A/N: Sorry… for the WHOLE weekend we've had nothing but this band competition… so I couldn't update till now. Hope you like this… and yes, Dianne, Ron, Hermione and Ginny will be back next chapter. Thanks for being an ever-faithful reviewer! =) And to everyone else… PLEASE REVIEW ALREADY!!!! =) [Oh yeah, and I've added one minor detail into Chapter 5, which I TOTALLY forgot before… and it adds SOMETHING… so if you want…]

Chapter 6:

Miranda Granger? thought Harry.

It couldn't be… no. Hermione had always said that her sister was the mousy type, shy under ALL circumstances.

Miranda noticed his shocked face. "What?"

He shook his head. Besides, Hermione's sister would only be 11 this year, and this girl looked around 14, or something. "Sorry, it's nothing."

She laughed. "Ok, whatever."

They settled into a comfortable silence.

I have to find out more about this 'Miranda' girl, Harry thought to himself.

"So… where are YOU headed?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She shrugged. "Dunno, as long as I... get away."

He nodded, understanding her situation. "If you don't mind me prying… why'd YOU run away?"

Her eyes became alarmed, but the look disappeared as soon as it came. "Just had to get away from it all, you know?"

Again, Harry nodded. He still wanted to know more, but he figured that he'd have to tell her more, and he still wasn't sure whether he should trust her, or put her into danger. I just want to TALK to someone about everything!

"It would be good to talk to someone about all my problems," she pondered, suggestively.

Harry smiled. "Sure, go ahead." As an afterthought, he added, "But don't expect me to tell you anything in return…"

She grinned. "That's cool. I just need to get it all out, you know?"

He made a gesture with his hands, telling her to go on.

"I think it all sort of started during the summer holidays. My older sister is such a cow, and she's constantly bossing me around…"

FLASHBACK

"Miranda! You always watch TV! Do some work around the house for once!" yelled her sister.

"Leave me alone! It's up to an AMAZING scene!" Miranda retorted.

Miranda's sister came storming into the room, grabbed the plug and swiftly pulled it out. "NOW! Go and clean your room. I can't deal with this now, I've got too much going on. Just do what I say!"

"YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER!"

"But I am," Mrs Granger said softly, her eyes starting to tear, as she watched her daughters fight. Her husband put his arm around her shoulder, comforting her. She turned to her eldest daughter. "Please, stop yelling so much." Then, to Miranda, "Miranda, honey, just do what your sister says, please."

Miranda gave her sister a look, before she burst out into another tirade. "I HATE YOU!" she screamed. "I WISH YOU WEREN'T MY SISTER!" Miranda stormed out of the room, leaving her parents with pale looks on their faces.

Mr Granger turned to his wife. "You don't think…" His voice drifted off. "You don't think…" he repeated.

His wife hushed him, eyeing her other daughter, who was sitting on the couch in tears, Miranda's comment obviously hurting her. "I think it's time."

END FLASHBACK

"So then my parents came into my room and-" Here Miranda began to cry. "And told me that I was a-adopted!" She sniffed, the end of her story apparent.

Harry didn't know what to do. It wasn't often that he was surrounded by crying girls. Hermione's always really strong and always busies herself with work to distract herself, and Ginny's been around her brothers for so long, there's nothing that can hurt her. He awkwardly put his arm around her shoulders. He tried to comfort her, to soother her. "My parents died when I just after my first birthday," he said softly.

Miranda stopped crying, and looked up. "Sorry. And here I am crying about being ADOPTED!" She let out a small laugh.

"I think we're both as worse off as the other," he said distantly, still trying to get his parents out of his mind.

She sniffed. "I suppose."

Again, they settled into a comfortable silence.

I could get used to this, Harry thought. We can just run away together, look out for each other, maybe…

WHAT ABOUT GINNY, YOU GIT!

I'm leaving that ALL behind. I'm NEVER going back. I'm doing them a favour by doing this. I'll finish him and then let them live their lives. Without me.

A/N: That was a bit short-ish… Hope that was ok. It was a bit boring, but sort of necessary to explain Miranda's situation… =/ PLEASE RR!!! =) It makes things a little more positive… and a little more incentive! =) So then I'll write the next chapter… =)