Sequel to "THORNS"

- Of Earth & Stars -

Chapter 24: The Rise of Suri Rosier-Black

Late February 1992

"Suri, can I talk to you?" Gemma Farley bit her lip nervously, catching Suri in the main corridor of Hogwarts.

"Sure. About what?"

Looking around at the surrounding students either on their way to class or their way to lunch, Gemma nodded to her left. "Can we go to the Courtyard?"

"Okay..." Suri followed Gemma's quick pace outside. Gently, she poked through the layers of Gemma's mind revealing a jumble of anxiety. Suri knew she could probe further into Gemma's defenseless thoughts and find the cause of her anxiety, but she refrained, but she refrained. They sat on the edge of the tall, stone fountain in the middle of the courtyard. The fountain was currently dry, having been turned off during the snowy winter months.

"So," Gemma exhaled. Slowly she raised her light brown eyes. "Is there anything going on between you and Nate?"

Suri's own blue-grey eyes went wide. "Nate and me?" The thought of being romantically involved with Nathaniel Avery made her snort. "I'm sorry Gemma, I'm not laughing at you, I swear! But never everin any life, this or the next, would I ever date Nate! What makes you think there's something going on between us?"

Gemma relaxed fractionally. "I sound so lame being so jealous, but I really like Nate, and I think he really likes me too. But he's always talking about you. It's always "Suri this" or "Suri that", and if you asked him to do anything he would drop everything, including time with me, to do whatever you want."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Suri frowned apologetically, feeling guilty. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "That makes me sound so needy. If you want, I'll talk to him about it."

"I mean, I just don't want him to know I'm this pathetic, you know?" Gemma laughed deprecatingly. "You're just so beautiful and you're so close with him that I didn't know what to do, and then Mara…" Gemma trailed off.

"You're not pathetic, you just care about him. Mara's gossip took advantage of your relationship." Now Gemma was the one looking guilty as she nodded sadly. It was hard for Suri not to resent Mara. Mara still told anyone who'd listen that Suri came onto Flint, andthat Marcus wasn't the only guy she'd come onto. She'd twisted the story of Suri's first kiss with a childhood friend from Vienna into a scandal. Any reconciliation between Mara and Suri became impossible after that. Suri wanted nothing to do with the spineless twit.

"I didn't want to believe it," Gemma bit her lip, her eyes wide and shiny as though she were about to cry. "I'm really sorry, Suri. I should know better. I mean, I know you better than that."

Suri patted Gemma's arm gently, accepting the apology. Gemma was too kind to backstab her.

"I get it. Honestly, I think I might have done the same if I cared about someone as much as you care about Nate."

It was Gemma's turn to give Suri a knowing look. "If it was Oliver Wood, you think you would have gone as mad as me?"

"How do you know about that?" Suri's heartbeat quickened. She didn't really talk about her mild interest in Oliver. Nate knew about it, and she guessed so did Willem and Carly because of Oliver's habit of giving her a cauldron cake from the trolley witch each year for her birthday.

"I just know things about people," Gemma giggled and shrugged. She was similar to Nate in that way. Like Nate, Gemma picked up on people's subtle habits with shocking accuracy.

Suri quietly considered Gemma's question. Her little crush on Oliver faded somewhat, probably because she'd been busy. Still, anytime she saw Alicia Spinnett or any other girl giggle whenever Oliver smiled at them—oblivious to their flirting—she felt a sting of envy. Holding a conversation with Oliver wasn't hard; he was very pleasant to talk to. He was kind and always made her feel better. Just, whenever she was around him, she felt tooheavy. Like he was this spark of energy and she was too much for someone like him. She wasn't like Alicia Spinnett with her uncomplicated popularity and normal family.

Gemma must have sensed Suri's discomfort. Shifting, she changed the subject. "I've been thinking about something. Nate is so keen on spending Tuesday nights with you. There's literally nothing that will make him break those plans. What are you doing?"

"Well," Suri bit her bottom lip, unsure of how to answer. Once again, Suri was struck by Nate's loyalty to her. At the same time, she didn't want to tell Gemma about the legilimency work she'd been doing with Nate since they came back from winter holiday.

"I promise I'm a good secret keeper," Gemma said, as if reading Suri's thoughts. "If it helps, I'll tell you a secret first. Besides Nate and perhaps a few professors, no one knows this about me."

"You don't have to—"

"I'm a half-blood. My mum's a muggle, but my dad's actually a squib. When my Hogwarts letter came, after Mum recovered from shock, my parents thought it was best that I live with my uncle and aunt and cousins who can all do magic. In some ways, I might as well be completely muggle-born."

"Wow," A quick check through Gemma's mind confirmed thoughts confirmed that this was true. It made sense why Gemma had been so nervous when Nate's mother interrogated her about her family. After a moment of quiet consideration, Suri sighed, decided to put her faith in Gemma.

"On Tuesdays, Nate helps me with a project. I'm naturally a Legilimens, and I'm learning to better control my ability."

XX

March 1992

"Suri, if I didn't know you, I would think this is all kind of creepy," Gemma greeted, looking around the chilly cellar in Hogwarts dungeons. Suri looked up from charming flames onto the wicks of lavender-scented candles. Nate closed the cellar door behind him and Gemma, throwing down the latch to lock it. The cellar was dark, aside from the candles Suri had lit and mostly bare beyond a wooden table pushed up against a wall and three chairs near the middle of the room.

"It's a lot to take in," Suri agreed. Gemma joined her by the table, noticing the stack of books off to the side and Suri's personal journal. Since the holiday, Suri had dedicated this journal to taking notes regarding legilimency and eventually began tracking any progress she'd made with Nate on Tuesday nights.

"Can I see your notebook," asked Gemma. Tentatively, Suri slid the notebook over. Gemma flipped through the pages of notes and weekly logs Suri meticulously kept. Gemma bit her bottom lip, her dark blonde eyebrows knitting together. Suri fidgeted, knowing what Gemma read. Among various notes, there was a large section dedicated to the high correlation between frequent legimen users and emotional distress. Whenever a witch or wizard was triggered into a state of distress, there could be instances for their natural abilities to respond almost uncontrollably. In rare cases, a legilimens could go mad during prolonged exposure to stress.

"Suri, your notes...they all kind of look like you're dabbling in the Dark Arts."

"Legilimency and Occlumency are considered grey areas in magic," Suri countered, walking to the middle of the room. She pulled one of the three chairs around so it faced the remaining two chairs. "Those notes in particular are based on texts kept in the library's restricted section."

"Your resourcefulness knows no ends," Nate said, sitting in one of the two chairs. Gemma joined them, returning Suri's notebook.

"I can't even find a way into the restricted section and I'm a Prefect! Snape won't say it, but I think I'm his favorite."

"All you need is a pair of Weasley twins, and Peeves the Poltergeist and you're in," Suri answered nonchalantly. Nate simply raised an eyebrow.

"So what happens next," asked Gemma, looking at Nate and Suri, her leg bouncing restlessly. "Do we just sit here?"

"You seem frustrated," Nate smiled at his girlfriend, casually draping an arm around her chair.

Gemma frowned. "I am irritated now, and I don't know why. I was fine a second ago—" A peaceful look softened Gemma's frustration. "Well that's odd, I don't feel upset anymore." Then, her eyes flickered with recognition. She looked at Suri. "You did this! You got into my mind!"

"I did. I'm sorry, I should have warned you." Suri answered. "But if I warned you then you could have put defenses up. Eventually I'd like to see if I could push past someone's occlumency, but for now I'm still learning to manage influencing the mental state of others, as well as suggesting ideas. That's what we're working on tonight-finding particular memories and suggestion. Picking through the layers of a person's mind is quite easy now…"

As if to prove her point, Suri turned her attention to Nate. Immediately, she pulled out of his head, her face bright red. "Nate, can you notthink those things right now?!" Nate roared with laughter at Suri's blush.

"Do I want to know?" Gemma frowned.

With a wicked grin, Nate leaned into Gemma, whispering something in her ear that made her blush and giggle.

"Do I need to leave you both alone?" Suri rose from her seat. "If you'd like, I can go."

"Seeing you squirm is fun," Nate winked, even Gemma laughed at this.

"You are the worst kind of friends," Suri muttered, rolling her eyes.

"It's fun to see behind that cool attitude you give off," said Gemma.

"See," Nate laughed, "I told you that you come off as arrogant!"

"Guys," Suri admonished, throwing her hands in the air. "Did I miss the messenger owl or something? Is this "tease Suri" night?"

"Okay, Okay" Nate sighed. His eyes continued to dance mischievously, even as the rest of his expression sobered. "We can start whenever you're ready."

Taking a deep breath, Suri absently rolled her shimmering, crystal vial necklace between her fingers, concentrating on Nate's aristocratic face. Gemma quietly reaches for the notebook propped against Suri's chair and read through the logs again. "This training started with Nate telling you what he was thinking of and you would find the memory. Now it's in a place where you have to figure out what particular memory or thought he's trying to hide."

"Right," Suri answered distractedly. She pushed past Nate's initial thoughts—a bright and happy memory of him laughing with Gemma and Suri, and beyond his concern for the history assignment due in two days. Suri navigated further, following his thread of concern.

Through her studies, Suri decided Legilimency was less about reading minds and more about following a person's mental threads all attached to various thoughts, feelings, and memories. Legilimency was about making sense of, or adjusting, the vivid pictures that lived in the minds of others.

The further she pushed into Nate's mind, the more she began to experience the memories as though she were Nate himself. She could feel the autumn air against her skin, cool and crisp—colder because it dried her sweat. When she looked down, she was in quidditch training gear and carrying a broom. She was Nate.

"I'll take that for you." Suri was looking at herself, from Nate's eyes. To Nate, she was petite, curvy, and smiling. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, her cheeks wind-kissed and rosy below bright, blue-grey eyes. Nate thought she was prettier than Suri thought she was. Nate put up a struggle when Suri tried to take the broom from him. Finally, he gave in and Suri slung the broom over her shoulder.

"Hit the shower, Avery, you stink," Suri wrinkled her nose teasingly. "I'll catch up with you in the Common Room later."

"Don't have too much fun chatting with Flint," Nate called over his shoulder, heading to the locker rooms and leaving Suri to collect the last of the gear they'd used in training. He smiled at the disgust on Suri's face. In the locker room, Nate took his time in the showers, letting the hot water beat down on a knot in his back before dressing in his casual clothing. When he finally left the locker rooms, he noticed a groaning Marcus Flint running away, a limp in his steps. Dread filled Nate.

"Suri!" He called, but there was no answer.

As the memory faded, Nate's concern became engulfed by guilt. Sitting back in her chair, Suri felt as though she was emerging from being under water. Her breathing was ragged.
"Nate, I don't think I want to see this."

"Are you alright," asked Gemma, uncertainty made her voice waver as she looked from Suri to Nate. She noticed Nate reaching out to take Suri's hand.

"Go on," Nate urged, squeezing Suri's hand gently. To Gemma, Nate reached out and patted her knee, smiling gently. "Everything is fine."

I don't want to be afraid forever, Suri thought, taking deep breaths until her shaking stopped. It had been four months since her assault. Four months of a heavy fog following her everywhere, affecting her sleep, her studies, her friendships. Mum wouldn't be as weak as I am, and Daddy...well, he would have hexed someone by now, I'm sure.

As if needed to prove a point, Suri closed her eyes, nonverbally encanting the spell revealing Nate's thoughts. Suri waded through Nate's jumbled memories, until she found the thread of memory. Nate's memory of her assault had grown difficult to follow. In the same way knots formed in strings, Nate's memory had become entangled with another. Strange, Suri thought.

Probing further, Suri found herself looking at the memory a small child with large, hazel eyes. Nate looked about six years old. There wasn't a particular memory surrounding him, but almost overwhelming feelings of loneliness and anger. Lonely because his mum paid little attention to him as she focused on marrying his stepfather. Anger at the endless lessons around blood purity and hierarchy instead of playing outside. Instinctively, Suri reached out for the child, longing to pull him into a hug. In a blink of an eye, she was hugging young Nate, and then she was Nate on that autumn night, fighting over a broom with her. Somehow, she'd managed to untangle the memories.

Suri relived that night one more time through Nate's perspective, up until the locker room. Outside of the memory, Nate squeezed her hand again, silently giving her permission to influence. Suri knew her own chilling feelings around her assault, but feeling Nate's heavy guilt at not stopping what happened to her was almost too much. He didn't need to feel that guilt, and she didn't want him to. He was doing enough just by believing in her and staying.

Her suggestion started off subtly. Nate got out of the shower sooner. While he dressed, he heard someone scream from outside the locker room. Then she increased the suggestion. Grabbing his wand, Nate dashed out and found Suri being crushed against the pillar by Marcus. Nate rushed in and pushed Marcus off of her. Together, he and Suri struck Marcus with the stinging curse.

Suri opened her eyes and sat back against her chair, feeling a bit faint. Suri inhaled the scent of lavender that wafted around them, grounding herself, and checked on Nate. His expression was pale as he gripped Gemma's hand as though keeping himself steady.

"Nate," Gemma asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," Nate said, offering a half-smile. When he finally met Suri's worried gaze, his hazel eyes were oddly bright. Before speaking, he swallowed once, as though swallowing back tears. "I wish it was true."

Gemma looked curiously between the two again. "What did you do, Suri?"

"I suggested that Nate was part of a particularly painful bit of my past so he could stop worrying about it. But I guess I overexerted myself too much so it didn't stick for very long. Either way, this was a breakthrough and a good stopping point for us."

"What happens if it did stick," Gemma asked tentatively.

"Then we would reverse it," Suri smiled, feeling tired. "You're studying to be a curse-breaker, right? So I'm sure if we got into a sticky situation, you'd know what to do. If you wanted to be part of all of this."

"It would take a very powerful memory charm to undo whatever legilimency you could do," Gemma pointed out. She considered the offer before nodding.

"Okay, I'm in. Mostly because this stuff is dangerous. I trust you, Suri, but Legilimency isn't something to mess around with."

Suri glanced at Nate who'd grown quiet with his thoughts. Suri thought about the small, sad boy she'd seen in Nate's memories and the way she wanted to save him. Maybe Nate saw her that way too. "If I thought all of this was too risky, I would never involve Nate in it. In spite of his sarcasm, he's far too important to me."

Nate slid his hazel gaze over to Suri and smirked. "Don't get soft on me now, Rosier-Black. One of us always needs to be the strong one."

X

June 1992

The hospital wing was empty when Suri walked in. Going past the hospital beds, Suri found Madam Pomfrey's office door half-open. She knocked before looking around the door.

"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"

Madam Pomfrey, sitting at her desk, looked up from whatever she was working on. "Do you have detention again, Miss Rosier-Black?"

"Oh, nothing like that," Suri smiled, "I haven't had detention since autumn. I guess I'm walking that straight and narrow path now."

'Well, have a seat," Pomfrey nodded at the chairs across her desk, not bothering to even smile at Suri's humor. Suri sat and took a moment to look around Pomfrey's office. In spite of her lengthy detentions here, she never had a reason to be here.

The office was spacious and full of natural light from the windows. There were various bookcases filled with books relating to the healing arts as well as stashes of various ingredients and spare potions. One of the bookshelves was dedicated to all things related to tea. A few times during detention, when there were no students to heal, Pomfrey would disappear into her office and reappear with a cup of tea for both her and Suri. Even if it was detention, Suri thought fondly of those afternoons. They were bright, peaceful memories in her darkness.

"You don't seem injured so I assume you're not here for medical help. What brings you in today?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I…" Suri's leg bounced nervously. "I was wondering if you'd take me on as an apprentice."

Thinking about her time in detention, Suri realized she actually enjoyed what she learned with Madam Pomfrey. The same way flying, and even the same way Legilimency made sense, the healing arts made sense, too. Plus, it would be a bonus to learn any helpful skills should her lessons with Nate and Gemma go wrong and medical assistance became necessary.

"An apprentice?" Pomfrey's eyebrows shot up. "I wasn't expecting that. I'm sorry Miss Rosier-Black, I'm going to have to say no."

"I…why not? I've helped in here before."

Pomfrey's mouth was a hard line, even if her eyes were sympathetic. "Because Miss Rosier-Black, this is an infirmary for students to heal, not a classroom. While you had detention, you had menial tasks that anyone could do. Folding linens and preparing bandages are not the same as mending bones and curing boils. I won't risk a student's safety on a botched charm." Noticing Suri's expression, Pomfrey kindly added, "but your request is a noble one."

"I understand, thank you for your time." Suri reached for her knapsack resting against the leg of her chair and rose to leave. Pausing, she turned back to Pomfrey. "Madam?"

"Yes?"

"I'm among the top eight students in my year in charms, transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Herbology isn't difficult, and Potions does require extra work from me, but I get by just fine. I know the basic healing charm, and I can brew a sleeping potion to fit various levels of need after I spent weeks not getting much sleep. I can dress a wound because youshowed me how to do it, and I'm quick on my feet. I would never perform a charm or give a potion to someone unless I was completely confident that it would help instead of hurt. Even if knowing this about me doesn't change your mind, I just want you to know that I'm serious about being a healer. And if I'm allowed to brag, I think I'd make an excellent apprentice. Thank you for your time, Madam Pomfrey."

"Miss Rosier-Black, one second." Suri made it halfway through the hospital wing when she heard Pomfrey call after her.

"Yes ma'am?" Suri turned, finding the school's matron standing behind her, concern etching worry lines into her forehead. Suri held her breath, not wanting to appear too hopeful. It took all of her self-control to keep from looking into Madam Pomfrey's mind.

"If you were my apprentice, it would be a verylong time before I allowed you to perform anything beyond basic first aid magic on a student. And even before first aid, though you have an impressive resume of skills, you would have to prove yourself several times to me that you are competent. You would still be expected to do the small tasks you did while in detention. If you're grades are as good as you say, they must never slip below where they are now. You would also need approval from Headmaster Dumbledore."

"And if I did all of those things…?" Suri slowly smiled.

"I would be willing to start you—provisionally—on a weekly basis." Pomfrey's smiled back quickly, without showing her teeth, apprehension still lingering in her expression.

"So I can be your apprentice?" Suri's grin widened.

"I'll need letters of recommendation and approval from Professor Dumbledore and one professor of your choice and-"

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey!" Suri exclaimed. "I will get those to you by the end of tomorrow, and I promise you won't regret this!"

x

Two weeks later, Suri had ten minutes left of her shift in the hospital wing when Professor McGonagall swept in, a grim look on her face.

"Professor McGonagall!" Suri frowned at the grim expression on McGonagall's face.

"Where is Madam Pomfrey?" McGonagall asked quickly, not bothering with niceties.

"In her office…" Suri trailed off at the sound of Madam Pomfrey's office door creaking open and she joined them in the infirmary. Pomfrey took one look at McGonagall and her eyes hardened, as if bracing for the worst.

"Minerva?"

"Harry Potter and his friends have gone missing! We found a student in the Gryffindor common room, frozen by a jinx, and when he came to, he told us that they had gone to look for…" McGonagall looked at Suri, and trailed off, but Pomfrey seemed to understand.

"We need every available staff member to come with us to search for them."

"Of course," Pomfrey followed McGonagall out of the hospital wing. Before leaving, she paused to address Suri.

"Miss Rosier-Black, I need you to stay here until I return. I'm sure we'll find Potter and his friends soon, but just in case anyone comes through it's better that this place has someone."

"But what am I supposed to do if someone comes in with an injury?" Suri felt dumb for asking, but Pomfrey had made it perfectly clear she was not allowed to touch a student for any reason. Suri, as a provisional apprentice was only allowed to observe and stay out of the way.

"Suri, you've proven yourself more than capable to handle a mild emergency." Pomfrey looked worried as she spoke. "But we'll find them soon, so I won't be gone long." She seemed to add the last bit more to calm her nerves than assure Suri.

The next thirty minutes was the longest wait Suri had ever endured. She alternated between pacing the hospital wing, sitting in Pomfrey's office, and checking the neatly made beds to see if they needed to be re-made. Eventually, she sat on a cot, twisting her necklace between her hands. She hardly had the chance to talk to Harry since his first quidditch game, but some part of her felt responsible for him. She wanted to be out there looking for him too; not knowing where he was made her think the worst.

Just when she thought she'd go mad, a flurry of movement outside of the hospital wing made her jump to her feet. Pomfrey ushered Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley into the wing.

"Will you get the first aid kit, Miss Rosier-Black," Pomfrey asked, her face pinched tightly as she directed the first years to sit on cots.

"Already here," Suri responded, she had brought out the basic bandages and ointments just in case. Suri searched Hermione's and Ron's faces. "Where's Harry?"

"I…I don't know," Hermione answered. Her brown eyes were wide, almost unseeing. Shock. Suri registered this as a bit of shock. She'd seen it the first time Nate was winded by a bludger and he fell from his broom during a particularly rough practice their second year.

"Rosier-Black, I need you to assist Granger while I take care of Weasley," Pomfrey instructed as a roll of bandages and healing ointment floated in the air toward her.

"Does anything hurt," Suri asked Hermione, quickly glancing at the girl. Aside from a few scrapes and bumps that would soon be dark bruises, the girl looked fine. "Follow my finger, please."

"No," Hermione answered as she followed Suri's finger with her eyes. "My knee hurts, but I fell on it when the devil's snare dropped me. Ron? Ron are you alright?"

"Fine," Ron mumbled groggily as Pomfrey attended to a mild cut on the back of his head. He had the same worried look as Hermione.

Suri registered the Devil's Snare comment with a raised eyebrow. Frowning she disappeared into Pomfrey's office, returning a minute later with two teacups full of steaming liquid. She handed one to Hermione and put the other near Ron while Pomfrey put ice on his sprained wrist.

"Drink," Suri instructed, "and make sure you drink all of it."

"Miss Rosier-Black," Pomfrey admonished warningly as she looked at the cups skeptically.

"It's only lavender with lemon and honey," Suri answered. "Nothing more, nothing less." She watched as Hermione eyed the tea before finally drinking it. Relief flashed in the girl's brown eyes, as if she feared it would be poisoned. Ron eventually picked up his cup and drank, too. She waited until the fear left Hermione's wide eyes, and the same happened to Ron as they thought about their favorite, comforting places. She smiled to herself.

"Sorry," Hermione said calmly, giving her empty teacup back to Suri. "Before I got here, I drank a potion and I was just a little scared…"

"A potion? What potion?" Suri's eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline. Once she was sure her patient would make a full recovery, she could finally ask her pressing question: "Hermione, where's Harry?"

Before Hermione could answer either question, an unconscious Harry Potter was brought into the hospital by McGonagall.

X

For the next two days no one was allowed in the hospital wing for longer than five minutes while Harry was unconscious. Pomfrey even refused to let Suri around him very long and expected her to conduct all her apprenticeship duties in silence in the supply room.

When Harry finally woke up one afternoon, his friends were there to greet him. Hermione and Ron broke the news that Slytherin had won the House Cup and Gryffindor had lost the championship match to Ravenclaw. Pomfrey thought they were too loud and kindly escorted them out after ten minutes. Moments later, Hagrid and his booming voice visited and he was promptly told to leave, too.

Finally, Dumbledore was there to visit. Suri found every excuse to be in the background to eavesdrop on their conversation. By now, she knew that Harry, Hermione and Ron had gone through a trapdoor on the third floor where Harry met the essences of the Dark Lord, hosted by Professor Quirrell. Protectiveness took over Suri and now she was on high alert for anyone who came near Harry. Even Dumbledore. From across the room, Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled at her, as though he knew exactly what she was doing and allowed her to "make beds" in the background, much to Pomfrey's chagrin.

Suri listened as Dumbledore explained that Ally's—Lily Potter's—love for Harry turned into magic and saved his life when he came into contact with Voldemort. Suri burned with questions and bit her tongue hard to keep from blurting them out. A chill ran through her. Voldemort is still alive? She gripped the crystal vial on her chain tightly. That monster was the reason her mother had died and her father went to Azkaban. If the Dark Lord was still alive, her mother's death and father's madness, andHarry's parents' death, were all for nothing. Anger burned through her; Suri wanted Voldemort dead. She would be happy to be the one who helped him die.

"Miss Rosier-Black."

Suri jumped when Dumbledore called to her. He could probably see the way her hands trembled with anger. Harry, in his hospital bed, blinked behind him.

"V-Voldemort's still alive?" Suri's eyes searched Dumbledore's face. She tried to pick into his mind, but found it impossible; his Occlumency was no match for her. If he was aware of her trying to get past his defenses, he didn't show it.

"His essence is very much alive and, now, apparently active in this world."

"I'll kill him," Suri murmured. "He's the reason for my parents...and Harry'sparents..." Suri looked back at Harry again. His emerald green eyes were wide as he looked from her to Dumbledore. He looked so innocent that Suri's anger rose all over again. It's not fair, she thought bitterly.

Dumbledore crossed the infirmary and touched Suri's shoulder to guide them toward the entrance of the infirmary, out of Harry's earshot. "My dear, there are quite a few people who would stand with you in your wish to have him rid from the world," Dumbledore agreed gently, "But for now, Miss Rosier-Black, there is a young boy who will be discharging from yours and Poppy's care soon. Currently, he's looking through a book that might be of interest to you."

"I…" Suri looked up at Dumbledore. "I don't know what to say to him, sir. He doesn't remember me."

"It's never too late to make new memories," Dumbledore encouraged before lightly pushing Suri toward Harry.

Although she appeared calm on the outside, on the inside, she was a bundle of nerves as she walked up to Harry's bed. The boy quietly nibbled on a chocolate frog as he flipped through a photo album.

"Hello, Harry," she greeted, feeling awkward. "Feeling alright?"

Harry looked up from his photo album and nodded. "Alright," he said, equally awkward.

"Madam Pomfrey says you can leave today, and I'm here to help you get everything ready." Suri motioned to the clutter of cards and sweets all for Harry. She smiled. "Looks like you have loads of friends."

Harry looked at all his cards, and for the first time in their exchange, his skinny face brightened and he smiled. "Yeah, looks like it."

"Well, when you're ready, let me know and I'm happy to help." Suri excused herself, feeling so stupid. Conversations weren't hard for her, but when it came to Harry, everything felt off. I just want him to remember me, she thought with some sadness. She wanted him to remember her and like her. He was here, this bit of her foggy, fond memory of her early childhood. He was the only thing that remained and she wanted to hold onto him.

"Er, would you like a chocolate frog? I've got more than enough." Harry's offer stopped her before Suri left.

"I…" Suri was about to say something about not eating sweets but Harry was worth the exception. "Sure," she smiled and took the box Harry held out. Unboxing the chocolate, Suri ignored the card inside and bit into the candy. She nodded at the photo album in Harry's lap.

"Baby photos?"

"Yeah, I've never seen these before," Harry answered turning the page. The page was filled with photos, mostly of him and James and Lily. There were two group shots with a beautiful young woman with long chestnut hair, a young man with a handsome face holding a little girl who kissed baby Harry's chubby cheek. Harry paused when he looked at the photo. He looked away from his parents and at the people next to his parents. Then slowly he looked up at Suri.

"D'you, er, have any idea who they are," asked Harry, pointing at the couple and child beside him and his parents. "They kind of...they kind of look like you."

"Do they?" Suri leaned over to look at the photo. She wondered if Harry could hear the quick pounding of her heart. Smiling, and like ripping off a Band-Aid, Suri said, "They're my parents. And that's me."

"Oh." Harry breathed, his emerald green eyes looked up searching Suri's face, trying to remember. "Are your parents…?"

"My mum is dead and my dad went to prison around the time she died. All because of Voldemort, too," Suri answered carefully. She decided what she said was true; if Voldemort didn't exist then her parents might still be around. So would Harry's.

"Oh," Harry said again. What could an orphan say to someone who also lost a lot? He closed the photo album. "It looks like our parents were very good friends."

"The best of friends," Suri smiled. "I was four when everything happened, but I remember loving Uncle James and Ally. They were really good people." I loved you, too, she wanted to add, but refrained so she didn't sound weird.

"Ally?"

"Aunt Lily," Suri laughed. "Apparently "Aunt Lily" was hard to say, so Ally became your mum's nickname."

"Ally," Harry tried, chuckling quietly at the name.

"Maybe we can be friends too," said Suri, softly. She hurried to add, "we don't have to be best friends because you have yours and I have mine, and there's the minor inconvenience of our house rivalry, but it'd be nice to be friends. I mean, if our parents were friends, then maybe we can be friends too."

"I think I'd like that." Harry looked like he didn't know what to do with himself, like he didn't know what to do with all the friends he has made.

"Me too," Suri smiled. Exhaling through her nose, Suri ran a hand through her hair, feeling lighter. Happier. "Well, I'll leave you to get ready. Madam Pomfrey will come check on you soon."

"Wait!" Harry called after Suri. When she came back, he fiddled nervously with his hospital blanket.

"You were on your Slytherin's quidditch team, right?"

"I was, why?"

"I just want you to know," Harry looked down, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts, "that during the time people were saying you were mad because you attacked your own housemate, I didn't believe them. He told me you're the first and last good thing about Slytherin, and I think that's true too."

"He who? Fred or George Weasley?" Suri chuckled. By now, she knew her reputation was once again favorable with the constant layer of suspicion that followed her since day one. Still, she'd finally reached a point where she stopped caring. She knew people would talk about her no matter what because of her name. It wouldn't stop her from being who she was anymore.

"No, not them. It was Oliver Wood."

"Oliver said that?" Suri's eyebrows went up and a blush colored her cheeks. Since she no longer played quidditch, she and Oliver had less reason to bump into each other. Still, it was nice to know he spoke kindly of her.

"Yeah," said Harry. "He said it during one of my flying lessons with him when he was telling me about Slytherin's team. He said Slytherin always plays dirty, but the only real thing that would keep us from beating them would be you. Then you weren't playing."

"I'm glad I helped make a way for your victory," Suri laughed. Seeing Harry's expression made her laugh a little harder. "I'm kidding, Harry. I haven't actually seen you play, but I heard you're very good."

"I hear the same about you," Harry smiled.

"Maybe one day we'll fly together," said Suri. She could imagine that maybe one day, she'll be able to hold a broom or smell wood polish without falling apart or feeling faint. When that day came, she imagined touching the clouds, flying as quickly as her broom would allow her.

Harry nodded eagerly. "I'd like that very much," he said.

Author's Note:

Hello! Today is our Harry Potter's birthday! Without him, there wouldn't be this grand story that we all love so much! So, in honor of his birthday, here's an early chapter. :)

Also, I'm aware Harry's last conversation with Dumbledore might seem out of order/hurried here compared to the books. This was to save time, but ultimately, it was less about Harry's conversation with Dumbledore and more about the beginning of his relationship with Suri.

Finally, GUYS! This was a long chapter, but this was the last chapter before Suri's 5th year (and Harry's 2nd!)! The next chapter, will be the entirety of her 5th year, so just key elements that are important to her, maybe not necessarily Harry. This is GOOD NNEW because I know how much you all are waiting for her 6th year (aka Harry's 3rd year and the RETURN of Sirius and Remus!). Stay patient, readers!

Thanks for reading! I'm so glad you're here!

Reviews are love.

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