So unsatisfied,
when the sight's set higher.
Some can't achieve, don't believe,
there is light at the end at all.
There's no light.
Time to reach out for what's real,
it's easy to miss, insist,
that you shouldn't always follow the first thing you feel.

August 28th 5AM Sunday

"Jenny…"

I could hear a voice calling out to me. It sounded like Severus. Was I dreaming?

"Jenny, wake up!" hissed Severus as he shook me slightly.

"What is it?" I growled as I opened my eyes to see Severus sitting next to me.

"You need to get up and get dressed," he said as he stood up and dropped a set of clothes in my lap.

"What's going on?" I asked, my mind still fuzzy from sleep, "Did they find Draco?"

"No," Severus growled, "Just get dressed and meet me downstairs. I will explain before we leave."

As he walked out of the room I noticed that he was wearing pants and a button down shirt rather than his usual robes. Also, the clothing he had picked out for me were muggle clothes as well. It was strange, but I just shrugged my shoulders and began to get dressed. Everything seemed so strange lately that it almost seemed normal. I found Severus downstairs waiting impatiently next to the fireplace and my stomach twisted in knots as I realized that we were going to be traveling by floo powder.

"Can you tell me what's going on now?" I asked while eyeing the fireplace warily.

"We're going to visit someone in London," he stated as he reached for a handful of floo powder.

"Wait a second," I said sternly, "You told me that I should stay at the Burrow so why are we going to London?"

"There's someone you need to meet before we leave for Hogwarts," he whispered, "I've been trying to contact her since I met you and I just found out this morning that she's going to be in London."

"Is it really that important that I meet her?" I asked nervously. He stared at the fireplace for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh.

"She was one of your father's teachers," he explained.

"But if she was a teacher, wouldn't we meet her at Hogwarts?"

"No," replied Severus, "she was one of your father's teachers after Hogwarts."

"You mean one of his trainers," I mumbled with a small snort. Severus ignored my comment and tossed the floo powder into the fireplace. He yelled "The Leaky Cauldron" and then he was gone. I let out a defeated groan as I grabbed a handful of powder and followed along behind him. My eyes were open when I fell out of the fireplace at The Leaky Cauldron so I was able to see the amused look on the professor's face as he looked down at me.

"It's uncanny," he said with a smirk.

"What is?" I asked suspiciously.

"You have the same amount of gracefulness when using the floo network that he did," he answered as his smirk became even wider.

"O ha ha ha," I grumbled, "Can you please tell me why we are going to meet someone this early in the morning in the first place?" Severus glanced around the bar before answering.

"I would think that would be obvious," he replied quietly, "There's hardly anyone here at this time in the morning, especially on a Sunday." As he helped me up off the ground I could see his point. The Leaky Cauldron was almost completely deserted except for one bartender busying himself behind the counter.

"Well," I said as I motioned towards the exit, "lead the way." Severus and I walked out of the bar to the quiet London street on the other side of the door. I was immediately aware of how completely different the magical world is from the muggle world.

"Her home is only a few blocks away," Severus called out as he began to walk down the street. I followed along behind him before adopting a swifter pace to match his long strides.

"Severus," I said slowly, "I wanted to talk to you about something." He stopped abruptly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't think we have anything to talk about Miss Riddle," he replied but did not make a move to walk away.

"Like hell we don't," I hissed, "Now shut up and listen."

"Guilt, Miss Riddle," he interrupted, "I believe that's the answer you are looking for."

"I figured as much," I replied blandly, "Would you like an answer as well?"

"I already know," he replied and began walking once again. I ran to catch up to him and then grabbed his arm roughly, turning him around to look at me.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I snapped, "How can you possibly know how I feel?" We stood there and stared at one another for a long while until a man rode by on a bicycle and awoke us from our thoughts.

"Jenny," he said with a sad smile, "you just lost your father. He was the only person in your life."

"So?" I asked, now completely puzzled.

"I remind you of him don't I?" he questioned. I answered with a sharp nod. "You wonder why we are drawn to each other and I have answered the question for both of us. Do you understand now?" Severus walked away from me and he was nearly half a block away before I truly understood what he had been trying to say.

We had both wanted to ask each other the same question. Why did we feel that pull towards one another? The answer was simple but different for each of us. Guilt and loss.

I turned and ran as fast as I could to catch up with Severus. I didn't walk next to him though; instead I stayed a few steps behind. Neither of us said a word until we found ourselves in front of a small brown house.

"So what's this woman's name?" I asked as we walked up the little path to the house.

"Khalida List," he replied without even glancing at me. We stood at the front door for a moment before Severus gave it a soft tap. I looked at him in confusion for a moment before I heard someone moving around inside the house.

"Are there a lot of wizards and witches living in London?" I asked offhandedly. Severus snorted before turning to give me a pointed look.

"Who says that she's a witch?" he asked sarcastically as the door in front of us opened to reveal a thin, pale woman wearing a long black dress, with long black hair and the most alarming eyes I'd ever seen. They were bright red.

"What are you?" I blurted out without even thinking of how rude I was being. Severus snorted softly next to me and the woman batted a hand at him in amusement.

"Come now Severus," she said with a chuckle, "Bringing children to meet me just to scare them now are we?"

"Of course not," Severus said as he resumed his calm and cool composure, "I just want to introduce you to someone I thought you'd be interested in meeting." The woman stared at me curiously as she waited for introductions.

"Khalida List," Severus said as he motioned toward the woman, "I'd like you to meet Miss Jenny Riddle." He motioned toward me and I put out one hand and waited for Khalida to do the same. She eyed me warily before giving my hand a tentative shake.

"Severus," she said as she stared at me, "I don't know why…"

"I forgot to mention," Severus interrupted with a smirk, "Miss Riddle is Harry Potter's daughter." Khalida's eyes lit up immediately and she gave me a wide grin. I was more than a little surprised when I could see small fangs poking out from underneath her top lip.

"Um, Severus…" I stammered as I tugged on his shirt.

"What is it?" he asked with a chuckle as he leaned down to come closer to me.

"She's a vampire isn't she?" I whispered. Severus nodded his head and laughed once again. Khalida remained standing in the doorway, staring at me intently. Finally Severus got fed up and snapped his fingers in front of her eyes.

"Are you going to invite us in?" he sneered, "Or are we going to stand out here all morning?" The vampire moved out of the way but continued to stare at me. I ran a hand through my hair nervously as she shut the door behind us. Suddenly Khalida launched herself at me and pulled me into a hug.

"Did you see that Severus?" she said as she cradled me in her arms, "She even acts like my little Gilgamesh."

"Gilgamesh?" I asked in confusion as I pulled away from her embrace. I looked to Severus for an explanation but he just rolled his eyes.

"Come and sit and we will have tea," Khalida called out merrily as she ushered us into a small living room. I took a seat on the couch while Severus sat in a fairly creepy looking black high-backed chair.

"I'm assuming Gilgamesh was my father's nickname?"

"Yes," Severus grumbled, "It was a name Khalida came up with and I believe she is the only one who called him that."

"Buy why?"

"Because he reminds me of Gilgamesh," Khalida replied as she carried in a tea tray and set it on the table in front of me. I wondered for a moment if vampires drank tea and I received my answer a moment later when Khalida poured herself a cup. "Do you know the story of Gilgamesh?" she asked and I shook my head. Severus remained silent as she explained.

"Gilgamesh was a great king. He was two-thirds God and one-third human and he faced many hardships in his life."

"But what does that have to do with my father?"

"Let me finish," she said softly, "Gilgamesh was very strong and powerful because he was part God but he died the same as any other man dies because he was part human. But, even though he died, his legend lived on."

"My father died many times though and he just kept coming back," I said as I stared down at the teacup in my hands. I was shocked when the vampire laughed loudly and I glanced over at Severus to see the same look of surprise.

"My dear," Khalida said sweetly, "Harry Potter is like Gilgamesh, he will only die once and then he will live on in legends."

"My father is dead," I growled angrily as I slammed the teacup down on the table. Severus flinched slightly but Khalida didn't seem to notice my outburst.

"Is that so," she said cryptically. I glared at the woman and she merely stared back with an emotionless expression. No one said a word and we just sat there staring at each other until Severus cleared his throat and we were both reminded that he was still in the room with us.

"I was hoping you could tell Jenny about your time with Potter," Severus urged. Khalida finally tore her eyes from mine and glanced at Severus. A look of pain washed over her features for a moment.

"It is not something I usually like to talk about," she began, "but as you are his daughter I think you have a right to know." She took another sip of her tea before continuing.

"When the wizard Dumbledore asked me to train a young boy to kill I was surprised. He explained to me the reason why he wanted this and at first I refused. Then he introduced me to Gilgamesh and I had to say yes."

"What changed your mind?" I asked.

"He needed me," she replied gravely, "I could see the pain in his eyes and I knew that even if I said no his fate would be the same. I wanted to be there for him and help him along as much as I could."

"It was a difficult task. I had no idea how to teach a human to kill," she explained, "I also needed to teach him not to fear death which was nearly impossible."

"You didn't turn him into a vampire, did you?" I gasped. Severus nearly choked on his tea and Khalida chuckled softly.

"No," she replied, "I did not turn him into a vampire and I do not know how he outwitted death as many times as he did."

"Your father was a good boy and he became a good man despite everything that was thrust upon him," she said quietly, "I ask for your forgiveness."

"My forgiveness?"

"Yes," she answered as she knelt down on the floor in front of me, "I have wronged your family grievously and I ask for your forgiveness." I sat there staring at her for a moment before reaching down to grasp her shoulders.

"I'm sure you helped my father the best you could," I said softly, "You were not responsible for what happened to him but I will accept your apology anyway. You have my forgiveness." She looked up at me and gave me a sad smile.

"Thank you," she replied as she stood up and walked toward the door, "Now I think it's time for you two to leave."

Severus set down his teacup and rose up gracefully from his chair while I did the same. I gave him a confused look but he just shook his head and motioned to me to follow him to the door. Khalida gave me a final hug before Severus grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. The door closed behind us and I turned to Severus for an explanation.

"We should head back," he said as he began to walk back down the path away from the house.

"Why did we have to leave so soon?" I asked as I ran along beside him, "I barely got to talk to her." Severus didn't reply. "Wait a second," I said as I came to a realization, "We didn't go there for me did we?"

"Why do you think I took you to meet her?" he asked as he began to walk faster until I was barely keeping up with him.

"It was for her wasn't it? She wanted to apologize to me and that's why we went there?" I asked angrily.

"You are incorrect in your assumption," he replied as we stopped in front of the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron. "I wanted to give her the chance to apologize," he explained as he opened the door, "Everyone deserves a chance at forgiveness." I nodded my head in agreement and we headed back to the Burrow.

After we returned to the Burrow I headed back to Percy's old room to get a few more hours of sleep. It was still early and none of the Weasleys had woken up yet. As I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling I suddenly felt quite sad. For some reason I was quite sure that my first meeting with Miss Khalida List had also been my last.