Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you all for waiting such a long time! I've had problems with internet connections and such, along with a heavy workload at school. Enough of my excuses, though. Read and enjoy! Boost my ego a bit with some praise! Please?

SherbetKitty: Yes, the house elf Tilda was after Tilda Swinton. She is currently one of my favorite actresses after the Narnia movie, hehe.

When he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar place. He reached for his glasses on his bedside table, but it wasn't there. It was on the other side of the bed. Weird. Putting his glasses on, he looked around him. In the middle of wondering why he was in such a nice room, it all came rushing back to him. He was in McGonagall's house. It still felt like a dream, the way she picked him up and told him everything he wanted to know. In years no adult has ever given him all the answers he asked. There were always secrets to be kept.

Not now, though. A feeling of warmth enveloped him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. It was almost like he was loved.

Nah. He wouldn't go as far as to say that. He got a feeling that she did care about his safety and wellbeing, but saying that she loved him was almost farfetched.

Getting up, he noticed Hedwig perched on the end of the enormous bed, a piece of parchment in her beak. Curious, he grabbed it. On it was simply: "Harry, whenever you're ready, there's a large breakfast waiting downstairs for you." His stomach chose that time to voice its complaint with a loud rumble. Obeying, Harry got up and got dressed in record time. Not forgetting Hedwig, he gave her a large owl treat and voiced his thanks. She hooted and gave him a playful nibble on the finger.

Walking down the stairs in daylight, he noticed the pictures hanging along the wall for the first time. Some looked really old, or at least, contained people who looked like they lived long ago. Some of them were waving at him, looking very friendly, but a few were looking at him with disdain. Maybe they'd just never seen a boy with such untidy hair, or maybe they were just that condescending when they were alive. The most recent portraits were towards the bottom. The women had their hair up in buns less in these. He saw a woman that looked almost exactly like Professor McGonagall, except she had bright blue eyes and a mole on one cheek. She smiled and waved, and he returned the suit.

In the last one, which was at the bottom of the stairs, he saw three children. The oldest looked about fifteen or sixteen, and had her black hair braided down her back, with a lock of silver hair hanging in her face. A boy of about eight or nine with the same dark hair kept pushing the oldest so that he could wave at him. The girl in the middle looked to be about twelve. She kept getting pushed around by both of them, but didn't do much pushing in return. She just waved, her eyes sparkling through her square glasses. This girl had to be Professor McGonagall. She had the same eyes and nose, not to mention the glasses she was wearing.

"Like that portrait Harry?"

He spun around, facing the present day Professor McGonagall. She had a mildly amused look on her face. Harry flushed with embarrassment.

"I was just wondering why I never knew you had a brother and sister," he said.

Her face became blank for a moment. "You wouldn't know about them, they died a long time ago."

"Oh."

He mentally kicked himself. 'Oh' was all he could say? What was he, an idiot? "I'm sorry," he said quickly.

"It's alright, they died a long time ago," she said. Walking over next to him, she pointed to the girl. "That's Armelle, she was 4 years older than me and had a fascination for magical creatures. She was killed in a dragon rampage in Scandinavia. Oh it's alright," she said, noting the concerned look on his face. "I don't mind talking about them, it would be worse to lie and say they're on vacation in Majorca or something."

He pointed to her face where the long lock of silver hair shone brightly. "Why is that part of her hair so light?"

"She was experimenting with a charm to turn her hair blond, and that was the result." She smiled, remembering all the grief Armelle had caused their mother about that. "We were never able to fix it, but she thought she looked 'distinguished' with it."

"What was your brother's name?" He asked, pointing to the boy. The girls in the portrait were looking at them with wide eyes, as if they were eager to know the fate of the boy whose imprint was sitting inside the portrait with them. The boy had a sad smile on his face. It almost made Harry ashamed of asking, but curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"His name was Conner, and he was 3 years younger than me," she said. He died a few years after Hogwarts, while he was apprenticing to become an Unspeakable."

"Like the ones that work in the Department of Mysteries?"

"Yes, the one and the same, and they wouldn't even tell us how he died," she said.

That was true, they spent weeks trying to learn how Conner died, but even his Master, a man by the name of Geryon Branstone refused to say anything about it. How like them. It infuriated her father, and from then on he wanted nothing to do with the Ministry itself. Her mother was a different story. She didn't speak a word for weeks. When she finally started talking and eating regularly, it was like she was a shell of a person. She seemed so fragile after that, and Minerva always thought that Conner's death was the reason she had caught sick and wilted away so quickly.

Snapping out of her trance, she asked "Are you hungry?" His face brightened.

"Starving!" She led him to the dining room, where Rougey had laid out a magnificent breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, oatmeal and more lay on dishes before them. Minerva sat back down in front of her own plate, which was only half finished, and waited until Harry had started to shovel food in before she began to eat again.

"Professor, why am I here?" He asked, swallowing a mouthful of potatoes.

Oh great. That question again.

She took a breath and started to say the little tidbit she planned on feeding him earlier. "You're here because obviously it's cruel to let you stay in that house all summer, and since your safety has come into question at the Weasley home, it was determined that you should come here."

"Yes, but why did you want me here?" He asked, that pleading look in his eyes. You said that Dumbledore didn't want me to come for another week, so why did you come get me now?"

She mentally kicked herself. He was like a sponge, absorbing every word she said and clung to it, as if he would fall and break if he didn't. 'I bet he just might break, too,' she thought to herself. She might as well go ahead and tell him, he could probably smell lies, for all the ones he was told his entire life.

"I wanted you to be here, Harry, because I felt that you would be safe here, and get to be with your friends without risking said safety." She exhaled, then continued. I also wanted to be able to provide you with a safe and happier place to stay, for as long as you like." Now, for the reaction.

It took a moment, but his eyes widened. "Do you mean that?" he asked softly.

"Of course I do," she said, placing an arm on his shoulder. "I want you to stay here Harry." His eyes looked rather watery, and she was close to becoming very emotional herself. Harry seemed shocked that anyone would go out of their way to do something for him, and was so happy. His eyes began to overflow, and before she could say anything, he was furiously wiping away the glistening joy that trickled down his face.

"Am I interrupting anything important?" A cold voice asked behind them.

She whirled around, hand moving towards her wand that lay next to her fork.

"Ah, it's just you, Severus," she breathed, quite relieved that it was a fellow teacher come to visit, and not someone come to harm Harry. The tall man walked in, and, seeing the situation, with her right arm still on Harry's shoulder, and him still bleary eyed, smirked.

"Should I come back later after Potter's crying session?" He asked, eyes twinkling cruelly.

"Severus!" This was beyond rude! She knew he disliked the boy after what his father had done to him when they were children, but she never anticipated so much malice directed towards him. Looking at Harry, she saw he was wiping away the last reminders of a moment's joy, and was directing the most evil glare possible towards Severus. Not surprising there.

"I'm sorry, Minerva, I was just expecting Potter to be over with the moping about Sirius, and instead I'm proven wrong."

Harry stood up abruptly and excused himself, tearing out the side door that lead to the garden and yard beyond. She had warned him when they got there not to go too far, and she hoped he remembered to heed her warning.

He tore down the garden path, making towards the woods in the distance. How dare he! Just when he felt the happiest he's been in ages, with a place to go to! He comes and insults him, practically calling him a crybaby and a little pansy. One punch could wipe the ugly smirk from his face, but he didn't think it would be worth it in front of Professor McGonagall. She might not want him to come back if he did that.

He wanted to come back, though. It was the first time someone offered him a place to stay since Sirius offered it to him over two years ago, when they all thought he'd be freed. Sirius. Just the thought of him made the tears well up again. Furiously, he wiped them away. He didn't want to be a child by crying all the time, even if it did still hurt. He was needed as an adult, not a child. Even though he knew that, he couldn't help the tears. They came unwillingly, and flowed down his face as if they were a river broken free of the temporary dam.

What he didn't realize was that he had already passed the entrance to the woods. Suddenly, without warning, a force struck him head on, flinging him backwards. His only thoughts as he fell were that he didn't bring his wand.

As soon as Severus left from reporting recent news, Rougey appeared in the room with a crack.

"Mistress, I felt a surge out back by the garden!"

Oh no. Harry.

She grabbed her wand and apparrated to the garden, rushing to see what had happened, and hoping she wasn't too late.

A/N: I took the name Geryon from Greek mythology, as dear JKR often does. Geryon is the name of the giant Heracles defeats to obtain sacral cows. I don't know much more about it than that. Branstone is the last name of one of the Hufflepuffs called in Chapter 12 of the Goblet of Fire, her name's Eleanor Branstone. Who knows, relative maybe? We might find out, we might not, muahaha… Also, I'm sooo sorry for taking so long on this one! But it was so hard to write! I had to struggle with the urge to go completely OOC, but thankfully, I think I suppressed it very well. And yes, another cliffhanger! OMG I'm so evil!