Chapter five - The storm at the Ministry

"Harry do you think we should write to Hermione and tell her about Lia?" Ron asked.

"Of course! She should know too!" Harry said excitedly. He and Ron went to Ron's room and started to write a letter to Hermione.

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Dear Hermione,

I am so happy to inform you that Professor Dumbledore has found my cousin. She is staying with Remus at this moment in Sirius's house. We got to meet each other today at The Burrow. She is so nice. I'm sure you'll like her when you meet her. She has also been attacked by Voldemort and has a scar. We are going to spend the weekend at the Burrow, but she is going to Hogwarts on Tuesday. I am hoping to spend the summer with her if she doesn't start her lessons at Hogwarts at once. I'll write to you as soon as I get some news about that.

P.S.: Ron sends his greetings. We would love to see you here too.

Yours,

Harry

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"Ron, I think we should use your owl. Hedwig is out somewhere, and she isn't back yet."

"Sure. Pig! Come over here!" Ron said and Pig flew to him happily. He attached the letter to Pig's leg. "Take this to Hermione and don't come back without her reply." Pig flew right out of the window and disappeared.

"Let's go back to the living room." Harry said.

Everyone was in the living room. Except for Mr. Weasley, who went to the Ministry, and Fred and George, who went to Diagon Alley to check on their joke shop.

"Where did you two go?" Asked Mrs. Weasley as soon as she saw Ron and Harry come in.

"We wrote a letter to Hermione telling her about Lia." Ron said.

"Who's Hermione?" Lia whispered to Remus.

"She's their friend. These three would do anything for each other." Remus replied.

They spent the day enjoying themselves at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley and Remus stayed at the living room and talked, while Ron, Harry and Ginny took Lia and showed her the house. Then they went outside to show her the backyard. They sat on the grass and talked.

"You have a nice house Ron." Lia said. "I used to live in a house like this. But since my mother died I was forced to leave."

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"They took me to an orphanage because my grandmother didn't want me to stay with her. She was afraid that the killer would come after me again and kill her too."

"How awful!" Ginny said.

"After the orphanage I lived at a house where I worked as a nanny, and then I moved to a small apartment."

"You lived alone?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"Why did You-Know-Who want to kill you anyway?" Ron asked.

"I don't know." Lia felt her scar burn again. "Why don't we change the subject? I don't feel comfortable talking about that."

"Sure, sorry." Ron said.

"It's okay. It's just that my scar starts to burn each time I think about that day."

"You have a scar? Can I see it?" Ginny asked.

"Okay." Lia said and showed them her scar.

"Blimey! Looks like You-Know-Who has a habit of leaving the same kind of scars on everyone he fails to kill."

"He hit you on your heart didn't he?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"I wonder why couldn't he kill you." Harry said. "I mean, no one can survive the deadly curse."

"Well, it seems that we both did." Lia said with a smile.

"Yeah." Harry blushed.

"By the way, where's Rex?" Lia asked and looked around. "I didn't see him since we came."

"Who's Rex?" Harry asked.

"My dog. I brought him with me. I was allowed to bring a dog as a pet."

"Wow! They won't allow us to keep a dog at Hogwarts. Only Hagrid has a dog. His name is Fang." Ron said.

"He has two dogs in fact. The other one has three heads and it's almost a giant. It's name is Fluffy." Harry added.

"Three heads and called Fluffy?" Lia was surprised again. "How can I dog have three heads?"

"Well, Hagrid is in love with dangerous magical creatures. And he thinks that they would make good pets just like cats and dogs." Harry replied.

"That's weird." Lia said.

"Wait till you see him. He's so nice and friendly." Harry said.

"You know, I saw a magical creature at Remus's place."

"You mean Buckbeak?" Harry said.

"Yeah. How do you know?" Lia asked.

"He used to be one of Hagrid's pets." Ron replied.

"We first saw him at our Care of Magical Creatures class. Hagrid teaches us that subject." Harry said.

At that moment Rex came running and jumped on Lia and started licking her face.

"Lia!" Harry called and pulled out his wand.

"Rex! Stop it!" Lia said ad tried to push the dog away. "It's okay Harry. This is my dog."

Harry put his wand back in his pocket.

Lia stroke behind Rex's ears. "Good boy. Where were you?" she asked. "Oh, by the way. This is Rex." She said and then turned to the dog, "Rex meet Harry, he's my cousin." She pointed to Harry. "And these are Ron and Ginny. They're Harry's friends." Rex stared at them for a moment and then started to sniff their feet. After finishing his check-up he barked, which made them jump and then he started to jump around them as to show them he was happy to meet them. Harry knelt and started to stroke Rex's back.

"You have a nice dog." He said.

"He was a present from an old woman." Lia said.

Ron and Ginny joined Harry and stroked Rex's back. Rex enjoyed being in the center of their attention. Ron's owl showed up and landed on Ron's head.

"That was pretty fast." Ginny said.

"Pig! Gerroff me!" he grabbed the owl and took out the letter. "It's Hermione's reply." He said and opened it.

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Dear Harry,

I was so pleased to know about your cousin. I hope that we'll meet at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, I can't meet you during summer because I am now in France with my parents again. I'll be spending the holidays here and I'll be back on the 25th of August. I hope to see you at Diagon Alley. If we don't meet there, we'll see each other on Hogwarts Express.

Greetings to Lia, Ron and Ginny. I hope you are having fun.

Best wishes,

Hermione

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"In France again, huh?" Ron said.

"It's always good to go to other countries." Ginny said.

"She seems to be a nice person." Lia said.

"She's our best friend." Harry said. "I'm sure she'll help you a lot in everything you need at Hogwarts."

"She's our Miss know-it-all. Just don't tell her I told you that." Ron said and they all laughed.

"Tell me about the school." Lia said.

"It's huge. You will get lost at the beginning." Ron said.

"But you'll find your way pretty fast." Ginny added.

"And we'll help you with that. We always end up breaking the rules by showing up at places we are not supposed to be at." Harry said.

"But it always had its purpose." Ron said.

"What about the teachers?" Lia asked. They started telling her about their teachers at Hogwarts. Lia was surprised to know that Remus also has taught them. But they didn't tell her that he was a werewolf. If she was to know, Remus would tell her himself.

"It's getting dark. Why don't we go inside?" Ginny suggested.

"Alright." Harry said and they all went inside.

Mrs. Weasley was preparing dinner. Ginny and Lia went to the kitchen to help her and Rex followed them. Ron and Harry went to the living room, where Remus was.

"There you are!" Remus said. "And I thought you'll stay out all night."

"We would've stayed if Ginny didn't suggest that we come back inside." Harry said.

"Well, at least one of you has some brains." Remus said.

"Ha!" Ron said, "Let's talk about brains when she starts her O.W.L. exams."

"I wonder if we passed?" Harry wondered.

"Of course we did! I mean, we have to. Mom would kill me if I didn't pass." Ron said.

"I'm sure you did well at the exams." Remus said.

"If you only saw the examiners' faces when I produced my patronus. They were shocked!" Harry said.

"So you managed to produce it again." Remus said, proud of his student.

"Yes. And thank you for teaching me how to do it." Harry said with a smile.

"I wish I can produce one." Ron said.

"You'll be able to do it someday." Harry said. "I'm sure that every member of D.A. will be able to do it."

"What's D.A.?" Remus asked.

"Dumbledore's Army." Ron said.

"What?"

"When Umbridge decided to stick to only the theory of Defense Against the Dark Arts, we decided to collect some students who were interested in the practical part. And Harry is our leader." Ron said.

"That's a wonderful idea Harry. Let me know if you need any help." Remus said.

"Sure." Harry replied.

Mr. Weasley came back from work. "Good evening gentlemen."

"Hi dad." Ron said.

"Hello Mr. Weasley." Harry said.

"How was work today Arthur?" Remus asked.

"You won't believe what happened. The Department of Mysteries was turned upside down again." Mr. Weasley said.

"What happened?" Remus asked. Ron and Harry looked at each other alarmed.

"No body knows what happened exactly. They say that a wind blew at the department for about an hour. No one knows how it started. They say that no body was hurt, but the offices were in a mess."

"Do you think it's Voldemort again?" Harry asked and both Ron and Mr. Weasley flinched at hearing the name. "Sorry, I forgot." Harry added quickly.

"Well, no one knows for sure. They are now searching for evidences. I doubt that they would find any." Mr. Weasley said.

"That's weird. Maybe Dumbledore would know about this." Remus said.

"I'm sure he would know. He knows everything. He just doesn't tell anyone until it's too late." Harry said, remembering all the times when Dumbledore was supposed to tell him something but never did on time. And the last time he did so, it cost him his Godfather's life.

"Now I'm sure he has his reasons Harry." Mr. Weasley said.

"Yeah, I'm sure he does." Harry frowned.

"Harry says the truth Arthur. If Dumbledore told Harry about the prophecy and everything that happened, Sirius would've been sitting with us now." Remus said.

Harry felt his scar getting warm. He knew something was wrong. Maybe Lia felt the same way now. He wanted to go and ask her, but then he thought that maybe he felt this way only because he remembered the night at the Department of Mysteries.

"ARTHUR! REMUS! HELP!" Mrs. Weasley came running into the living room.

"What is it Molly?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"It's Lia! She's not feeling good!" Mrs. Weasley said and they all ran to the kitchen.

Lia was lying on the floor curled up and screaming in pain. Her hands were both on her chest and Ginny was kneeling beside her crying. Rex was near Lia too, licking her face, but that didn't seem to comfort her.

"Lia!" Harry called and knelt next to her, "Are you alright?"

"H-help me!" Lia said breathing hard. "It… hurts! AAARGH!"

"Remus, what should we do?" Harry asked. He was getting panicked.

Ginny got up and ran into her mother's arms. Remus knelt near Lia. "Lia can you stand up?" he asked but Lia didn't answer. "Molly tell me which room should I take her? Arthur, can you bring a healer?"

"Of course." Arthur said and quickly took out his wand and disaparated.

"Take her to Ginny's room." Mrs. Weasley said.

Remus picked Lia up and carried her to Ginny's room. He put her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. "There's nothing we can do. We have to wait for Arthur." He said. "Molly, send an owl to Dumbledore and tell him about everything. Including about what happened at the ministry today."

"Alright." Said Mrs. Weasley and went to write the letter.

"We can't leave her like that Remus." Harry said as he sat on the bed next to Lia.

"There's nothing we can do Harry. The scar is affecting on her heart too." Remus looked at Lia. She wasn't screaming now. She just lay there on the bed motionless. "Oh no. Lia don't do that." He sat next to her and started to shake her. "Lia talk to me!"

"Lia say something!" Harry was shaking her too. But Lia didn't respond. She lost her consciousness.

Mrs. Weasley came back to the room. "I've sent the letter." She said. "How is she?"

"She just lost her consciousness." Remus said and turned back to Lia. "Lia open your eyes please."

After a few minutes Mr. Weasley came back with Madam Pomfrey. "Is she alright?" he asked.

"I don't think so." Ron whispered.

"Everyone out of the room please." Said Madam Pomfrey.

"I want to stay with her!" Harry said.

"Harry, you can wait outside. Now let Madam Pomfrey do her job." Said Mrs. Weasley.

"No!"

"Come on Harry. You won't help Lia if you stayed here." Remus said and pulled Harry outside and closed the door after everyone else left too.

Harry sat on the ground near the door. "I'm staying here. I won't leave her alone." He said, his hand on his scar.

Everyone looked at him. Mrs. Weasleys eyes were filled with tears. Ron took Ginny and they went downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed them, but Remus stayed with Harry. He sat next to him.

"She'll be fine Harry." He said.

"If anything happens to her…"

"You can't do anything now. You don't know where Voldemort is and you can't find him."

"You bet I can." Harry said. He was so angry that he didn't think about what he was saying.

At that moment Professor Dumbledore came running. "Where is she Remus."

"Inside. Madam Pomfrey is with her now." Remus replied.

Professor Dumbledore entered the room and closed the door behind him. After a moment the door was opened and Rex was shoved outside. "Keep the dog with you." Madam Pomfrey said and closed the door again. Rex scratched the door trying to open it.

"Come here boy." Remus said and pulled Rex away from the door. "You can't help her now. Just wait here with us."

Harry looked at the dog. For a moment he wished that he could find Voldemort at that moment and finish him. That way Lia would feel better and her scar would never hurt her anymore.

"What are you thinking about Harry?" Remus asked.

"Nothing." Harry replied without looking at him. He kept looking forward at the opposite wall.

They sat there without talking for about a half an hour and then the door was opened again. Madam Pomfrey got out. Remus got up.

"How is she?" Harry jumped to his feet.

"She is sleeping now. We managed to bring her consciousness back, and then I gave her a sleeping potion. She won't wake up tonight. You'll have to let her sleep." She told Harry. "She needs all the rest she can get. Professor Dumbledore will explain everything else to you."

"Thank you." Remus said.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at him. "It's nice to see you again Remus." She said.

"I wish it was on different occasion though." He replied.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at school this year."

"Of course."

"Alright then, I better go now." She said and went downstairs.

"You're coming back?" Harry asked.

"Only to teach Lia."

"But who is going to teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe Dumbledore has a new teacher assigned."

"As long as it's not Umbridge or Lockhart." Harry said.

Remus smiled. "I don't think Lockhart remembers anything now except for giving away autographs."

The room door opened again and Professor Dumbledore appeared. Rex made his way back inside in a flash.

"Professor! How is she?" Harry asked.

"Hello Harry, Remus."

"Hello Professor." Harry and Remus said together.

"Professor, how is Lia now? Can I see her?" Harry asked.

"Of course Harry. But please don't try to wake her up."

"Alright."

"Let us all get inside. I want to know what happened exactly." Dumbledore said and they went inside.

Harry quickly sat next to Lia and started to stroke her hair. She was sleeping peacefully.

"How did it happen Remus?" Dumbledore asked.

"We were in the living room when Molly came in and told us that Lia wasn't feeling good. When we went to the kitchen we saw her on the ground and screaming."

"What did she say?"

"She only managed to say that it hurts."

"She didn't mention if it was the scar or her heart?"

"No. But she was breathing hard. So I guess it was her heart."

Dumbledore looked at Lia for a moment. "This is difficult." He said and turned to Harry. "Harry, did you feel anything at that moment?"

Harry tried to remember if he had felt anything strange. "Yes. My scar felt warm. That's all. It didn't hurt."

"Something is not right here." Dumbledore said. "Remus I ask you to bring Lia to Hogwarts tomorrow as soon as she wakes up. She must stay under protection."

"Alright Professor."

"Can I come too?" Harry asked. "I want to be with her."

"Harry, you know pretty well why we are keeping you at your aunt's house, don't you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes Professor. But I really want to stay with her. Besides, the Dursleys have asked me if I can spend the summer at another place."

"Alright then. You can come along too. Do you have your trunk with you?"

"No."

"Then you may go tonight with Arthur and bring it here. I'll prepare a portkey for you two to get there."

Harry smiled. "Thank you Professor."

"There's no need to thank me Harry. I've learned not to discuss your decision. You may do something stupid again if I don't allow you to come."

What did he mean with something stupid? Harry couldn't tell. Was it about his appearance at the Department of Mysteries? But why would Dumbledore complain about that now? Voldemort didn't hear the prophecy, but instead Sirius got killed. So that was what he meant by doing stupid things.

"You better go and tell Arthur about that Harry. Meanwhile, I'll prepare the portkey." Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded and went downstairs. By the time he came back with Mr. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore has already prepared the little wizard shaped portkey.

"You will appear at your room Harry. Try to be as quiet as you can. Your aunt and uncle might be asleep by the time you get there."

"Alright." Harry said and he touched the portkey. Mr. Weasley followed him. They both disappeared.

"Professor, do you think it was Voldemort who was at the Ministry today?" Remus asked.

"No Remus. It was just an old friend of mine. I asked her to do me a favor."

"To blow up the Department of Mysteries?"

"No. It's just that her entrance caused a little storm. She comes from an ice cave."

"Oh, I see."

Mr. Weasley and Harry appeared in the room. Harry was holding his trunk and Hedwig's empty cage.

"Well, since you are back, I expect you three to be at Hogwarts tomorrow. I'll ask Hagrid to meet you at the Entrance Hall." Dumbledore said. "I better go now. Good-bye Arthur."

"Good-bye Professor." Mr. Weasley replied.

"I'll see you two tomorrow." Professor Dumbledore told Harry and Remus.

"Of course." Remus replied. Dumbledore took out a little Phoenix statue and clicked it with his wand. It gave a blue light and then he disappeared.

"Harry, I think it's better for you to go to bed now. It's getting late." Remus said.

Harry looked at Lia again and kissed her forehead. "Good night." He whispered to her and got up. They left the room and closed the door after them.

"Someone should spend the night with her. We shouldn't leave her alone." Harry said. "What if she was hurting again?"

"I'll ask Molly to stay with her." Mr. Weasley said.

"Yes. Ginny is too young to manage." Remus said. "She might get confused if anything happened."

Harry went straight to Ron's room and put his trunk in one corner. He opened it and took out his pajamas and changed his clothes. Ron was already asleep. Harry moved slowly trying not to wake him up.

Ginny went to sleep in Charlie's room and Mrs. Weasley slept in Ginny's room along with Lia. Mr. Weasley showed Remus the way to Bill's room and he headed back to his room.

Only the twins didn't come back home that night. They were busy in preparing their joke shop and they didn't realize that they were supposed to be back to school after a couple of months.