Chapter 2
Trust and Cousins
Five minutes after the group had left; Albus Dumbledore was left alone to deal with angry and concerned questions from four very panicked teens and one very angry Molly Weasley, who's wrath had become legendary among the Order and everyone (including Snape) had learned the hard way to steer clear of it. She was currently yelling at the Headmaster for letting Laura accompany the adults on what very well could be a trap.
Getting anxious about the group, but in no means worried about the sixteen - year - old's ability to defend herself in the case of an attack, Professor Dumbledore decided to put a stop to the Weasley matriarch's attacks before he really did get a headache, "Molly, please, calm down. You are giving me a headache." The look he received told him that she could care less about his head when her surrogate son and daughter were in danger. "Laura is perfectly capable of dealing with and indeed probably the best suited to deal with, the possible Death Eater attack, which is why I sent her. As to her being underage, she will be seventeen in a few days and to put it frankly, it is up to me, not you, as her legal guardian to decide what she can and cannot do."
Mrs. Weasley looked like she was going to argue back when Hermione interrupted, "Please professor? Why is Laura the best suited to deal with an attack? And is Harry really in that much danger?"
"Unfortunately, yes, Harry is in grave danger. Not only from the impending attack, but now it appears that his relatives no longer want his presence in their house." Dumbledore seemed to be purposely ignoring her question about Laura."
"Harry always hated going back to the Dursleys during the holiday, but they never said they abused him." commented an ashen faced Ron who looked like hurting someone at the moment. "Ginny, what's wrong?" he added seeing his sister's horror struck face.
"The Howler."
"Hu?" was the response she got from everyone present.
"I sent Harry a Howler last night when Hedwig came with Harry's 'I'm fine' notes and nothing else. I was so upset at Mum crying and Lupin looking like he was trying not to that I had sent it before I even knew what I was doing."
The wizened headmaster opened his mouth to respond when three loud cracks alerted those present to the group's return. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny were already racing to be the first to meet them before the adults present had even gotten out of their chairs.
What they saw when they got there was Kingsley looking torn between amusement and the 'ready for battle' look that all Aurors wore when danger was near, Tonks was shaking half with laughter and half with fright being supported by Remus Lupin who was not looking much better.
Questions started hounding the three, "Why are you laughing?" "What happened?" "Where's Laura and Harry" "What's wrong with Tonks?"
Holding his hand out, Kingsley said, his emotions under control, in his deep calming voice, "One at a time. Harry is with Laura, who should be along any moment after she's done dealing with You – Know – Who." Gasps were heard all around, "Tonks will be fine after she gets over the shock of surviving a killing curse aimed at her chest with no way to block it, only to have it dissolve into a shield cast by Laura."
He paused and looked at Dumbledore, who looked like he was very proud of his charge's accomplishments but not surprised. "I see what you mean Albus. She is a very good duelist, even without her wand."
This statement caused a shocked silence broken by Hermione and Ginny's scream of "HARRY!" Laura had appeared in the middle of the group looking distinctly disgruntled, "Sorry it took so long. Teleporting with another person is hard enough, doing it with another person AND extra luggage is nearly impossible." This was aimed at the three who had appeared a short while before her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go take care of my cousin and will be needing Ginny and Hermione's help. The rest of you can direct your questions to the two males who seem to be perfectly capable of answering them. Remus, can you bring Tonks up with you?"
"No, I'm fine Laura. Besides, Harry will need your full attention." Tonks answered, pulling herself away from Remus' supporting arms.
"Ginny and Hermione will be able to do most of it. I also need to see if that shield managed to stop the entire spell or just numb the effects. Now upstairs, everyone. Any disturbances and the one to cause them will be hanging upside down for the rest of the week." This threat shut Ron up, who had just been about to protest (he had just recently learned that getting on the bad side of Laura was worse than getting on the bad side of Fred and George.
Seeing the fierce look in her eyes, no one, not even Mrs. Weasley, tried to argue. Defeated, the three girls marched upstairs with Harry hovering before them while everyone else trudged back into the kitchen.
"What's taking so long? They've been locked up in there for two days." Ron grumbled as they were sitting down to breakfast three days after Harry had been rescued from the Dursleys.
"Maybe Harry's died and they just don't want to tell us." Neville said with a fearful look in his eyes. "I don't think I could stand losing another friend so soon."
"Now boys, don't start thinking down those lines. I'm sure that the four of them are just fine. It's probable just taking longer than it usually would. After all, Laura's powers are bound to be lower than usual after taking that cutting curse to the chest." Mrs. Weasley scolded the two boys before setting down their breakfast in front of them. "Although, I am getting worried. They haven't eaten in those two days either. Maybe I should go up and give them something."
"That wouldn't be the best idea Molly. I once had the misfortune of getting on Laura's bad side and ended up with that same curse placed on me." Dumbledore said sitting down at the table and digging into the plate in front of him. "Although, I was up there a lot longer than Mr. Weasley was when he encountered it. I wonder if it was because I had annoyed her more or because I had tried every counter curse I knew to get out of it, to no avail I might add." This caused Ron and Neville to snort into their plates earning them disapproving looks from Mrs. Weasley.
"Actually, Ada, it was a bit of both. If I can recall that incident correctly, it was the time that you had attempted to make me spent the summer holiday with Snape and I conveniently forgot to tell you that the harder you try to get yourself down the more time was added to the original amount that was set." Laura said from the door, an evil smirk on her face. "I think that that was sufficient enough to convince you that it wasn't the best idea in the world."
This was too much for everyone to take and they all started roaring with laughter, even Mrs. Weasley had given into the image of Albus Dumbledore, esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts hanging upside down with his usual robes that seemed to have been stuck in their minds. It was actually, quite literally, as Fred and George figured from the smirk that was developing across her face, "LAURA! Stop! That's just too gross."
George looked from her to his former headmaster's resigned look and asked, "Did she really, headmaster?"
"Not quite like what I imagine she is making you see, but yes, I must admit that I did spend a rather long time in the air after suggesting that she spend the summer holidays with Professor Snape." This comment brought another round of laughter from the gathered party.
Just then, Hermione and Ginny came in looking slightly worse for wear. Hermione's innocent question of "What's so funny?" brought another round of laughter that was only stopped when Mrs. Weasley got a good look at the state of the three healers.
"Ginny! What have you three been doing? You look like you haven't slept in days!"
"We haven't Mum. We've been to busy taking care of Harry that we only slept in two-hour shifts, and that was just me and Hermione. Laura stayed up the whole time." Ginny was grinning at the scowl that was beginning to form on the girl's face. "She kept muttering something about broken ribs and 'that bloody cutting curse.'"
That last comment did the trick. Not only did it get Mrs. Weasley away from Ginny and Hermione, which was what she intended, but also got her fussing over Laura as payback for her stunt on her guardian. "Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine. Just a few broken ribs, but that's all. I need to go check up on Harry in a moment, I just came down to let you all know that he's fine and when he decides to wake up he'll be perfectly fine to do what ever he wants." And with that she made her escape before she could be cornered, leaving a giggling Hermione and a very sour Ginny to answer all their questions.
Harry's first conscious memory was of seeing the Killing Curse flying straight at Tonks. Sitting bolt upright in a panic and trying to get out of bed, he found himself being forced back down by an invisible hand. After trying to fight the spell for five minutes, Harry resigned himself to the obvious and laid back down on the bed.
Looking around the room, he saw that instead of the being in the Hospital Wing like he was expecting, he was in some sort of room, apparently a bedroom. There were books scattered around and from what he could see they were mostly Defense Against the Dark Arts books ('Maybe I'm with the new DADA teacher' he thought), but there were also a fair amount of muggle fantasy around too.
He heard the door open and close and turned his head to see the black haired girl who came to pick him up from the Dursleys enter. She had an armload of food with her, and was downing it faster than he thought possible. Looking up she stopped eating and said mildly, "Oh good you're awake. We thought you had decided not to rejoin the living and that we were going to have to ask Snape to give you detention for the rest of the year unless you got up."
A very confused Harry could only stare at her like an idiot before a very intelligent "Hu?" escaped him.
Arching an eyebrow at him the girl (he still couldn't remember her name) said sarcastically, "Very intelligent Mister Potter. If you keep this up you just may be able to make it past first year Charms. Pathetic really, Remus said you were bright, well bright and quick, apparently he was wrong."
That last comment made him flush, "Well maybe it would help if I knew who you are, where I am, and what day it is."
She put the food down on the desk next to her crossed to the door opened it and hollered, "Hey guys! I'm putting that hex back up so unless you want to be hanging upside down for the rest of the day I suggest you do not try to open the door or eavesdrop on us. And yes you two that includes your Extendable Ears." Harry could guess that the last comment was directed at the Weasley twins who had invented the very useful eavesdropping tools last year to spy on Order business due to the loud groans that followed.
When she turned around and shut the door with a wave of her hand he said, "You know, it would be easier to put an Impurbiable Charm on the door. The ears can't get through them."
"They were improved. I'm surprised that you didn't hear the explosion in Surry when she found Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and I listening to an Order meeting on them. That was the angriest I've ever seen Mrs. Weasley, and as none of us have a death wish we all handed ours over with no protests. I wouldn't be surprised if Fred and George still had some though.
"As to your earlier questions; it is now one day before your birthday, and you are at Grimmuld Place, so you now know that I'm not going to kidnap you and take you to Voldemort as Dumbledore trusts me."
Dumbledore's name brought a dark look to the boy's face and he growled, "But can we trust him?"
It was almost impossible to miss the look that she sent him, but miss it he did causing the girl to say, "Right, I am going to ignore that for the moment. But as to who I am…" she hesitated then said, "I'm Laura Akira Potter, the daughter of James Potter's older brother."
"Nice to mee -" Laura's words finally sunk in. "That's not possible. All my dad's family is - ."
"Dead I know. That's what most of the world thinks anyway. Until ten years ago, that is what everyone thought. You weren't the only one to survive the attack on Godric's Hollow." Laura said gently.
"But then, that would mean I don't have to live with the Dursleys anymore!" He paused, "Why didn't Dumbledore tell me?" he demanded. "Was it another bloody thing he thought I was to young to hear?"
"BECAUSE TELLING YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN TELLING VOLDEMORT AND RIDDLE FINDING OUT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY DEATH SENTENCE! I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I KNOW THAT I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH OF A DEATH WISH!"
Harry was stunned. He hadn't meant to yell at her, he barely knew her, but had even less expected that she'd yell back. Maybe he was too used to people walking on eggshells around him. Too shocked to think properly "Who?"
"What? Oh, sorry, it's what I call Dumbledore. He's been my guardian since they discovered I was alive."
"Oh, so you get to live with someone who loves you while I get sent back to the Dursleys every summer. I doubt the old man even cares that I'm alive right now. As he said 'my priority was to keep you alive', he only cares about the damn prophecy. He won't even give me the information on what Voldemort is doing." the sarcasm was practically dripping from his voice.
"Did you read any of the mail we've been sending you over this month? I don't think so, cause if you have, then you'd know that Ada promised to tell you every thing that you needed to know when you got here."
"THAT'S ONLY SO I STAY ALIVE TO FUFILL THAT BLOODY PROPHECY!" Harry exploded loudly. "HE DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME!"
Laura arched her eyebrow "Harry if I told you that Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville were being hunted by the supporters of the most feared dark lord of the age what would your first priority be?"
"To protect them." was the automatic answer.
"And that is exactly how Ada felt with you. He cared more about keeping you alive than anything else. And it was the blood protection that kept you alive that first year. From what I've heard there were five attacks on you within that year and the only thing that stopped them all was the blood protection.
"As to keeping the prophecy from you, Harry, do you really expect me to believe that you wouldn't have gone off trying to fulfill the damned thing your first year if you had known?"
Harry opened his mouth to retort but stopped short as he thought about it. He laid there for a moment staring at the sheets. She was right; he probably would have gone and tried to fulfill the prophecy before he was ready and gotten himself killed doing it. Slowly he realized that she had just squashed all of his arguments in one go. In one last attempted protest, before he completely gave in he asked, "Does the whole Order know about the Prophecy?"
Laura laughed "Nope, though not for lack of trying. They've been hounding Ada, Remus and Sirius to tell them since the Order was called back. If anything, what happened in June's made them even more desperate to know. But Ada's told them that it was for you to tell and no one else. And before you ask; your friends don't know about it either, though I strongly suggest you tell them. Then only reason I know is because I was eavesdropping Dumbledore went to tell Uncle James and Aunt Lily about it. I was spending the week there as my parents were on an Order mission, and no one knows that I know it. Happy now?"
"I guess. Though I suspect you're going to want me to apologize to him now."
"That would be a good idea. You hurt Ada badly when you refused to talk to him last time. And as those who know him well say; Dumbledore's silence is ten times worse than his wrath."
Harry sighed, she was right; Dumbledore not talking to him last year had hurt a lot more than he had thought silence would. Already he could feel his anger towards Dumbledore disappearing to be replaced with guilt at how he had treated to old man and at what he did to his office the night Sirius died.
Seeing his eyes fill with sadness, Laura took a guess at what was bothering him and said softly, "It wasn't your fault, you know."
"Yes it was. Voldemort tricked me into going and then he came and died because I was so DAMNED GULLABLE!" the last words came out louder than he had wanted.
"No, I don't think so." Laura said thoughtfully. Harry looked up. "Wither or not you knew the prophecy you would have gone. All you knew was that Sirius was in danger and that you were the only ones who could save him, sure, you would have been a little more careful about how you did it, but I still think you would have gone. To put it simply, you loved him to much to risk your vision being real and not doing anything about it. Sirius' death was no one's fault but Voldemort's for luring you there and Bellatrix's for casting the curse that killed him."
As Harry listened to his newly found cousin's words, he felt the guilt and pain for Sirius slowly ease into a small ache that would always be there but would allow him to live his life, as Sirius would have wanted him to. "Do you know just how much you sounded like Dumbledore just then?"
"Did I really? I guess ten years of living with him must have finally rubbed off. Ada'll and Minerva will be pleased. Now if only his obedience to the rules would rub off as well then the whole staff would be thrilled. They seem to fear what I may do once term starts"
Harry snorted and asked, "Are you part of the Order? Is that why you were with Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley when they picked me up?"
"I wish. If I was in the Order, not only would you hear Molly Weasley fuming over that, but Fred, George, and everyone else who is not aloud to join until they graduate."
"So you're our age?"
"Nope. Year older, seventeen tomorrow. Now come on before the whole lot of them lose their patience, try to blow up the door and end up hanging upside."
Harry's eyes widened "You're underage and you can do that? Are you sure you're not in the Order? Cause if you're not then being Dumbledore's protégé seems to have it's advantages."
"Yep, I swear I'm not in the Order cause if I was you'd have heard about it." Laura paused thinking. "Tell you what, this bit of info can be your early birthday present; I over heard Kingsley telling Mad – Eye that Dumbledore's managed to convince the Order to give us a trial so we're all asked to be present at tonight's meeting and we're going to have to prove that they should let us in. Unfortunately that means the vote's got to be unanimous, so we'll have to convince Mrs. Weasley. The only thing I can think of that will convince her is the Prophecy. You'll also be finding out why I can do certain types of magic outside of school."
"Why not now?"
Harry could have sworn he saw her brilliant sapphier eyes darken for a moment before answering, "Just like you have your secrets, I have mine. Judging by how hard it is to get into the Order we'll both be forced to revel them before we're ready to." she suddenly brightened and with a wave of her hand removed the spell that had Harry bound to his bed.
"Now come on. I really don't feel like having all five Weasley boys, Ginny, Hermione, and Neville yelling at me to take them down. I have a hunch that Fred and George are already up there."