I don't own anything.
I Love You
Chapter-16-Stan Nats
Harry and Faith were up late that night, again, talking. Harry was telling her a few stories that involved a certain house elf called Donny and had her laughing for the better part of the time.
"I'm sorry," Faith laughed. "I shouldn't laugh. Dobby sounds really sweet."
"He's cool," said Harry. "You should meet him."
"I hope I can sometime. So, tell me a bit more about the mirror you found when you first came here."
Harry shrugged. "Not much to tell. But before I found it, I had no idea what my parents looked liked. What do you think you would see in it?"
"Probably my mom."
"I can understand that." It was silent for a while before Harry asked, "Faith, where do you go?"
Faith looked at him. "What do you mean by that?"
Harry tried to explain, "You go somewhere. I mean, you can tell by your eyes. You just totally space out and go somewhere."
"Oh. . .that! It's hard to explain. I go back. Back to my old memories."
"They don't seem very good sometimes."
Faith shook her head. "Not always."
"Faith, what happened to you back home?"
"Dad got drunk a lot," Faith told him. "I always somehow ended up paying for it." She looked at Harry who had concern in his eyes. She stood up quickly. "I'm sorry," and ran back to her room.
Faith felt something pecking at her cheek. She groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her head. That didn't stop it. The pecking continued at the top of her head. She groaned again and sat up. "I'm up," she murmured and moved the hair out of her eyes. A black owl stood in front of her and spat an envelope on her lap impatiently and flew out quickly. "Sorry!" she shouted to the owl.
Hermione groaned and so did Ginny. "Sorry," Faith whispered and she began to open the envelope. "Oh, so it is from Dumbledore."
Dear Miss Feathergood,
Your presence is greatly requested in the headmaster office at 9:30 this morning. Please be there.
Albus Dumbledore.
P.S- Please try and put our last. . .conversation behind you. At least for now.
Faith sighed. "Here I go," she said to herself and got out of bed. Once dressed and down stairs she spotted Harry asleep on the couch. She walked over to him and blew in his ear.
Harry smacked himself in the face, waking himself up and Faith laughed. He sat up and looked at her. "Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Listen, Faith, I'm sorry, that question I asked you was totally out of line. I'm sorry I ever asked it. I just want to help out any way I can."
Faith shook her head. "I understand that Harry. Listen, the only way you can help is if you understand, and you don't know everything that happened." As bad as that made Faith feel, it was true. He still didn't understand that scars that she had once on her leg, or why she really did cry herself to sleep sometimes. And she was sure he didn't understand that feeling of always being watched. "Sorry," she whispered.
"No, you're right. Where are you going?" he asked then, eager to change the subject.
"To Dumbledore's." Faith rolled her eyes at the ceiling then looked back at Harry. "I haven't talked to him since. . .the fight."
"The fight?"
Faith sighed. "That night when you helped me see me mom, and I saw her, my dad, and Dumbledore." Harry nodded. "Well, I told you I found out that he knew all along, and I kinda. . .I did go and yell at him then." She plopped down on the couch. "I was so upset." Harry sat next to her. "I had no idea what to do then. Now I have to go and face the man."
"Dumbledore didn't mean for it to happen," said Harry.
"I know."
They were both silent for a while till Harry reminded Faith that she had better get going. Faith walked down the cold halls of Hogwarts. She hugged herself and told herself that never again would she walk out of the common room this early.
She knocked and heard a soft, "Come in," from the other side of the door.
She slowly opened the door and peaked in. "You wanted to see me sir?"
"Yes, come in, come in," Dumbledore waved his hand.
Faith closed the door behind her. She noticed another body in sitting in one of his chairs. "I can come back later," she told him.
"No, no, it's quiet alright. Now is a good a time as any."
Faith took her seat nervously. It was silent in the room and then Faith finally had to say something. "Sir, if this is about what happened last week, I am so sorry. Please don't kick me out, really, I didn't mean any of it. I was just"-
Dumbledore held up his hand to silence the girl. "No Faith," he said calmly. "You shouldn't be sorry, I should be. You had every right to be upset."
Faith looked to the person sitting to her left and her mouth fell to the floor. "Stan!" she gasped. The young looking man laughed and Faith found herself throwing her arm around him, hugging him. She backed away and studied his face. He looked much younger, but tired, in the lighted room.
She frowned and asked out of nowhere, "What are you doing here?"
"I came here to see yea, lass," he told her in his thick accent.
Faith blinked. "How did you know I was here?"
"Remember that school I told yea about?"
"Yes." Faith thought. "You went to Hogwarts? Really?" Stan nodded. "Oh, wow, well. . .why didn't you tell me?"
"I couldn't then."
"Why? I'm sorry, but I am really confused."
"Faith," Dumbledore spoke, "Stan is your"-
"Please," Stan interrupted, "let me tell it, sir." Dumbledore nodded. Stan looked at Faith. "Do you remember all the taxi's that used to pass by your house?" he asked her.
"Yes."
"Do you remember what they looked liked?"
"How could I forget?" Stan was about to speak but Faith beat him to it. "But- there was one taxi that stood out from all the others. A smile that Faith could not see began to from on Stan's lips. "It was always so clean and bright. I don't remember one scratch on it."
Faith went on, "It would always pass by the house and I would always be looking for it. I was in first grade one afternoon and on my porch crying." Faith looked at Stan. "You," she pointed, "came up to me and picked me back up on my feet."
"What did we do then Faith?" Stan asked her.
"You took me for ice cream," Faith laughed. "You told me stop crying and said that everything would be okay in the end, and that there is always at least two people watching over me."
"What about afterwards?"
It took Faith a minute before she answered, "Afterwards you said that is I ever needed you, all I had to do was ride my bike down to the laundry parking lot and whistle four times. You said a fairie would hear my call and tell you and then you'd come in the blink of an eye."
"Did you ever do that?"
Faith nodded. "I did the very next day. I blinked and you were there."
"But you only called for me one more time after that Faith." Stan sounded disappointed. "What happened."
"You coming that fast was like magic to me," Faith answered. "I heard my father talking to these men one night and he screamed at himself over and over again that magic wasn't real. So I stopped calling you. Sorry, I still don't fully understand all this."
"Faith, the taxi you saw everyday was me," Stan told her. "Your mother asked me to watch over you if anything should ever happen to her."
"Are you trying to tell me that she knew something was going to happen to her?"
"We're not sure," said Dumbledore, "but we think she did know."
"But why now? After all these years, why would you come now? Mom wanted you to protect. . . well. . .why now?!"
Stan said, "Because you wouldn't of been safe with me."
"How could say that?!" Faith shouted, even though she didn't want to. "My father was beating me! He nearly killed I can't tell you how many times."
"Had I taken you Voldemort would have found out and taken both of us," Stan told her calmly.
Faith almost said it would have been better, but not for Stan. "Sorry," she muttered. "But why are you telling me this now?"
"I want to tell yea soon lass. Believe me I did. But I couldn't, I was in hiding from Voldemort. He was after me because he knew that I knew where you were."
"Why couldn't you tell me when I was getting ready to leave?"
"We were being watched."
"I didn't see anyone."
"No one ever does."
Faith sighed and threw her arms in the air having them land hard back against the chair. Her body slammed back against it. "Does everything have a loop hole?"
Stan smiled. "Only the special ones."
Faith looked at him. "And why am I so special? Why was, or is, Voldemort after me in the first place?"
"Because of your gift," Dumbledore told her.
"What gift. I barley have anything for myself."
"Not a gift, it's more like a talent," Dumbledore went on. "You're a leader, people, things sometimes even, listen to you."
"I'm quiet," Faith told him, "nobody cares what I have to say."
"You don't know how to use this talent. There are two types of leader. Evil and well known. Voldemort was after you because he knew and he wanted to make you second in command. A well known leader goes against evil."
"So-o-o-o-o, why are you telling me this now?"
"Because we need to learn how to be a leader."
"Why now?!"
"Because Voldemort is up to no good and your father is involved."
Faith froze. "You want me to fight my father," she whispered. "That's what you want."
"Your father joined him on his own free will. We must fight him to."
"My father didn't have a choice. Aye, we were like, in debt or something like that. He did what he thought was right."
"He knew what he was getting himself into."
Faith stood up, "YOU'RE LYING!" She took one last look at Stan and then ran out of the room.
Stan sighed and looked at Dumbledore. "I should have told her sooner. Did we do the right thing sir?"
"I am not about to doubt any of my decisions," he told him. "And neither should you."
Faith threw herself on her bed and cried. The thought that she had to fight her father made her cry. Don't get the wrong idea. Faith had always wanted to fight back, but now that she actually had the chance, she couldn't.
Fight her father? Was Dumbledore insane? She couldn't. Faith looked at her ceiling and sighed. Dumbledore didn't say she would have to fight her father, but she would have to fight Voldemort. But her father was on Voldemort's side. Did that count? Did her father go to him willingly? Did he know what he was getting himself into? Faith groaned. Too many questions and not enough answers.
But, she had to choose. She didn't know why, she just felt she had to choose other wise her whole stay here at Hogwarts was a complete waste of time and not worth anything. This was it. Had her father gone to Voldemort willingly, then yes, she would fight him. (Maybe). But, if forced, then. . .well, that was a bit harder. What all had her father done exactly?
Faith felt something hard under her pillow. "What's this?" She reached and pulled out the book she had found at the airport the day she ran away. She sat up and starred at it. "I hate my life," she hissed and threw the book towards the window.
Faith laid back on her bed. But not for long. She heard whispering and sat back up. "Who's there?" she asked. Only more whispers answered her. She looked to her window and down at her book. It was open so she walked up to it and closed it. The whispering stopped. When she opened it they started again.
Faith began walking to her bed. "Who are you?" she whispered. She sat down and flipped through the pages. There was writing on certain pages of her book. Big, beautiful, curvy, pointed letters. Faith read:
September 9, 1979
There is a very handsome young man who works here on the grounds of Hogwarts. If I'm not mistaken, he's two or three years older me. Molly said his name was Steven Green.
Faith's eyes widened. If she wasn't mistaken, and she knew she wasn't, Steven Green was her father's name. Could it be? Was this her mother's diary?! She flipped a few more pages.
December 25, 1989I wish I could say that this has been the best Christmas of my life- but I can't. My husband has left me, my baby girl is sleeping upstairs and I am nervous. Steven has assured me that this would be the last time he goes out this late.
I don't what has happened to him, to us. He was there for me all the time. He wouldn't even leave me when we were out on the streets. I just hope he hasn't forgotten about our daughter. I know he still loves her.
Though I have to admit, I often wonder what life would have been like had I followed my dream and become a teacher, and him a healer. And even if I had waited to have a child. Faith is the best thing that has ever happened to me though. I could never change her in my life.
I should have listened to Dumbledore and maybe even accepted his help. Is it to late to answer his letters and leave?
Faith closed the book and the whispers stopped. This was her mother's. Her own name was in it.
"Faith? You in here?" she heard someone shout.
"I'm coming Hermione." She quickly his the book back under her pillow.