Those of you who know me, know, that I don't normally do this, but Ori had a very good question that made me rethink a lot of this story and I just had to answer it.

Everyone read this because it's important: Yes, there is a reason as to why Dumbledore chose this specific time to invite Talia and Wyatt to Hogwarts, though it is, in fact, not centered on Talia and Wyatt, as much as it is centered on Hogwarts, the wizarding world and Harry Potter.

Going by J. K. Rowling's books, the story gets darker as Harry gets older and such is the case here. We are currently at the summer before Harry's seventh year. Things are pretty volatile in the wizarding world. Dumbledore knows that the end is nigh. The final battle between Good and Evil in the wizarding world is approaching and he's frantically doing all he can to prepare the side of Good for it.

What does this entail? Well, I'm assuming that after the nasty little surprise Harry received at the end of Book 5 (this is Post OotP: Order of the Phoenix, by the way), he was much more motivated to learn Occlumency than he was before. But this was only one part of his training by Dumbledore and the Order during year 6. His training is all magically centered. Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks are all teaching him how to properly use his wand to defend himself and fight in the oncoming war. Severus Snape is proving to be quite an asset, showing him dark curses that Harry's not so sure he would use given the chance. But Harry and Snape still hate each other and it's holding Harry's training back. Thankfully, Harry has already mastered Occlumency by the end of year 6 and is at the beginning of year 7, already working on Legilimency. It's safe to assume that if Voldemort were to attack now, he'd get a lot more than the feeble attempt at dueling from Harry that he got both in year 4 and year 5!

Ok, so Harry's in training. What's that got to do with Dumbledore calling in Wyatt and Talia? Wyatt and Talia are wiccans. It would never occur to Dumbledore to invite them to Hogwarts in the first place, unless there was a reason for it, which explains why neither was invited to Hogwarts earlier. As to, why now... I've already mentioned in chapter 1 that in Harry's sixth year something happened that got the entire DA involved. There's a story there that I planned on divulging in snippets and hints. Something bad happened in Hogwarts the previous year, and a Slytherin student was involved. The DA (yes, it's still active – last year's teacher was still not quite up to par) put up a great defense. Better than any expected. Who knows what might have happened to Hogwarts if they hadn't gotten involved?

It got Dumbledore thinking. Students aren't just there as useless, innocent, entities to be protected. They can be of use in this war. They want to be of use in this war. They're already getting involved, on both sides. And as teachers, he and the rest of the staff often get left out from what it's going on at the student level of things. At the beginning of the story, Dumbledore was looking for a way to counteract that. What better way to add protection to the school by bringing in two veteran warrior forces of the light? And these two warriors, Talia and Wyatt, are of a young age and can interact with the students. Surely if anyone can see to it that nothing evil happens amongst, or by, the students of Hogwarts, it's Wyatt and Talia.

But the two cousins don't know any of this. Talia believes that Dumbledore is firmly on the side of the Light, but she's pretty sure that he hasn't told them everything. Her father's revelation that war is brewing in the wizarding world, has strengthened this belief. She's watchful. Leo knows as much as she does and he too, for the moment, has decided to keep an eye on the two cousins, and he's mouth shut. Wyatt and the Charmed Ones are, as usual, blissfully ignorant.

..oo00oo..

And because I can't upload only an author's note, here's chapter 11 although it's a little short. Thank yous go to the very few who are apparently still reading (and reviewing) this story: Psychoticmurderer, Winter Blaze, Anime No Megami, Ori and Charmed148.

And for those of you who asked, I know what a boggart is and that wasn't the creature Talia and Wyatt faced in the previous chapter. Boggarts and Dementors are J. K. Rowling's creations and I would never dream of claiming them as my own. The Roarggort however, is my own creation. Might I suggest that you reread the previous chapter?

..oo00oo..

And of course, a big thank you goes to the one, the only, Nightcrawler

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Chapter 11: Haunted

"Talia..."

Brown eyes opened in the dark. They were clear and alert, with no sign of sleep left in them. Talia had gone from fully asleep to fully awake in less time than it would have taken normal people to blink. Had she really just heard someone call her name?

"Talia..."

Yes. And whoever they were, they had just called again.

Talia sat up in bed.

"Who are you?" she spoke in a soft, but clear voice. "Show yourself."

The answer came quickly.

"I am the only one who understands, Talia. We're the same you and I."

The haunting voice rang clear in her ears. There was a hissing, lilting quality to it that made her shiver in the dark. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling. It was the thrill and excitement Talia associated with the attraction she felt for dark magic. With a frown, she forced the feeling down and scanned the shadows. She knew that she was not alone in her room. She threw the covers off her and hung a leg on the side of the bed.

"I demand that you show yourself right now," she commanded, standing up to face the invisible intruder. She hung her arms loosely by her sides, ready for a fight.

Talia couldn't believe how cold the room suddenly seemed to be! In her short, flimsy nightgown, she could feel the cold pass right through her to chill her very bones. Her shallow, fast breaths came in small puffs of mist and, though she stubbornly refused to show it even in the depths of her dark eyes, she was frightened. This cold was most certainly not natural. They were only at the beginning of August!

A gasp left her lips as Talia was flung hard against the wall by an invisible force. Her head smacked sharply against the stone wall and unshed tears of pain filled her eyes.

She felt, rather than saw, a cold shadow cover her, pushing her further against the stone. A cold, invisible hand held her wrists high above her head. She could do nothing to protect herself from the invisible, menacing presence that filled the room.

Talia's breath caught in her throat as she felt a ghostly hand make its way up one bare leg.

"Who are you?" she managed, while that same invisible hand roamed her body, intent in its seduction.

"I am your heart's hidden desires, Princess," the cold teased in her ear. "You may deny the darkness, Talia, but the darkness will never, ever, give up its claim on you. You are part of it."

Invisible lips covered hers, and she gasped in surprise. The intruder saw that as an invitation and slipped an invisible tongue between her open, bewildered lips. Talia's eyes closed of their own accord and she surrendered into the strange kiss. It was like none she had ever had before; demanding, consuming, controlling; cruel.

At that final realisation, Talia's eyes flipped open and she resisted the kiss, tried to turn away. She felt sharp teeth tear her bottom lip, and had to bite back a cry of pain.

"Leave me alone," she commanded in an angry voice that did not betray the fear that flowed through her. She could taste her own blood now. It flowed rich and red from her torn, swollen lip.

"As you wish, my lady," the shadow obliged with an evil cackle, "but I'll be back."

..ooOOoo..

At the Burrow, Harry Potter woke up drenched in sweat with a scream firmly lodged in his throat.

Ron's rhythmic snores continued on the bed next to his, and, still breathing heavily, Harry settled back down in bed, already accustomed to the rituals of being woken up in the middle of the night by a nightmare.

His mind was filled with images of a pretty girl with brown hair and big brown eyes. He had watched her through the eyes of another. Voldemort, he presumed. There was fear and confusion. He had practically tasted her terror, though she had bravely shown none of it. Whoever this girl was, Voldemort had been very, very interested in her and Harry was pretty sure that the girl didn't even know why.

It had been a while since he had any dreams of this kind. Not since Sirius in fact, he thought with a pang. With practised ease he slipped into the routine of his Occlumency exercises.

Talia, he remembered, before slipping back into deep sleep. Her name was Talia.

..ooOOoo..

A/N: I know it was short, but I did give you guys plenty of information in the author's note above. Please review!