Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Author's Notes: Ok, thank you so very much for all of the favorites, reviews, and story alerts. I am so excited that so many of you love this story, and I hope you enjoy it when I throw in a twist.

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Harry was feeling particularly miserable as he sat upon his trunk in the hallway. Grimmauld Place was unusually noisy as everyone hurried to finish last minute packing before they left for the train station. His last week at headquarters had not been the best. Ron and Hermione would refuse to speak to him if he mentioned Elizabeth, thus putting an end to his attempts at bringing them together with the Slytherin. How was he supposed to save the Wizarding world if he couldn't even bring his friends together?

The sound of the rest of occupants coming down the stairs dragged Harry out of his musings. He only hoped that the summer was not a preview of what was to come during the school year. If it was; he was going to have a horrid time.

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Elizabeth paid no attention to her roommates as she placed the last of her items in her trunk before she slammed it shut. She was ecstatic that she was finally going to leave this place behind. She no longer had to put up with Weasley and Granger every waking moment of her life! At best, she would see them in class.

But there was a down side to leaving, she would not be able to see Harry as often as she would like, especially since she now wanted to prove he was a victim of child abuse. Hopefully things between her and Harry wouldn't change. Maybe he would even open up to her, particularly when he found out she would be more than happy to help him get out of his current situation.

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The train station was just as packed as ever as they made their way to the platform. The guarded walk to King's Cross had been filled with uneasy silence and dirty looks. Ron and Hermione had Harry trapped between them in an attempt to keep him away from Elizabeth, but five minutes into the journey, their efforts were made futile as Harry freed him himself and hung back so that he could walk with Elizabeth.

"You shouldn't have done that." Elizabeth murmured as she walked with Harry. "You know he gets jealous when his best friend neglects him."

Harry could pick up the sarcasm in Elizabeth's voice and smiled, he really didn't care what Ron thought anymore, well, not since Elizabeth had saved him.

"She's right you know!" Ron stated as he turned to face the pair, his ears were red with anger and his nostrils flared with every breath.

"Practicing to be a Dragon Weasel? Because if you are, you're doing a pretty pathetic job of it." Elizabeth smiled, she had no real desire to pick a fight with a bunch of Aurors around, but her Slytherin side just couldn't help it.

"I can't wait until we're rid of you." Ron sneered as he moved to stand only inches from Elizabeth's face. She didn't waver, choosing to simply smirk instead.

"Likewise." Elizabeth replied. "I would rather spend a summer in hell than another moment with you."

"Guys. Stop. Please." Harry pleaded as he stepped between the two.

"You defending her now?" Ron asked his voice rising as he grabbed a fist full of Harry's shirt before he shoved him back, causing him to fall to the ground. Harry's face was nothing short of shocked as he hit the ground, he could feel pain shoot through his body.

"What the hell was that for?" Elizabeth asked in a deathly tone as she held her hand out to Harry, who now had tears pooling in his emerald eyes.

Ron stood still as he let everything sink in, his facial expression changing from anger to remorse. "Harry, I am so sorry." He managed to say as Elizabeth pulled the Golden Boy to his feet. Harry stood after a moment, his body shaking before he shoved his way past Ron and Hermione, allowing the tears to flow.

"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked when she reached Harry as he walked toward the barrier, she could see the tears running down his face, and the fact that he was still shaking only proved he was indeed, not alright.

"I'll be fine." Harry replied hastily wiping the tears from his face before walking through the barrier.

"I don't believe you." Elizabeth stated as she too came through the barrier.

"I just want to be left alone." Harry sighed as he turned to look at Elizabeth, "But I thank you."

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Harry sat alone in the last compartment. He had no desire to let anyone see how weak he was, even Elizabeth. He had felt some of his wounds break open when he fell, but he could fix that later, right now he just wanted to let it all go. He wanted to know why Ron and Hermione were acting the way they were. He wanted everything to go back to the way it was before the tournament, before Voldemort came back, before he was afraid for his life when he stayed at Privet Drive. Maybe this year was just going to be like the summer, painful.

Elizabeth sat in a compartment near the middle of the train with her housemates. Many of them were surprised to see her since she never rode the train to school. Despite the fact that she was surrounded by her friends, her mind was not there. Instead, it was wandering like it had tended to do over the holiday.

She was worried about Harry, and the way he had reacted to Weasley's shove. It all seemed to point to her theory that Harry had been abused. His face had been filled with shock and his eyes had contained an unfathomable pain. The fact that he was still shaking only enhanced the thought.

"I'll be back." Elizabeth told Blaise as she rose from her place by the window. She had to get rid of the heart clenching feeling she had in her chest, and the only way that she was going to manage that was going to find Harry. It was much to Elizabeth's displeasure that Granger and Weasley had reached Harry before she had, and more or less made up like a married couple.

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Harry refused to look at Ron for any length of time, sure he said he forgave him, but that didn't mean that the pain just went away. This was the one and only time he wished that they had not come to sit with him; he couldn't stand being with them at the moment. He wished Elizabeth was in there. At least she wouldn't pretend that everything was just fine and dandy, instead she would sit there and listen or simply let him seek comfort on her shoulder. She just seemed to be family, and no one else had ever made him feel that way before.

Author's notes:

I hope you guys like this chapter; I know it seems kind of a shock.