You can't have a flower of stone.
Never let this soil come between us.
I'm asking you on a date for the rest of your life.

THE NEXT MORNING, August 18th 7AM

Tap, tap, tap.

"Huh..."

Tap, tap, tap.

"What the hell?"

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

"That's it," I grumbled as I rolled unceremoniously off the couch onto the floor with a thud.

Tap, tap, tap.

"Arrrggghh!" I jumped up off the floor, wobbled a bit and then peered across the living room. A brown blur was flitting around outside and I staggered across the room to investigate further. Once my eyes adjusted to the sunlight I could see that it was a small brown owl with a cylindrical package tied to one leg.

"Come on in then," I growled as I cracked the window open slightly. The owl glided down to sit on one of the armchairs and then it just eyed me warily, "You're sure a lot louder then muggle post," I grumbled.

It hooted in response. "Well, what is it?" I asked the owl as it stared at me. It held out its leg and I smacked myself in the forehead with the palm of my hand. I'm such an idiot. I slowly and carefully untied the package from its leg and waited for it to fly off through the window. Instead it just sat there and hooted at me once more.

"What now?" I asked. The small owl shifted from one clawed foot to the other and let out another loud hoot. "Shoo," I whispered as I swatted a hand at it, "go away dumb bird." This apparently wasn't exactly what it was waiting for and it became quite agitated. Suddenly I found myself being dive-bombed by my new feathery friend as I ran around the room waving my arms over my head.

"Help!" I yelled, "Somebody help me, I'm being attacked! Get away you stupid animal!" I continued to scream and run around the room until I heard a loud "stupefy" from the hallway and the owl swiftly fell to the floor.

As I turned around to thank my savior my mouth fell open in shock. There in the hallway was Draco looking thoroughly disheveled and bedraggled, wearing nothing but a pair of red, flannel boxers. His hair was a mess, his face was flushed and his eyes were filled with fear, which quickly turned to shock and then anger as he realized that he had saved me from an evil owl while he was half naked.

I looked at him sheepishly and picked the package up off the floor, "This came for you, would you like me to open it." The only answer I received was an infuriated look, a loud huff and the sound of Draco's bedroom door slamming behind him. A moment later he reemerged dressed and looking much more dignified, but still every bit as furious.

He bent down next to the owl, muttered something that I couldn't make out and then picked the angrily flapping animal off the floor. Without even looking at me once, he walked to the kitchen, grabbed a small pouch, gave the owl a strange looking coin and then turned to face me as it flew away.

"It wanted payment," he said through clenched teeth.

"What was that?" I asked softly.

"He wanted payment!" he yelled, "It was the bloody Daily Prophet owl. He wanted payment for the newspaper!"

"Oh...." Was all I could say as he stomped toward me. For a moment I thought he was going to attack me but instead he just grabbed the package out of my hands and whapped me over the head with it.

"That was really mature," I said indignantly.

"I never said I was mature," he drawled.

"Fine," I huffed and headed toward the bathroom, grabbing my backpack along the way, "I'm going to go wash up, I expect breakfast to be ready when I come back."

"Oh no!" Draco gasped.

"It was just a joke Draco," I said as I stopped in the hallway, "and I'm sorry about seeing you in your boxers."

"This is a big problem," Draco replied, "a big, big problem."

"Look, I said I was sorry, can't you let it go," I said and turned to look at him. He was still standing in the living room, his face pale and his body shaking as he held the unrolled copy of The Daily Prophet in his hands. "What's wrong?" I asked nervously. Draco didn't respond so I slowly walked toward him and peered over his shoulder.

"Crap."

There on the cover of The Daily Prophet was a black and white photo of Severus, Draco and I sitting in a booth at The Leaky Cauldron. Once in awhile we would glare around the room and then I would turn toward the camera and sneer. It was easy to see that the intended idea was to make us look shifty and suspicious.

"What's the big deal?" I said after a few minutes of just staring down at the photograph, "It's only a photo, how bad can it be." Draco snorted and shoved the paper in my hand as he stalked off toward the kitchen. I looked down at the paper and focused on the headline and story beneath it.

A RIDDLE RISES FROM THE SHADOWS, WILL SHE BE THE NEXT YOU-KNOW-WHO?

By Rita Skeeter

On August 12th patrons of The Leaky Cauldron were shocked and dismayed to learn that they were sitting in the bar with a young woman who claims to be Jenny Riddle. Most witches and wizards are well aware that the evil wizard known as You-Know-Who was born Tom Marvolo Riddle. Could Jenny Riddle be the heir to the Dark Lord?

Reactions were mixed initially but it is difficult to ignore the photo above, which shows Miss Riddle sitting with Draco Malfoy, the son of You-Know-Who's second in command and Severus Snape, ex-Death Eater and potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Draco Malfoy may have been adopted by another wizarding family while still in school, but it's difficult to ignore the fact that the Malfoy ancestry is almost completely made up of dark wizards and witches.

Could Miss Riddle be the next You-Know-Who? One patron of The Leaky Cauldron seemed to think so when he gave me the following eyewitness account. His identity is being kept secret for his own safety.

"She walked in like she owned the place, sat down with that Malfoy kid and Snape who everyone knows is dark, and then she yelled out something about having the last name Riddle. Then she stalked out of the place and I swear I could feel dark magic all around her as she walked past me."

While this reporter does not wish to alarm any Daily Prophet readers, the overwhelming evidence pointing to another uprising of dark wizards and witches is fairly clear and I can only hope for the sake of our readers and the wizarding world as a whole that the Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley, takes this evidence seriously and launches a full investigation as to the identity of Miss Jenny Riddle. With the great Harry Potter no longer here to save us, the wizarding world cannot afford to be too careful.

Draco walked back into the living room and I handed the paper back to him. Much to his annoyance I began laughing and to his even greater annoyance I couldn't stop laughing. After a few moments I was doubled up on the floor clutching my side as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I don't see what is so funny about this," Draco snapped.

"Are you kidding me," I choked out through intermittent laughter, "That is not only the most idiotic article I've ever read, but the down right silliest one as well, and I'm a journalist myself so that's saying a lot." Suddenly there was a loud banging at the door, Draco and I both jumped in surprise.

"Who the hell could that be?" Draco asked fearfully.

"I don't know, aren't you going to go answer it?" I asked as I wiped the tears from my eyes. The banging on the door continued. Draco slowly walked over to it and pressed one ear to the wood.

"Who is it?" he asked softly.

"Draco!" Severus yelled from the other side of the door, "Open the bloody door this instant!" Draco slowly pulled back the deadbolt and was quickly pushed back into the wall as Severus flew into the room like a bat, a copy of the mornings Daily Prophet clutched tightly in one hand. He stalked over to stand in front of me and waved the paper in front of my face.

"I hope you're happy," he sneered, "this is all your fault." I couldn't help but chuckle as he glared down at me.

"What's the big deal?" I asked with a shrug, "It's just a stupid newspaper article." Severus and Draco both gaped at me for a moment before Severus smacked me on the head with the unrolled newspaper in his hand. I couldn't help but think about that being the second time that morning I had been struck by that very paper and I could safely say that I was beginning to hate The Daily Prophet.

"What's the big deal?!" Severus fumed, "Are you mad? The whole wizarding world thinks you're the next Dark Lord and you have the gall to ask what the big deal is? When some anti-Death Eater extremist group decides to hit you with the killing curse will that be a big enough deal for you?!"

"What should we do Severus?" Draco asked softly. Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and threw the paper down onto the couch.

"Pack your things, you've got to get out of here," he stated firmly.

"What?" Draco exclaimed in surprise, "Is it really that serious?"

"Would I tell you that you needed to leave your home if I didn't think it was serious?" asked Severus.

"Suppose not," Draco mumbled as he headed to his bedroom to pack. I stood there for a moment before Severus glared at me and then I quickly jumped into action. In minutes Draco and I were packed and ready to go, too bad we didn't know where we should go.

"Well, you can't come to the manor," Severus stated, "That place is hardly any safer than your flat, but you definitely can't stay here..."

"I know where to go," Draco interrupted. Severus and I looked at him expectantly, "The Burrow." Severus seemed to think for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

"Wait a second," I said, "Are you telling me that while the wizarding world is in a panic because I may be the next Dark Lord, we're going to head off to the Minister of Magic's house to hide out?"

"Of course," Draco drawled, "What place could be safer?" He grinned wickedly and I realized that Draco really is Slytherin to the core. "Besides," he added, "it is my second home."

"And your stepparents won't mind you bringing home the Dark Lord in training?" I asked nervously.

"Of course not," Draco replied, "Molly loves taking in strays."

"O thanks, I'm a stray now," I said with a sneer that showed I was definitely spending too much time with Draco.

"You do understand he meant himself also," Severus said with a laugh. I blushed furiously from embarrassment.

"Of course, I knew it was a joke," I answered, my cheeks still bright red.

"Yes, yes, of course you did," Severus replied sarcastically.

"Just shut up, will you?" I snapped.

"Will you two stop flirting so we can get going?" Draco drawled as he pulled me toward the fireplace. I never noticed how pale Severus was until his cheeks turned a blinding shade of pink. He quickly recovered and lifted one eyebrow haughtily.

"Jealous Draco?" he asked and was halfway out the door before Draco could stop sputtering, "I'll owl you at Molly and Arthur's once things die down a bit," he called out, "and don't leave The Burrow!" And with a slam of the front door he was gone.

"As if I would be jealous of a greasy old git of a potions master," Draco mumbled to himself.

"What was that Draco?" I asked, grinning wickedly.

"Nothing," he answered, quickly, "Nothing at all. Grab some floo powder and follow my lead." I started to ask what in the world he was talking about but he had already grabbed some weird dirt that I could only assume was floo powder and thrown it in the fireplace. Then, much to my surprise, he walked into the flames and shouted, "The Burrow", leaving me gaping like a fish at the green fire he just disappeared into.

"Damn him," I said to the empty living room, "How did he do that again?" I tentatively grabbed a handful of floo powder and stared at it for a moment, attempting to build up my courage enough to perform the next step. As quickly as I could I threw the powder in the fireplace, walked toward the flames, closed my eyes and shouted "The Burrow." In mere seconds I was spinning madly as flashes of light sped by me, or perhaps I was speeding past them, I wasn't quite sure. What I was sure of though, was the fact that I was going to be very ill once the ride was over.

I put my hands over my mouth to keep myself from being sick as I slid out of a fireplace that I could only hope belonged to the Weasleys. Glancing around the room I could see a red faced Draco being embraced to near suffocation by a plump red-haired woman. My head continued to spin and I lay there for a few minutes before I noticed that I was seeing double. Two identical red-haired men were standing above me.

"Draco," I mumbled loudly, "I think I'm seeing two of everything." The plump woman turned toward me and began taking the young man, that turned out to be two young men, to task.

"Fred, George, you help her up this instant," she shrieked, "She's not there for you to gawk at."

"But mum," one of the redheads said wickedly, "she's the new Dark Lord, if we touch her we could be cursed for eternity."

"Or hexed into oblivion," the other redhead added.

"My reputation precedes me I see," I said sarcastically and they both laughed as they helped me up off the floor. I swayed for a moment before four strong arms held me steady.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"She's never traveled by floo before," Draco stated, obviously concerned but not wanting to openly show he was.

"The poor dear," the woman said softly, "sit her down on one of the armchairs boys and be careful. Arthur, get out here now, Draco's here and he brought a guest!" The woman shrieked once more and I groaned in response. The two boys just gave me looks of pity.

"I'm Fred by the way," stated the twin on my left.

"And I'm George," stated the twin on the right.

"Jenny Riddle," I said and shook both their hands.

"We know who you are," they both said at the same time, and then George added, "You're You-Know-Her."

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Well," Fred replied, "there's already been a You-Know-Who so if you're going to be the next Dark Lord..."

"Or Lady..." added George.

"Then you're going to need your own name..." said Fred.

"So we decided that it would be You-Know-Her," George interrupted again.

"It just makes sense," they both said at the same time.

"Ugh, my head," I groaned as I gently massaged my forehead. I decided that I would take ten hours of small children kicking the back of my seat on a plane before I'd willfully take another floo ride. It may be faster, but it's not worth the after effects.

"Here, drink this," Draco said as he pushed the twins away and knelt in front of me. He had a vial of green liquid in his hand and I eyed it warily, not sure if I should take it or not. "It's for the motion sickness," he added, "Severus made it himself." I snatched the vial away and drank it immediately, barely noticing the awful taste. Immediately I felt a hundred percent better.

"I see," he snapped, "as long as it's from Severus you don't even question it but if I try to help you, then you're suspicious."

"You do get jealous don't you," I sneered, and instantly he was silent.

"Draco," an older red-haired man called out, "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Of course," he drawled, "Jenny, this is Arthur Weasley, the head of the family, Molly Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, and Ginny Weasley. Everyone, this is Jenny Riddle." I stared at the group in front of me as they all nodded their heads slightly and smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," I said and then pushed myself off the couch to shake each of their hands. I had a good idea of who the Weasleys were from the Harry Potter books and they all fit their descriptions fairly well, except for Ginny Weasley, she was quite a surprise. Instead of the quiet and shy girl described in the books, this Ginny was a full grown woman with red hair cut to her chin, a vivacious figure and a fair amount of confidence.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," she said loudly and gave my hand a forceful squeeze. I winced a little and looked into her eyes for a moment. Something about the way she was looking at me made me nervous and I quickly looked away.

Without any warning the fireplace suddenly roared to life and another young redheaded man stepped out of the flames, followed by a young woman with bushy brown hair. They dusted each other off and seemed oblivious to everyone else in the room as they bickered quietly. I could only stare in awe at the two. These were two people that I knew instantly. These were the two people who could've been my parents had things turned out differently.

"Ronald and Hermione Weasley," I whispered softly. The two turned to look at me along with everyone else in the room. Hermione spoke up first.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't think we've been introduced." She held out her hand and I shook it gently.

"Jenny Riddle," I answered, her hand quickly dropped to her side, "It's a pleasure to meet you," I replied softly. I turned to the man next to her and didn't give him a chance to introduce himself, "I know you're Ron Weasley and it's a pleasure to meet you also." Ron's face grew dark and his eyes grew cold, he growled one word loud enough for everyone to hear as he stalked over to stand in front of me.

"Riddle."

TWO HOURS LATER 9AM

Ron had run out of the house rather quickly with Hermione hot on his trail. The rest of the family stood there quietly for a moment, averting their eyes and trying their best to make small talk. Luckily Molly finally leapt into action and herded us off into the kitchen to have breakfast. Now we all sat in the cluttered Weasley kitchen digging into Molly's wonderfully prepared eggs and sausages. Everyone attempted to chat amiably through the thick cloud of tension that hung around us. Molly would nervously glance at the door every once in awhile and Arthur's warm smile would falter slightly each time.

The Weasleys were obviously uncomfortable and at first I thought it was completely due to my presence. As the meal progressed though, I could feel an undercurrent of tension that I was not familiar with. It caught me by surprise when I realized that I was in the middle of a normal family meal and I was ecstatic. Sure I had witnessed family meals played out on television shows and picnics at the park but those were always filled with happy, smiling mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, and they were all completely fake. The tension at the Weasley's kitchen table was completely real and I was in heaven.

Finally I was getting a taste of what being with a normal family was like. The only thing that ruined the effect was the fact that they were holding back due to my presence at the table. Still, I had to take what I could get, and I had to bite back a smile as everyone shifted uncomfortably in their chairs and eyed one another warily.

When breakfast was nearly done everyone sat at the table picking at the remnants of food on their plates. Suddenly Ron and Hermione came bursting through the door that connected the kitchen and the living room together. In Ron's hands he held a small brown book which I immediately recognized as my photo album. Hermione was holding my backpack and both of them held separate expressions. Ron seemed to be infuriated while Hermione's expression was pained and worried.

"What the hell are you doing with my things?" I roared as I stood up from the table, knocking my chair over in the process.

"No!" Ron yelled, "You answer our questions first. Where the hell did you get these pictures?" I stalked over to Ron while the room fell into complete silence.

"Those are pictures of my family and I would appreciate having them back," I answered coldly as I reached for my album. Ron quickly flipped it open to the picture of my Father and threw it on the table so everyone could see it.

"You're a liar," he sneered, "Take a look at that everyone," he added and all the Weasleys leaned over to look at the picture. Molly suddenly gasped in shock and fell back into her chair gasping for breath. Ginny began to cry and the twins just stared at the picture in awe. Arthur eyed the photo skeptically.

"How did you get this picture?" Arthur asked calmly. I sighed in frustration.

"Like I said already," I explained, "those are pictures of my family. That," I said as I pointed at the picture, "is a picture of my Father, James Rubeus Riddle." Hermione gasped and I took that opportunity to snatch my backpack from her arms.

"It is him isn't it?" she asked softly. I sighed loudly once more and shook my head.

"Who knows, but it would appear to be," I answered so everyone could hear. Ron's face paled slightly.

"You're Harry's daughter?" he asked slowly.

"It would seem so," I answered as I went to collect my photo album from the table, "but I can't be completely sure." Ron just sputtered and coughed.

"Are you barmy?" he asked unbelievingly, "I'd know Harry anywhere and that is most definitely Harry Potter." Molly was sobbing openly now and even the twins looked rather upset. Ginny stomped over to me and just stared at me for a moment.

"Where is he?" Ginny asked coldly.

"Dead," I stated plainly, Molly gasped and ran from the room while Arthur followed closely behind her.

"Liar," she yelled as she lunged at me but Draco had already moved behind her and he grabbed her gently around the waist.

"It can't be true," Hermione muttered to herself.

"Well," I began, "I hate to tell you but it is true. He passed away at the end of last month, he was buried on July thirty-first."

"His birthday," she gasped.

"What?" I asked in confusion, "My Father's birthday was in November, not July," I added.

"No," Hermione answered, "Harry's birthday was July thirty-first, he must have changed it when he changed his name."

"This is just stupid," Ron interrupted, "Why would Harry take the last name Riddle? He hated Tom Riddle." Hermione seemed to think about his question for a moment and I could almost see the gears in her head spinning furiously.

"What was your father's full name again?" she asked.

"James Rubeus Riddle," I stated. She thought for a moment before a look of revelation passed over her features.

"That tricky prat," she said with a soft chuckle. The rest of just stared at her and waited for her to elaborate.

"Do you mind explaining to the rest of us non-geniuses Granger?" Draco drawled and Ron shot him a dirty look.

"It's really fairly simple, but rather ingenious at the same time," she explained and we all just stared at her in confusion, "For one thing, no one would ever expect that Harry Potter would change his last name to Riddle. Who would ever think that he would want to be known by the same name as the man who murdered his parents?" We all nodded and urged her to continue.

"Also, it's obvious that he picked the names from the three most important people in his life," she explained.

"I don't understand," I interrupted in frustration.

"Well, James was his Father so naturally he was important to Harry," she explained, "and who was Harry's first friend Ron?"

"Well, me of course," he answered and Hermione just smacked him on the back of his head.

"Before you stupid," she snapped.

"Let's see," he said as he thought to himself and ran a hand through his hair, "It was Hagrid right?"

"Exactly," Hermione answered smartly, "and Hagrid's first name was Rubeus."

"Why Riddle then?" Ginny asked, "He was Harry's enemy, not his friend or family."

"Actually, the last name is the easiest to understand," she replied.

"How so?" I asked.

"Tom Riddle was the most important figure in Harry's life. Tom Riddle completely shaped Harry's life and everything that happened in it. No one had as big of effect on his life then You-Know-Who," she answered.

"So he picked his worst enemy's last name to remember him?" I asked. Hermione shook her head slowly.

"No," she answered as she turned to look out the window, "I think Harry choose that last name because of the connection he had to Tom Riddle and the affinity he felt for him. It may have also been some form of punishment," she added painfully.

"Punishment?" I asked.

"It makes sense," Draco replied from behind Ginny, "he always did blame himself for everything." Ron finally caught up with the conversation and decided to butt in.

"But you said your Father is dead and we know Harry can't die."

"Ron's right," Ginny added, "Harry always comes back," she added.

"He obviously didn't this time," I snapped.

"But he has to," Hermione replied. I just stared at them all incredulously.

"Why does he have to? He finally got what he wanted and passed on, why in the world would he have to come back," I asked angrily.

"So we can apologize," Ginny explained, "and so he can be happy again." Suddenly all the windows in the kitchen shattered and I could feel a great heat rising up from my feet to my head.

"Bloody hell!" the twins both yelled at once.

"My Father was never happy," I snapped, "and if he finally found happiness in death then I would think his so called friends would be happy for him. He died enough times for you people and your almighty wizarding world. This time he died for himself and all of you are selfish enough to wish for him back just to absolve yourselves of all your sins and free yourself of guilt. Well I've got something to say to all of you," I sneered and they all backed up a step as I leaned forward slightly.

"I hope you all BURN IN HELL!" I yelled and then stomped out through the backdoor.