Muggle Disclaimer: I own Lynn, but the world in which she lives and the people with whom she interacts with belongs soley to JKR. I have no intention of claiming they are my own, I am just borrowing them.

Witch Disclaimer: This is Lynn's tale, I am just being a good Historian and am making sure the world has the opportunity to hear it.

Part One, Chapter Five: Truth Be Told

Harry stared at her, a confused and blank look plainly on his face. "You're a what?" he asked, at last.

Lynn smiled. Yes, she supposed that it did seem rather incredible. Everyone reacted in such a manner when they learned of what she was. Even Lynn herself, when she had first learned…

"No, Doctor, you don't understand," her Mother was saying while young Bethalyn sat in her chair and played with her dolly. "She's not even five, and she does magic."

"Well," the doctor said with a shrug, "I suppose she's an early bloomer, as the case may be. I don't see problem, really,"

"Aren't you listening?" her father said, almost shouting, "It's not regular magic. There's something wrong!"

The doctor sighed, "Tell me what is so strange about it,"

"Well," her Mother started, giving her Father a nervous glance, "She makes real tea in her small tea set. And she does this… this thing…"

"She just looks you in the eye," her Father added, "And she can tell if your lying or not."

The doctor's head perked up, "Are you referring to Occlumency?"

Lynn's Mother shook her head, "No. We did not think of that, even though it's impossible for a child her age to be so skilled in something that takes years to learn. She can't read our thoughts, nor can she push her way into our minds. Yet… she knows if we're lying to her. Doctor, don't you see? This is why we came, this isn't normal-"

The doctor raised her hand, "As I said before, perhaps she is just an early bloomer. I'll say, it is a rare thing indeed, but there have been cases where children as young as ten or eleven have shown aptitude for Occlumency. Just aptitude, mind you, as it still took them several years to learn the skill. Keeping that in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if she were an even younger case…"

Lynn's Father shook his head, "We did our research, Doctor. I, we, know that's a possibility, but honestly I think there's something more to her. Even her hands…"

"Yes, they change temperature when something's wrong, and don't tell me it's nerves. They get cold when something's wrong. When she's worried or nervous, they get warm, but when something is seriously wrong, they get cold," her Mother said.

Beth looked up as the Doctor sighed again. She looked back at Lynn, then said to her parents, "She may just be gifted…" the Doctor hesitated, "But we'll keep an eye on it, and wait until she's older. There's no harm in making tea, for now."

… … …

"But I don't want to!" Bethalyn protested when the man asked her to wave the wand and try to do the spell again, "I don't know spells! I'm eight! I won't know them until I'm eleven and go to Hogwarts!"

The man, who had told her he was an Auror, patted her head and smiled, "We know that, poppet, but we need to see what you can do, being a wand-less."

"If I don't need a wand, why did you give me one?" she said. It didn't make sense. They said she didn't need a wand, yet they wanted her to use one. Then they would take it away and try and make her do stuff without one. Then they'd give it to her again, and tell her something else to try. It had been two weeks of this, and while it had been fun to be allowed to hold a wand when she first started, it was now the least fun thing in the world. She hated wands, she hated not having a wand, and then she hated wands again. Plus, the man was a liar, and she knew it.

"To see what you can do," the man said slowly, "Now try the spell again."

"Accio doll!" she shouted, doing what the man told her to do. Her dolly, which was across the room on a stool, didn't move an inch.

"Again,"

"Accio doll!" Nothing.

"Again,"

"If you want the doll, YOU call it!" she shrieked, throwing the wand across the room. It clattered to the floor, leaving them both in an irritated silence. The man reached a hand out, almost to pat her on the head again, but she had had enough. She gave a shriek at the top of her lungs, and the doll fell off the back of the stool, plopping to the ground.

He raised his eyebrows at it, then smiled at the small girl, "Good job, poppet, you did very well."

She folded her arms and fumed, "No I didn't. I missed."

"Missed? You moved the doll, even if it was just a little bit."

"I missed," she said sourly, frowning at the doll, "Because I really wanted my doll to fly across the room and smack you in the face!" Then she started to cry.

Her mother burst into the room, just then, the large wooden door echoing off the walls. "What are you doing to her?" she demanded, running to her daughter and holding her close.

The man sighed, "I've told you before, Mrs. Blakefield, we need to know what she can do-"

"When you make a child cry, you know enough!" her Mother shouted.

"Mum, my hands are cold," Beth whimpered softly. Her Mother handed her a pair of mittens and squeezed her tighter, "Here darling,"

"Mrs. Blakefield," the man started. Beth looked up at him, and caught his gaze for a moment. "I mean her no harm! The Ministry needs to know!"

A cold chill settled in her stomach and made her cry harder. She didn't know what it meant, but she knew he wasn't telling the whole truth. Beth could tell he was a bad man.

"Mr. Nott," her Mother said, standing and staring him in the eye, "You will not bother my daughter again. You know enough. The Ministry can make a decision from here. Good day."

Lynn sighed. "Would you like some tea, Harry?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Ms. Blakefield, I'm sorry, but I just saw your wand, in your back pocket…?"

"Yes, yes, I know, Harry," she said looking about the room, "Where's my tea set? I had it earlier…" she scrunched her face and wrinkled her nose.

The box Harry was sitting on began shuffling around inside. There was a faint pop and Harry was bucked clean of. The lids flew open and a silver tea set, along with two cups and saucers leapt up into the air. By then Lynn had her wand out and waved it, freezing the falling items before they crashed to the floor. Starting with the tray, she gingerly placed the items from the air and began her tea. The lack of a stove in the living room didn't seem to be a problem. Harry sat up and grabbed another box to sit on. He watched as Lynn curiously made him a cup of tea, all with seemingly empty containers. Yet, when she poured the empty teapot, hot tea filled the teacup. When she spooned out of the empty sugar bowl, the small spoon had sugar cubes on it.

"Brilliant… are those charmed?"

Lynn gave him a sad smile and passed him a cup. "No, I told you, I'm a wand-less."

"But you have a wand. You just used it."

"True. Some spells I have to have a wand for, like freezing things. With the freezing charm, you see, I could get carried away with myself and start an early snowstorm. That happened once, long ago." She sighed, trying not to remember that day. Before the Potter's deaths, that night had been her worst memory. She shivered a little. "You see, Harry, it's just one of those things. You might be able to get your spoon to stir that tea without your wand, and maybe you could really get angry and make my teacup shatter. That's normal, practically expected of you. But me… well," she scoffed, "I'm limited to what I can do in general… sometimes using a wand is hard for me, and there are some spells – wand or no wand – I just can't do them. Then again, there are other things that just… happen.

"You're a strong person," she said, pausing to sip her tea, "So, I'll bet anything that you haven't noticed it, but those who were weak with magic could never stay standing around me for long. When I get excited or nervous, or even upset, I tend to summon and repel things, like the box I tripped over just before you came in."

Harry sipped at his tea, "So Pettigrew was never strong enough to stand around you?"

"That, and he annoyed me. He liked me, but he'd come near me and just trip and fall, or faint, or get really weak and have to go lie down. It was rather funny at times."

"What else can you do?" he asked curiously.

Lynn looked up and met his gaze. There was a deep ache in his heart, and great longing… but for the moment he was truly interested in her and… if her unique ability could be learned. She broke eye contact with him and sipped at her tea, unsure how much to tell him. "Bad things, Harry. That's the problem."

Harry started at her. "Like the Unforgivable curses?" he whispered.

She shrugged and looked at the window, thinking of Sirius for no real reason. "Only one of them."

Judging by the look in Harry's eyes, she knew she didn't have to tell him which one. It was the worst of them all. They sat and drank their tea in silence for a few moments. Harry just stared into his teacup, but Lynn couldn't take her eyes off Harry. It seemed as though her life had folded somewhat, and it was only yesterday that he had spit up green-peas all down her shirt.

"James! Oh no, James – get a towel!" Lily shouted towards the kitchen, while picking up her infant son from her friend.

"Really, Lily, it's fine," Beth said, smiling down at her shirt, "I think this is more my color now anyway. Pea green."

Lily paused and looked down with at her with a look of dismay, then she broke out into laughter. "You do look good in green," Lily laughed, "but that still doesn't get James off the hook."

"What am I on?" James asked, peering around the corner.

Lily gave him a pleading look, "Harry belched peas on Beth's shirt,"

"Really, it's fine!"

"No, it's not," Lily scolded, then went back to her husband, "I asked you, nearly five minutes ago to get a towel for her."

He flashed a sheepish grin, "Oh… right. I'll be right there with it."

Beth's eyes remained on the spot where James had been for a few minutes. It broke her heart to see how they were trying to cut back on magic. With Voldemort on the loose, and with the rumors that he was possibly looking for the Potter's, they had opted to use as little magic as possible, so it wouldn't be traced. Summoning things was out of the question, even if it didn't take much magic to do so. Beth also had the nagging suspicion that their low profile wouldn't work for long, and they'd have to officially go into hiding soon.

But, Beth didn't want to think about such unhappy thoughts at the moment.

She smiled across at her friend, who was now pulling faces to get her infant son to giggle. "You make a great mother, Lily."

Lily paused in her face-pulling and looked up, her face grim, "Thank you, Beth. Things are tougher now… there's so much to lose… but I wouldn't trade Harry for the world…"

"I'll bet the Ministry doesn't like you much," Harry said to his teacup.

"Huh?" Lynn pulled herself from her memories, "Oh, your right. They didn't, but then it became apparent that I wasn't that strong of a witch in general, so they didn't punish me." She shrugged, "I had a fairly miserable childhood, though. The Ministry always wanted updated reports from my parents on what I could do, and we were always on the run… Until I came to Hogwarts, that is. I love that place."

Lynn was pleased to see Harry smile at her. He felt that way about Hogwarts, too. Then he frowned at her, "Whom were you running from? The Ministry of Magic?"

Lynn paused. Well, she thought, I might as well tell him. Perhaps he'll feel he can open up to me more if he knows.

"No. Voldemort."

Harry dropped his teacup. Glass shards flew across her floor. "I'm sorry…" he reached for his wand but his hands were having a hard time getting it from his pocket. Lynn knew that it wasn't the name that had startled him. He hadn't flinched. It was that he was stunned.

"It's alright, Harry," Lynn said soothingly. She waved her own wand and the cup mended it's self. Another wave made the spilt tea vanish. "No need to apologize."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Voldemort went after you? Did he want to kill you… too?"

"No… not exactly. Well, I suppose he did, for he would have killed me eventually, I'm sure, but…" she sighed, "I think he wanted to steal my abilities or something. Or use me. Either way, I was in so much danger… but Dumbledore accepted me to Hogwarts and gave this house to my parents so they could stay closed to me, and that changed my life. Becoming friends with Lily Evans was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was safe at last and had friends who didn't mind the fact that I was different."

They both sipped at their teacups for a while. Then another question came to Harry's mind.

"So, what happened with Voldemort? Did he just give up?"

Lynn coughed into her cup, "Gah, uh, no he didn't. But we'll save that story for another time. I thought perhaps you would want to talk about Sirius today."

"Not really," Harry said resolutely.

"We can save that, then, too. It's all right. I suppose it suites me fine to have you know that I'm here for you, and I understand what your feeling."

He looked at her. Lynn watched him swallow hard, and she regretted saying what she had to him. "You don't know what I'm feeling," he said at last.

"Harry,"

"No one does. You've read the papers. I'm 'the Chosen One'… no one carries this burden but me."

She sighed and hung her head. Was he ready to know? Probably not. But he wasn't healing inside. He needed someone to turn to, to trust, and that was why she was here. More than anyone else, Lynn understood his grief and his fear. But a trusting relationship had to be an honest one so… she needed to tell him. "I spent the last fifteen years blaming myself for your Mum and Dad's death," she whispered.

A strange light came to Harry's eyes. "But… you didn't…" Lynn could tell he was starting to connect things that didn't belong together.

Lynn sat her teacup down on a box beside her, then reached out and took one of Harry's hands in her own. Leaning in close, she whispered, "No, Harry, I didn't do what you're thinking. I… I thought you were dead, too." His hands were very warm.

"What?"

She shook her head, "Don't ask me how I missed it, but… I learned what Peter did, and somehow found Godric's Hollow the night Lily and James died. I was too late… I was knocked out by an explosion from inside the house and came to in time to meet Sirius, who said that he was going to hunt Peter down… no, you need to hear this, Harry," he tried to get up and leave, but she held his hands fast. He had very nice hands, like his dad. A bit oversized, but strong and warm.

"I don't know how I missed it, but I thought you had been killed that night with your parents. I knew Sirius hadn't killed those muggles, but I couldn't deny that he had murdered Peter, because he had wanted to! Had I found Peter first, I would have done the same thing. But I couldn't stand it, knowing that I hadn't been fast enough to save my friends and their son, so I left…" He locked eyes with Lynn. She saw so much hurt and pain… tears welled up in his eyes and Lynn could feel hers begin to burn. "Harry, I know how you feel because I mourned you and your parent's deaths for fifteen years!"

Hot tears ran down his face. He blinked furiously at her, looking quite like his mother. Lynn could remember a few times when Lily had looked just like that. "I know how you feel, Harry. Trust me, I know." Then the pain in his eyes, in his heart, was too much for Lynn to bear. There was a moment decision, one she was barely conscious of making, and Lynn reached out and hugged him tightly to her. It had been a rash decision, but Harry didn't seem to mind, as he willing buried his face in her shoulder and cried softly.

She became a rock, a solid, unmovable object; she would not move of leave him as long as he needed her.

Some time later, both Harry and Lynn stood on the stoop of her house, each with swollen face and eyes from a good cry. Neither had planned to cry much, Lynn hadn't planned to cry at all, but now… Harry's eyes were a little red, but she could also see relief. Hopefully now, he'd be able to move onward, without struggle.

Lynn grinned at the castle in the distance, "Stay safe on your way… oh, what do you want?" Lynn waved off an Owl that had just swooped in and landed on her roof, sending a flurry of snow down on her head and making her sputter.

The Owl gave a small hoot, and then took off again.

"What was that about?" Lynn asked no one in particular as she dusted the snow off her head.

"This," Harry bent down and collected a letter that had fallen from the roof in the snow. He looked at it briefly, and then handed it to Lynn.

"What the – oh, I see," she took it from him and opened it.

"Who's it from?"

Lynn raised an eyebrow and frowned at Harry. "He loves to confuse me, that man does. Have a look for yourself," she handed him the letter.

Dear Lynn

If I am not mistaken, Mr. Potter will be returning to Hogwarts soon. Perhaps he would enjoy some company along the way?

See you soon,

Albus.

P.S. Dear Harry,

Invite ms. Blakefield to accompany you on your return, if you would for me. She may try to refuse, but remind her that you are not the only old friend she has yet to reunite with.

Prof. Dumbledore

Harry smiled at the message, "I have my orders. I guess Dumbledore wants you to come visit."

"He doesn't miss a thing, does he?"

"Nope."

She sighed, a little nervously, "Let me get my robes then. Who am I to say no, to such a clever invitation?"

Five minutes later, they headed back to Hogwarts together.

"Ms. Blakefield?"

"I have two rules, Harry," she said from beneath her hood. "First, don't call me Ms. Blakefield, call me Lynn. Second, don't ever poke me in the armpits. Break rule one and I sic my teapot after you. Break rule two, and I'm not responsible for what color you'll change."

"Alright, then. Lynn?" he re-asked with a light laugh.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking, who was your old friend? The letter said there was another. Do you mind me asking who?"

"You can ask whatever you like, Harry. I admire anyone with an inquisitive nature. But… that doesn't mean I'll answer it."

"You don't want to tell me?"

She paused in the snow and smiled at him, "Remember the story we're saving for another time?"

"Yes,"

"Well," she stared walking again, "This person has to do with that. I'll tell you … later. Or sooner. I'm not sure which Dumbledore has in mind. Let me ask you, does the Hogwarts kitchen still serve Chocolate Mousse?"

Harry grinned at her, "Uh, I think so."

"Lets pick up the pace then, shall we? I haven't snuck into that kitchen in ages…"

A/N: Well, this concludes Part one. For clarification purposes, Lynn is, even now, a very busy lady and the 'Parts' are the intervals in which I had the chance to hear her tale. Part two is comming soon, depending on both our schedules. This is nowhere near the end...