Star Cross'd Lovers

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his magical world belong to J. K Rowling.

Chapter Six – The House of Hufflepuff

The train rattled to a halt and the students hurried off towards their families. It seemed like days had passed since the Hogwarts Express had departed from the school because Susan had been thinking about Harry. She hadn't been focusing on anything else so while the train sped past the world outside everything turned to a blur – the towering trees, all the fields.

All of a sudden she had arrived in London where Auntie would be waiting to take her home.

That's one difference between Harry and me, she thought as she got up from her seat. He'll probably never know what it's like to come home from school and have a family member waiting for him. I'm so lucky I have my Auntie here for me. There I go thinking about Harry again. . . Susan smiled. But she found it quite pleasant to realise he was all she could think of. She worried about him sometimes, but then again she was worried about everyone most of the time. She had worried about Harry even before she knew him.

"No way!"

"Is that really him?"

Susan craned her neck to see what all the commotion was about. She hated being small. All the bigger kids were standing up and blocking her view.

"Let me see! Does he really look like they say he does?"

"Move over! I can't see his scar!"

Susan managed to peer over another Hufflepuff's head to see a small boy walking towards the Sorting Hat. His hair was scruffy looking and from the look on his face he was definitely nervous.

She knew what it had been like; getting up near that Hat, pulling it on over your head, feeling so small next to it. It had been a daunting experience. For years her family had been placed in Hufflepuff. What if she wasn't? She would let her family down for sure. Now she felt quite sorry for this boy. She knew how he felt.

He certainly looked like Harry Potter. Her Auntie had done her best to avoid talking about him. She often said she had no time to get involved in He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's enemies. It was dangerous to delve into such matters. And so, naturally if you tell a child not to do something the child becomes curious. Susan became interested in this strange boy from a very early age and when her Auntie's back was turned she would ask about Harry Potter.

She had learned in time that he had jet black hair, stunningly green eyes and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Her friends had told her that if you looked into his eyes for long enough you would fall down dead on the spot. They also said that he had powers unimaginable and had defeated the Dark Lord by looking at him. But Susan had never believed these stories.

All the same . . . she still expected Harry Potter to look more . . . well, courageous than how he looked now. And for some reason she liked him better this way. He hadn't come charging in on a mighty horse, wielding a massive sword. He looked just like any normal boy. This made her feel even more worried for him. He was just lost like she was. Searching for his identity in a huge place like Hogwarts. Susan hoped in time he would find it.

She also worried for Hannah when she panicked about her exams, or Professor Sprout when she was worried her plants would freeze in winters cold, or Ernie when he was unsure of how to go about his Prefect duties. Now that she thought about it she knew she was being quite silly when she worried over everything. Hannah always said she worried too much.

But the one thing Susan was most worried about and felt most guilty about was going behind Auntie's back. If she found out she was seeing Harry Potter she would be so angry.

When Susan was only five years old she remembered she'd went missing. She must have been playing in the large garden of the house she and Auntie lived in and had wandered off a little too far. The next thing she remembered was feeling very scared because she couldn't find her way home. When her Auntie found her she was in hysterics – Auntie that is, not Susan; for it appeared Auntie was more frightened than Susan had been. Auntie had gathered the whole village (even the Muggles) to search for her missing niece.

And when she found Susan she flung her arms around her and cried for hours; until her face was washed with tears. Afterwards she was very angry at Susan for wandering off and kept saying something about the Death Eaters taking her and killing her niece.

It was then that Susan finally found out the horrible truth.

One night, when the light of the stars had been snuffed out by the darkness some of Voldemort's followers, on their master's orders, had crept to a house where a family lay sleeping and murdered them mercilessly in their beds. The father, the mother and their son; lying dead, their eyes opened lifelessly to welcome in death.

And the horrible truth of this situation was that the father and the mother happened to be Susan's father and mother. And the boy whose childhood had been cruelly snatched from him had been Susan's brother.

That one night Susan had been staying in her Auntie's house for safety, when their murders took place. Her father had apparently figured it was safer for the family to split up. His son had not wanted to part from his parents, and so Susan; a tiny baby had spent that night in her Auntie's house. Voldemort gave orders for the Bones' to be hunted out and when they were found they were to be killed, every single one of them. The one mistake the Dark Lord made was to tell his Death Eaters exactly how many were in the Bones family. The orders were to kill Edgar Bones and his family. And that's what the Death Eaters did . . . or so they thought. Lord Voldemort had been particularly anxious to rid the world of his enemies' children, especially after he heard of a strange prophecy that had proclaimed he would meet his downfall in a baby boy born in July.

The prophecy hadn't been clear to him but all the same, he was worried, desperately worried that any of his enemies children would grow up to defeat him. And so when Amelia Bones heard the news that her brother and his family had been murdered over this she had cradled baby Susan in her arms, sobbing until the sun came up.

It hadn't been easy to get her Auntie to dispense this information to her. But ever since she went missing and her Auntie had panicked she began to discover that Auntie actually feared for her life. The reason why Susan had become so shy and blended into the background was because she felt she had to. If Voldemort found out she was still alive if ever he regained power he might decide to finish off the entire Bones family.

Personally Susan believed Voldemort wouldn't waste his time with one last family member but she felt she should play it safe. Her Auntie wanted it that way.

But the urge to see Harry Potter was so tempting.

He looked just as she had looked on their first day at school. Nervous and lost.

Maybe if she could get close enough to see what he was really like.

But Harry Potter was not a child to make friends with; her Auntie had told her this.

He might be emotionally unstable.

But maybe if she got to know him a little.

Maybe just a little more.

Maybe she could get to know him and let him help her pass her Defence Against the Dark Arts O. W. L.

Yes, that would be harmless.

Okay then, maybe a little more. . .

If she was only curious about him why couldn't she stop thinking about him every time she left the DA after each meeting? Susan had not planned on liking Harry so much. It just happened over time. At the beginning she genuinely had been curious but she could never quite get that jolt in her stomach to stop when she saw him. For her Auntie's sake and hers she had stayed quiet. What she was doing was dangerous. The last thing she wanted to do was make her appearance obvious. If Umbridge found out . . .

If Auntie found out for that matter . . . she'd be in deep trouble.

She was over the moon when they were finally on their own. All summer she'd been thinking about him. This year was a good time to get to know him. She even liked him so much to tell him about her family's death . . .

Susan felt a sudden wave of guilt as she remembered revealing a secret to Harry. She swore to Auntie that she'd never tell anyone.

The train stopped and students were leaving the carriages. Outside the students were chattering excitedly to their families. Susan heaved her trunk outside and searched around for Auntie. Then, she found her. Her short grey hair, as always. Her monocle hanging from her robes, as always. Beaming warmly at her, as always.

"Susan, my darling!" Arms outstretched, Amelia Bones hurried forwards to embrace her niece.

"Auntie!" In her happiness at seeing her aunt, Susan dropped her trunk and ran to give her aunt a hug. It was so good to see Auntie again. She looked in good health too.

"Come here and let me look at you", her aunt laughed studying Susan's smiling face. "Well, I do believe you've grown, and er . . . did you do something to your hair Susan? It's different." Auntie's brow furrowed as she ran a hand through Susan's golden hair.

"Oh yes . . . I thought I'd wear it out for a change." She paused. "You do like it don't your, Auntie?"

Amelia hesitated, gazing fretfully at her young niece's puzzled face. Then she broke into a smile.

"Of course I like it. I love it. You look beautiful my dear. I just hope it doesn't get in your way during class. Now, let's get you home. I do believe I have some shepherd's pie in the oven and a nice, cold butterbeer with your name on it."

Susan squeezed her aunt's arm affectionately and they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. How she had missed her Auntie. For as long as she could remember Auntie had been there for her –a surrogate mother. She loved her Auntie dearly but how could she tell her about Harry? It was best to leave that news for later.

As they walked Susan remembered Auntie talking about Harry's trial.

Auntie had let out a long sigh.

"Never work for the Ministry, Susan, dear. They really make you work for your money."

"Did you have a tough day, Auntie?" Susan asked pulling a chair forward to let Auntie sit in.

"Not so much tough", Auntie said, sitting down, "more confusing. I attended the trial of Harry Potter today."

"Oh?" Susan stopped in the process of pouring some tea into a cup. Auntie had never talked about Harry Potter before. It was as if his name was dangerous to say in the house.

"Yes . . ." she said absently. "He was causing a bit of trouble apparently." And so Auntie had told Susan about Harry's trial. Why he was there and what the outcome had been. "You know, I'm still not sure if I believe his story about Dementors or not but he produced a Patronus. Imagine that . . . at his age he produced a Patronus. A Corporeal Patronus at that."

"Is that good Auntie?" Susan asked interestedly.

Her Auntie nodded gravely. "Mind you, he must need that kind of a spell. What with all the trouble he gets. Still, a Corporeal Patronus, that's pretty impressive." Auntie went on to tell Susan all about the Patronus charm and exactly what a Corporeal Patronus was. So when Susan learned the spell from Harry she had practiced it all summer in the hope of one day using it. Harry would be so impressed, as would her Auntie if she produced a Corporeal one.

Susan felt the warmth of the fireplace as the Floo Powder transported her to her home. And very soon she was sitting in her own warm home eating a delicious dinner. Her Auntie busied herself around the house; putting clean sheets on Susan's bed, warming the fire in the hearth and making the house pleasant for her niece. She was so happy to have her home and every few minutes she would walk past her niece and smile warmly at her.

Later when she climbed into bed for an early night she hoped she would dream about Harry. Maybe they'd be flying his motorbike again, high up through the sky . . .

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all sitting in the Common Room, all very angry because they'd been given homework for over the school holidays. But since it was the first day of the holidays they thought they'd get it out of the way and do it tonight.

The only person who wasn't showing his anger was Harry, who lay sprawled out lazily on the floor of the Common Room. He too was doing his homework but at the same time happily humming no tune in particular. In fact, he seemed to change abruptly from one melody to the next as if to test which sounded most cheerful. But it wasn't the tune of the song that mattered. It was the hidden meanings within them, lingering between their notes that intrigued Rona and Hermione.

They exchanged furtive glances, grinning in amusement.

"Umm, Harry?" Ron said sliding on to the floor next to him. "Why are you so happy?"

"Huh?" Harry stopped humming and snapped his head up defensively. "What do you mean?"

"Well you're acting like you have all the answers to our N. E. W. T exams."

Harry's mood changed like a sudden thunderstorm after a bright sunny day.

"Maybe it's because I'm studying and it'll seem like I had all the answers to my N. E. W. T papers if I do well." He said nastily, slamming his text book ('Grappling with Grindylows') shut.

"I didn't mean to make you angry!" Ron's face twisted in regret.

"Then keep your mouth shut in future!" he said, taking his books upstairs to his dormitory. Ron looked at Hermione for an explanation as to why Harry was acting like this. She just shrugged, feeling annoyed that Harry had turned on them like that.

Maybe she just knows about the way girls act, Ron thought.

In his dormitory Harry finished his homework alone. But he couldn't help feeling a little bad that he'd just jumped down Ron's throat because he asked Harry a simple question.

The answer to it wasn't simple, that was for sure.

Harry had tried to forget that he still had a few weeks left before he'd see Susan again. Before he'd be able to kiss her and hold her tightly. So he'd tried some homework. But all the while he was thinking about her flowing gold hair or how she softly held his hand . . . then Ron had to drag him away from his thoughts by opening his big mouth!

Perhaps it was because Ron had caught him off guard that Harry had snapped at him like that. Why was he so happy anyway?

Harry had asked himself that question over and over. She was only a girl after all and Cho hadn't made him feel the way he was feeling right now.

Only he did have one thing to be upset about. He couldn't help feeling guilty about the way they'd got together. Their 'experience' in Hogsmede had been so rushed and any passion they'd felt had been destructed by the Dementors' appearance. He didn't want Susan to think his feelings for her had been brought on by some school boy lust.

How he wished he'd gotten to know her someplace else . . . In the DA maybe or even that farce of a Yule Ball. Maybe, maybe then they would have taken things slower. (Harry felt a twinge of jealousy. Who did she go to the Ball with?) She didn't deserve to be treated like she was just a piece of meat. Like she wasn't respected. And that's how Harry felt now; like he'd been a savage animal stealing away some of her innocence.

Maybe everyone was wrong about him, Susan thought, stretching out lazily on the bed. Maybe he's just like everyone else.

She was too precious to him. Every time he saw her smile it seemed to warm his heart. And that warmth spread throughout his entire being and took over him. She was becoming a part of him.

He wanted to tell her all this – how much she meant to him and to apologise for his fierce actions. He wanted to prove to her that their relationship would work. Then he would hold her and one day touch her soft skin once more. He would make her tremble with his touch and wrap his arms around her and never let her go . . . Only the next time there would be no guise of whim. Next time it would be true, it would be

Love?

Harry dropped his quill.

Is that what his feelings for her were? Love?

Do I love her? No, I couldn't . . . I've only known her for a few weeks. No . . . that's not right either I've known her for months. Even so; how could I love her?

Whatever it is, it's strong anyway and I'm going to tell her.

Harry got up and fetched his two-way mirror.

He had to tell her. She deserved to know.

His pulse was throbbing and he yet felt as if his heart had stopped beating.

"Susan!" he said clearly.

Author's note: I think I'll leave it there for now. More to come soon! Review!