Author's note: I'm beginning by apologizing yet again for not updating earlier-mild case of writer's block, that's all. And a BIG thank you to all those who reviewed-you can't imagine just how much it means to me. (Sounds soppy? Oh, well…)

The Sorting Hat 100: Alex, it's great to have my 'addicted reviewer' back! Thanks, I'm fine now, and I did get your email btw.

jeevesandwooster: Hi there! My, when you say that, it's hard for an author to have writer's block:-)

SummerOfFreedom: That's sweet of you. I'm doing fine now. Yeah, I wish Sheena wasn't dead, but she had to go…

Hayden Elrics: Absolutely! She was afraid that Harry and Co. would hit the right connection about her family. I was wondering why no one asked earlier! Keep reading!

Cassandra Cheney: Really? That's very reassuring, thanks a lot!

Disclaimer: (Thought I'll just put it in once in a way) I'm gonna be pleading insanity at court anyway, (continues in tone dripping with sarcasm) so I can safely claim that I'm J.K. Rowling and I created Harry Potter.

Note: The funeral was on Tuesday morning and Morgan drops her bombshell on Harry that evening-just wanted to make that clear.

Chapter 10: Haunted

One week later

Morgan sipped her cup of coffee, her mind emptied of all emotion as she sat alone at the table in a muggle restaurant-the same that she and Harry had been to on their blind date.

"What would you like to eat, ma'am?"

Morgan looked up at waiter blankly. "Er…let's see. How about," she paused and jabbed a random finger at an item in the breakfast menu, "some scrambled eggs and some toast?"

"Right away."

Morgan surveyed the place dully. Not many people were about and the few that were, were clearly engrossed in themselves or their newspapers. A man was entering now, looking around casually as he did so. Morgan didn't pay much attention to him until he walked right up to her table and spoke to her.

"May I sit here? I hate eating alone."

Morgan was not in the mood for company but didn't want to seem churlish and so nodded her consent. The stranger slid into the chair opposite her and it was only then that Morgan took a good look at him. He had brown hair and bright blue eyes and an easy smile but there was something vaguely familiar about him. The waiter placed her breakfast before her, interrupting her scrutiny. Then he took the stranger's order who turned to her again after the waiter left.

Nothing happened for a while after that-the two just concentrated on downing their respective breakfasts. Once they'd finished, the stranger spoke again.

"Now can we talk, Morgan?" His voice had changed from the earlier lighter to his usual deeper, slightly husky tone.

Morgan's head snapped up in disbelief. "H-harry?"

Harry smiled wryly. "Yes, it's me all right. No, I wasn't born a Metamorphmagus- I learnt the hard, oh-so-painful way. And you might want to close your mouth-the flies might get in. And you might also want to tell me why you're hiding from everyone."

"I'm not hiding," snapped Morgan. "I'm just-just giving myself some space…"

Harry raised one brown eyebrow. "Right."

"Why are you here, Harry?" asked Morgan tiredly.

"Well, after you enlightened me about your real name, you tore out of my flat before I could ask you anything else. So I'm still in the dark about your whole story. I gave you a week's time and now, frankly, my patience has run out," said Harry lightly.

"Isn't it enough that I told you who I really am, Harry?"

"No."

"Why?"

Harry considered. When he replied his tone was still light and bantering but his eyes were dead serious. "There was a boy who had a miserable childhood, but found his real home in a great wizarding school. Destiny was cruel, though. He was hounded by a megalomaniac and was manipulated since he was the only person who could bring down the power-hungry dark wizard. The boy accepted his destiny but decided to fight the war on his own terms. And so he never had time for love. Then came a time when a beautiful, witty, auburn-haired witch entered his life in an unusual way. And for the first time in his life this man was faced with the thought that he might be in love."

Harry continued still looking steadily at Morgan's face. "Morgan, maybe I'm wrong, but things happened so quickly, I just had no idea where we were headed. But I was beginning to be quite sure that I wanted to see you as some sort of constant in my life. And when you told me about you that day, I realized I knew nothing about you. Don't you think I deserve to know your story, and not just a snippet like the tantalizing excerpt from a highly awaited novel?"

Harry's heart was pounding as he waited for her reply. He didn't want to think about what he'd do if her answer was 'no'.

Morgan sat assimilating what Harry had just told her. He'd practically told her that he was in love with her. He didn't deserve to be saddled with someone like her but he certainly didn't deserve to be kept in the dark about her life. At least he was open minded and wanted to listen.

Harry watched Morgan's chin lift slightly signaling her determination. "All right, Harry," she said softly. "I'll tell you." Then came a slight attempt at humour. "But, I'd prefer it if you were out of that awful disguise, you know…"

…………………………………

They were in the small flat that Morgan had rented for the time being. Harry ran a hand through his now messy pitch-black hair and waited patiently for the girl in front of him to begin her tale.

"When Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange were sentenced to Azkaban, I was slightly less than a year old. Ordinarily, custody would've been granted to Lestrange's people, but since the only other surviving Lestrange, my Uncle Rabastan was also convicted along with them, I was handed into my Aunt Narcissa's care."

Morgan got up from the hard chair she was sitting on and began to walk about the tiny living-cum-dining room.

"I suppose my dear old mum must've instructed Narcissa to have me brought up in the strict Black tradition in addition to 'Toujours pur'," Morgan grimaced slightly before she continued, "Because I don't ever recollect having any friends or being at the receiving end of the slightest affection."

"In fact, my earliest memory of my stay with the Malfoys is that of being whipped for having hugged my aunt, craving for some love."

"Their motto was 'Love is for fools' and according to them fools always died."

"They were also training me to avenge the fact that my parents were in Azkaban. So, Narcissa Malfoy made me look into her pensieve again and again and relive the courtroom scene. Yeah, she was there all right, though Lucius wasn't."

"That began when I was seven years old. My first question was why I had to avenge my parents when they'd clearly done something wrong. If my aunt had brainwashed me into thinking that my parents had done nothing wrong, perhaps now I wouldn't be here, who knows? But she punished me without an answer and that was her first mistake. Because now I knew I had spoken the truth."

"They hated the fact that I was being rebellious. They starved, whipped, cursed and still I'd refuse to accept their views. My aunt was disgusted with me and I…I was ashamed to call myself a part of their family."

"I tried running away once, maybe when I was eight years old, but they caught me. I think I've mentally blocked the consequences of that action from my mind. I just don't remember."

"I finally ran away when I was ten, when everyone was out and one of the house elves had been careless and had left my door unlocked. I don't remember how I went or where I ran, but I kept looking behind to see if someone was on my trail."

"Then I ran smack into a little girl with two golden braids on a village road…"

…….Flashback…….

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"I'm sorry! You were in the way, though…"

The golden-haired girl was about her own age. In an instant, two slightly younger tow-headed twin boys stood at her side, their fists raised protectively.

"You hurt our sister!" shouted one angrily.

"What's going on?" The voice was warm, yet warning. It belonged to a pretty, petite woman who had just come out of a nearby shop.

"Mummy, this nasty girl hurt Sheena!" shouted the other twin.

Maria Connelly glanced at the red-haired little girl who looked scared and defiant at the same time. Her eyes widened when she glanced at the bruises on the child's hands and the rather shabby outfit she was currently wearing.

"I'm sure it was an accident, children. Pat, Brian, there's no need to yell. Sheena, stop sulking. What's your name, dear?"

Morgan looked frightened. "I…I…" she stuttered. Then she completely lost it when she gazed back at the kind blue eyes and threw herself into the strange woman's arms, sobbing incoherently…

…….End flashback………

"Mrs. Connelly took me in and when my guardians showed up having magically traced me, she was a real dragon. She threatened to report them for child abuse when they mentioned she was doing something illegal by taking me. And when things turned nasty, she went to the Wizengamot."

"The Wizengamot held that she couldn't adopt me since my parents were still alive, but Dumbledore declared that she would be my new guardian in the light of the way the Malfoys had treated me. And that was that. The Malfoys never forgave the Connellys for what they did."

"As for me, I had friends for the first time in my life and I was supremely happy."

"Hogwarts, of course, was next and though I did see my horrible cousin there, I wasn't awfully bothered by it. But in my fourth year, Voldemort got my parents and other death eaters out of Azkaban and my nightmares began."

"My mother was furious at what she termed my 'betrayal' because she came to Hogsmeade once the year after that and told me to change my errant ways and return to my real family. I refused. She would have killed me but I think she decided that torture was a better punishment instead. So, she plotted to kill Sheena whom she knew was my best friend."

"The war intervened and her focus turned elsewhere, but I still feared for all the Connellys' safety. But they laughed and told me not to worry."

"And now, she's struck at last. And how! She sent darling Draco to play on Sheena's romantic ideals and knew I would do everything in my power to stop it. That's why Sheena and I quarreled. That's why Sheena died."

Morgan turned and looked out of the window feeling drained. Harry observed her, wondering how anyone's back could be so expressive of emotion. All through he had remained silent but was secretly worried about the emotionless rendering of the tale. Now he got up and joined Morgan in looking out at the bustle in the street below.

"You know you had another aunt?"

"Really? She must've been a good one since no one mentioned her."

"Yeah. Andromeda Tonks. Married a muggle-born. One daughter, Nymphadora Tonks who is in fact an Auror and Metamorphmagus to boot."

"Oh." Morgan digested this new bit of information in silence. "How do you know all this, Harry?"

"Sirius."

"Uncle Sirius," breathed Morgan. "He was the only one they mentioned because they took derived a lot of amusement from the fact that he was in Azkaban. He was my childhood hero."

Harry smiled slightly. "You're a lot like him, more than you think."

"My mother killed him." The grey eyes looked haunted and sad.

Silence.

Harry put his arm around Morgan and she didn't push him away. They stood like that for a long time, knowing that their relationship had changed and that things would have to go slowly from now on, one step at a time.

………………………………………….

A.N: No cliffhangers this time, yay! Whatta tiresome chapter! Next chapter: Choices Next to next chapter: The Wedding

WARNING: Right, it's time to confess. I never had any idea where this story was going from the beginning. I had only thought of a 'blind date' and that's all. I still have no idea where this is going. I type everything impromptu. If you guys want me to stop, say so. Then it's goodbye fanfic.