Harry panted as he used the Reductor curse on me again. He was getting predictable.
"How am I supposed to land a hit with your barrier?" He groaned.
"My magic runs out. Yours doesn't." I pointed out.
"Oh!" Harry cast a fire spell on me, burning me out of the barrier, and then ran over and extinguished the flames. "Wow. You're good at this."
"Been running from one thing or another since my mom died." I shook myself off.
"How did she—"
"A water demon."
"Like a grindylow?" Harry was confused.
I laughed. "I wish. Those are magical creatures. Tame, when compared to…" I coughed. "You'll see soon enough."
"So your dad started this place?"
I groaned. Not him. "The man doesn't know who I am. His memory was erased when I was a child. I was being hunted, and it was for the best."
I bitterly brushed off my hakama.
"So this life…" Harry helped me up.
"It's all I know." I smiled. "Which is why you will be returning to Hogwarts in the fall, Potter-san!"
Harry's mouth opened in shock. "But I want to fight! I want to learn, here! There's so much Hogwarts can never prepare me for!"
I started cleaning up. "And you don't want to be prepared for it, Harry. If those…things…know about you, about wizardkind, then all of you will be attacked by monsters. Isn't it enough that Lord Voldemort is out there, biding his time? That's what you'll be doing here. Training to finish him off."
"But what about you?!"
I shook my head sadly. "It's too late for me. This is my life."
Harry grabbed my hands, and met my eyes. "Let me protect you. If you're brave enough to say the name, then I'm brave enough to protect you, and everyone else, from these monsters."
I chuckled through my tears. "Brave, or stupid, I can't say no to that."
"They're the same thing."
We laughed.