A/N:here it is. short, i know, but at least it's something. i'm SO sorry i took so long. now that i've got something i'll update more often. this one's un-beta'd, and until i find a new beta the rest will be too.

dislaimer: not mine

"So where do we head before anywhere else?" Hermione asked, "Your aunt and uncle's?" The trio had just stepped off the train and it was still unclear what order they were going to go in. Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a strangely familiar voice.

"Burrow first, you lot need to make sure everyone knows where to look for you so they don't freak out." A short girl with somewhat long blonde hair was standing there with slightly overlong jeans and a simple T-shirt on; her dark blue eyes looked tired. It took a moment to register with Harry just who this girl was, as he hadn't seen her since the day after their little fiasco with Dudley and his crew. She had left that Sunday, and that Tuesday he'd gotten his letter from Dumbledore. While his memory of her was vague at best, he was sure there was something different about her. Her hair was down, if that made any difference, and strangely done. Where the part would have been, there was a braid that went all the way from her forehead to the tips of her hair. The rest was down, producing a strange look. Really, though, was it even her? The girl flashed him a quick smile, and he caught a glimpse of fangs. It was Jen.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, suddenly oblivious to his two companions and the looks they were throwing Jen.

"One of the many accompanying you to the Burrow. I'm Jen, by the way," she said, extending a hand each to Hermione and Ron. The three shook and Jen launched into an explanation. "The Order thinks it would be a good idea if you all explained your traveling plans first so that they know when to start worrying that you've been captured, and where to look." Both got slightly wide-eyed and Ron cast a wary look to Harry.

"Harry, do you know her?" Hermione asked, indicating to Jen.

Harry nodded and explained, "She was the one watching me for the Order this summer."

"One of the ones," Jen corrected then went on, "You really don't think they'd trust me to watch you all by myself, do you?" Harry gave an amused half smile in reply.

"There they are," someone called. The four teens turned to see Ginny, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, and two women than only Jen seemed to recognize. It turned out that the two newcomers were Jen's friends from America. Their names were Brenna and Aidan, and both of them were a good deal taller than Jen. Aidan had hair as red as Ron's, with so many light and dark brown streaks in it that it was impossible to tell what color there was the most of. She was slightly shorter than Lupin, but not by much, and was wearing old looking jeans that had quite a few holes in them, a red tank top, and combat boots. Aidan's eyes were a very reddish brown, with a few lighter specks, and she had a piercing on her eyebrow, on her lip, and four on each ear. Brenna was taller than Lupin by about an inch, and was wearing a knee-length black skirt as well as a form fitting, short-sleeved black top and boots similar to Aidan's that went up past the hem of the skirt. Her outfit, along with her raven black hair, brought out the paleness of her complexion. Harry saw that her dark eyes held silver specks that were the same color as the last two inches of her hair.

On the car ride to the Burrow, Jen introduced herself with more detail to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, all of whom were taking the news that Jen was half harpy much better than Harry would have expected.

"So have you heard the news?" Harry asked, suddenly solemn as he remembered Dumbledore. Jen's arrival could only distract him for so long.

Jen nodded, saying nothing. Ron, on the other hand, said, "Can you believe it? I mean I never liked Snape, but I didn't really think he'd turn out to be a filthy traitor." No one noticed the look Jen gave to Ron for this statement.

Jen and Lupin were arguing. Everyone else was still unpacking, and Jen's friends and Moody had left. Tonks was in the kitchen with Harry; both were staring at the door that led to the living room, where two voices could just be heard. Tonks seemed contemplative, and Harry didn't want to miss out on what he could hear by asking her if she knew what they were fighting about. He couldn't understand much of what was going on, but he thought he heard "dangerous", "stupid", "friend", "have to", and "bad idea". There were quite a few "NO"s coming from both of them.

"Remus, I. DON'T. CARE. If it's fucking dangerous, I'm going to anyway," Jen almost yelled as she exited into the kitchen, her head still turned towards the living room. She turned and noticed Tonks and Harry, though she didn't seem surprised.

"You can't just randomly decide to do something like this. Do you even have any proof?"

"Depending on how you define 'proof', I have somewhere between a little and a mountain of it. However, my trust should be enough for you to get off my case about it. I'm not asking anyone to help me, nor do I intend to."

Lupin dropped his voice and said something only Jen could hear,and whatever it was earnedhim a look that would make most people flinch.

"Goodbye, Remus," Jen said, then gave a quick wave to the two others before heading out the kitchen door. Harry heard a muffled 'pop' and knew Jen had gone.

A/N: hope that wasn't too obvious. i really need a new beta. anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviewed and i hope you enjoyed this.