt. Harry had felt nothing else all summer. Even when his mind was occupied with something else, the guilt always lingered in the back of his mind. Time after time Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, had all written to tell him it wasn't his fault. Harry shook off the thoughts as best he could and stepped into the room.
Ron and Hermione were sitting on the couch next to the fire; Ginny was playing chess on the floor by the fire with a girl that Harry didn't know. The girl had dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders in soft curls. She was wearing a short blue skirt with an ivory colored short-sleeved sweater. She sat with her legs tucked under her. She had a familiar air about her, yet Harry couldn't quite understand why. All four of them looked up as he entered. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all looked a bit somber or hesitant as if they didn't know what to say, but the girl who had been playing chess with Ginny looked up and smiled. She had vibrant emerald green eyes that, Harry would later find out, showed every emotion.
"Hello," she said cheerfully.
"Hi."
"Harry, this is Tara. She's been staying with us this summer. She moved here from America."
"Hi Tara, I'm Harry Potter." She spluttered as he introduced himself, and seemed to stiffen at his name.
"I'm going to bed, I'm –uh-tired. Good night everyone," she smiled at them, a little nervously when it came to Harry, and he wondered why. After she was gone, and he was sure that she was out of earshot, Harry turned to Ron.
"So, tell me about her", Harry said. Ron looked at Harry, a bit dazed.
"Who?"
"Tara."
"Oh, well. I don't really know much. She told us that an American family adopted her, and that her birth father asked her to come live with him here. That's all -- oh and she's on friendly terms with Snape." Ron wrinkled his nose at the idea of being friends with Snape.
"And", added Hermione, "She's leaving soon, when was it?"
"August 28", finished Ginny.
"That's right", said Mrs. Weasley coming in and told them all to go to bed.
*****
Harry tossed in his bed, completely unable to sleep. There were so many thoughts running through his mind. The house felt so empty without Sirius. The everlasting grief was of course, present, and in an attempt to push it away, he contemplated Tara. Why did she act so odd around him? What little conversation they had was forced, and she seemed wary of him. That didn't explain the odd sensation that there was just something about her, but Harry couldn't place it. He couldn't take it. He had the death of Sirius, and the new constant nagging of why Tara was so – odd, on his mind. Ron stirred. Harry stood and slipped out of the door.
Outside the hall was darkness. Harry sighed. He only wanted a bit of relief from the constant buzz of thoughts that were going around in his head. He made his way down to the drawing room, where a sliver of firelight shone through the cracked door. Inside was Tara. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her eyes were fixed on the fire. She didn't hear Harry come in.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Tara jumped, his voice breaking her train of thought.
"No, of course not. Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I guess I was a bit, should I say, cold?" Harry remained silent.
"I suppose I was just a bit nervous. It's been a long year", she continued.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, at the end of last year my birth father contacted me, and it just snowballed. I mean, oh, I don't really want to talk about it."
"That's fine. So, this is going to be you first year at Hogwarts?"
"Yep."
" Well, I hope that you're in Gryffindor. That's the house I'm in, Ron Ginny, and Hermione too."
"I doubt that." She said despairingly.
"Why?" Harry asked. "No one knows what house they'll be in."
"Well, let's just say my father is a true Slytherin."
"What do you mean?" She seemed uncomfortable by the question.
"I should go to bed, but Harry."
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Obviously you just did", she smiled. It sent flutters down Harry's spine. She moved closer, her green eyes wide. Harry however suddenly wasn't sure he would want to answer.
"If you met someone and you liked them and became friends and stuff, would you hold it against them who their family was? Like if their family was, I dunno", her voice got very small, and Harry had to strain to hear it, "evil?"
"What do you mean", he asked, perplexed by the question. He had expected something about Voldemort.
"I mean if you met someone, but their family wasn't all that respectable, but they were nothing like their family, would you be their friend?" Harry thought. He was friends with Hagrid, and his family wasn't all that respected, and his own family (the Dursley's) disgusted him.
"Well, it really doesn't matter about the family as long as the person is good. Your family doesn't define who you are. Why do you ask?"
"I should go to bed," she said, avoiding the answer. "Good night, Harry Potter." She said his name as if she were afraid and fascinated at the same time. Tara stood, as did Harry. He figured he should get to bed as well. She paused looking at the Black family tree.
"Harry, Sirius Black was your godfather wasn't he?" Something in Harry snapped. The guilt he felt returned in anger.
"Yes," he said rather coldly, as if she were about to accuse him for everything.
"I'm sorry, you must miss him a lot. Everyone told me about him -- he sounds like a great man. I wish that I could have met him." She turned to face Harry, a bittersweet smile on her face. Their faces were so close, that Harry could feel her warm breath on his cheek. She was a bit shorter than him, the top of her head just reaching his nose.
"Ah -- yes he was a good man." She reached up and brushed the untidy hair off Harry's forehead. She traced a finger along his scar, and ran it down his face. For some reason Harry, felt drawn to her. Tara's green eyes stared into Harry's. They seemed sad. She leaned in, and Harry thought, but no. She stood on her tiptoes and gently placed a soft kiss on his scar. A pleasant tingling sensation started from the kiss and spread slowly throughout his body spreading down to his toes.
Tara let out a sigh, breathing into his ear. Before she pulled away, Harry could have sworn she said, "Good Bye Harry Potter. May our paths never cross again", but weariness seemed to have overcome him, and he couldn't be sure. Tara slipped out of the room, and only then did Harry notice that she was dressed with a traveling cloaked wrapped around her. She headed in the opposite direction. Moments later Harry's head hit the pillow and he slept.
* * * * * * *
* * * * *
Harry was fighting. His wand was out, but there was little more he could do. A flash of green light and Hermione fell. Another, and Ron feel as well. Harry looked around him. Bodies of his fellow students were scattered all over the grounds -- teachers too.
"Crucio!" cried a shrill voice, and Harry collapsed in pain. Then the pain stopped. It always did. He's toying with me, Harry thought. "Harry Potter. All these long years and now, I will finally have my revenge. You will die, and finally you can be with your mudblood mother and dirty friends." Harry was exhausted; his whole body ached. He couldn't think, he couldn't move. He was going to die. A girl stepped out of the shadows, with loose brown curls that were whipping in the strong wind. Lord Voldemort stopped. The girl pulled Harry to his feet. She brushed his bloodstained hair away from his forehead, touching his scar. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his forehead -- kissed his scar. A familiar pleasant tingling took place. Lord Voldemort shouted at the girl -- a look of pure shock and anger was all over his face. He shouted, but the words were lost to the wind that was raging.
She whispered, "I'm so sorry". She turned and said something that Harry couldn't hear. Voldemort screamed back, raising his wand. Harry realized in that instant what was happening, fear consumed him.
"NOOOOOOO DON'T HURT HER!!!!!!!!"
